Latest news with #MinistryOfIndustryAndTrade
Free Malaysia Today
02-08-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
South Korea's exports hit July record despite US tariff pressures
Semiconductors, South Korea's main export, generated more than US$14 billion in its highest-ever for July. (EPA Images pic) SEOUL : South Korea's exports surged to their highest level ever for a July, fuelled by strong overseas demand for semiconductors and automobiles, despite US tariffs weighing on trade, government data showed Friday. The country's exports exceeded US$60 billion in July, up nearly 6% from the same period last year, according to the ministry of industry and trade. Semiconductors, South Korea's main export, recorded more than US$14 billion – the highest-ever for July, increasing by almost a third from the previous year. The strong showing was led by robust demand for products used in artifiical intelligence, such as high-bandwidth memory (HBM) chips, the ministry said. Asia's fourth-largest economy was initially hit with a 25% across-the-board tariff by the US but managed to secure a last-minute agreement for a reduced 15% rate. But 50% duties remain in place on exports like steel and aluminium. Despite declines in steel and auto parts exports due to tariffs, shipments to the US rose over the past year, driven by increased exports of semiconductors and wireless communication devices. 'The trade and export environment surrounding South Korea was marked by extreme uncertainty in July, as the US prepared to impose new tariffs starting Aug 1,' industry and trade minister Kim Jung-kwan said in a statement. 'Despite these difficult conditions, South Korean companies made an all-out effort to maintain export momentum, achieving a record-high performance for the month,' Kim added. Kim said trade negotiations with the US had 'removed much of the uncertainty surrounding our export environment and ensures that Korean exporters can now compete in the US market on equal or more favourable terms'. US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said his South Korean counterpart Lee Jae-myung will visit the White House for bilateral talks 'within the next two weeks'. Experts expect more details of the trade agreement to be announced at that time.
Russia Today
14-06-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Russia tests new laser weapons (VIDEO)
Russia has successfully tested eight anti-aircraft laser systems, the government said on Friday. They were designed specifically to tackle drone threats, the statement added. The trials were attended by senior Russian officials, including Russian First Deputy Prime Minister Denis Manturov. The tests were conducted at specialized proving grounds and organized by Russia's Military-Industrial Commission and Ministry of Industry and Trade. 'During the tests, the accuracy of guidance, range of destruction, reaction speed of the systems to moving air targets, and resistance to various weather conditions were checked,' the Russian government said in its statement. Eight new weapons, ranging from 'compact mobile devices to stationary high-power systems,' were tested during the trials. The laser weapons faced assorted targets, including small-sized commercial drones and 'more complex devices simulating reconnaissance and attack drones,' the Kremlin said. Footage of the trials shows drones getting shot out of the sky by laser beams and crashing into the ground. The video also features the destroyed targets put on display, with some of the drones appearing to bear distinct burn marks. All the systems featured at the test performed as advertised by their manufacturers, the statement noted. It also said that the trials proved 'the correctness of the chosen direction for the development of integrated defense systems' to protect critical infrastructure facilities from UAVs. The trials pave the way to mass production of the relevant systems and to scaling the solutions displayed by the manufacturers, it added. Attempts to create laser-based weaponry, including anti-aircraft systems, have been repeatedly made by many nations. Most combat laser systems however, never made it past the prototype stage, being plagued by assorted operational and technical issues, including too short a range and dependency on high-output power sources. The conflict between Russia and Ukraine, where cheap mass-produced drones have become a key tool for both battlefield use and long-range strikes, has apparently given a new impetus to the development of laser-based systems. In recent months, several countries, including Ukraine, India, and Israel, have unveiled new weapons of the type.
Zawya
21-05-2025
- Health
- Zawya
How aflatoxin threatens Tanzania's food security?
Tanzania is grappling with rising levels of aflatoxin in harvested grain, with officials citing the uncontrolled use of pesticides and poor storage as the main causes. At a workshop on post-harvest storage last week, Tanzanian officials admitted to finding high levels of aflatoxin in some harvested maize. According to Festo Kapela, a senior official at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the anomaly may be due to the unchecked use of farming pesticides or insecticides. Mr Kapela said that investigations had revealed that several farmers had used pesticides on crops shortly before harvesting. Tanzania's annual harvest season starts in June, so the revelations mean the country faces the additional challenge of preventing contamination of its stored crops. Food crop health experts estimate that Tanzanian farmers incur cumulative losses of about $203 million per year due to aflatoxin contamination. This is because between 20 percent to 40 percent of the crops sold in local markets contain traces of aflatoxin, a natural poison that poses a significant health risk to the population. These revelations emerged at a food crop workshop in Mbeya, southern Tanzania last week. The Food Safety Awareness Building workshop was a joint programme between the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN), aiming to assess aflatoxin contamination in cereals and non-cereal crops, and educate farmers on storage methods. Aflatoxins are known to pose serious health risks to humans, including cancer, breathing difficulties, reduced fertility in both men and women, and diminished cognitive ability. Consumption of contaminated maize and groundnuts can lead to immune suppression, malnutrition, liver cancer and death with acute exposure. An earlier report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) revealed that many families who consume home-grown maize, which is not assessed by any quality regulatory system, are at risk of aflatoxin contamination. The report also showed that maize and peanut products were highly susceptible to aflatoxin contamination due to the lack of standardised detoxification procedures. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
