The Miami Herald from Miami, Florida • 166

CD TUESDAY OCTOBER 25 1994 UD THE MIAMI HERALD INTERNATIONAL EDITION BUSINESS NEWS If perfected super would help feed the globe GRAPE EXPECTATIONS New black seedless variety developed by USDA experts By MICHAEL LANDWEBER Associated Press WASHINGTON Agriculture Department scientists have developed a new black seedless grape they say is sweet crisp and juicy and could become a big hit at the supermarket in a few years The Black Emerald is the result of more than six years of research crossing a seedless variety with a seeded type according to Agriculture Research magazine Emerald grapes are sweet firm and said grape and tree fruit breeder David Ramming who helped develop the new variety berries are about the size of a dime with an attractive dark black skin The flesh is translucent firm and almost Ramming and fellow researcher Ronald Tarailo hope that this combination of traits will attract buyers to the Black Emerald The competition from other grapes will also be diminished since the new variety ripens in mid-May after the peak time for Pcrlette a white seedless grape and before the ripening of popular red grape Flame Seedless a unique Emerald fills a unique niche because ready to harvest at a time when you find another top-quality US-grown black seedless grape at the Ramming said He added that the only black seedless grapes available at that time are either of lower quality or imported varieties that are not as fresh However buyers look for the grape in their supermarkets now Black Emerald was only made available to breeders and commercial growers this past spring and it could take three to five years for enough vines to be planted to market the new variety nationally Experimental vines in California During the course of the research Ramming and his colleagues followed the progress of around 800 Black Emerald vines growing on more than a dozen commercial California vineyards and at a research facility at California State University in Fresno California leads the nation in grape production and the Table Grape Commission helped fund the research Cuttings and young vines of the Black Emerald strain can be ordered in 4-inch pots through the Foundation Plant Materials Service of the University of California at Davis Brazil is reaching for the high cotton By BOYCE RENSBERGER Washington Post Service Researchers at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) have developed a prototype breed of that yields 25 percent more food per acre than best varieties If planted in all suitable parts of the rice-growing regions agronomists estimate it could yield 100 million tons more grain than is now grown enough to sustain an additional 450 million people a year Moreover work is underway to modify the variety in a way that promises to achieve another 25 percent boost in yield And according to Klaus Lampe director general of the Philippines-based institute where the new variety was developed requires significantly less fertilizer per ton of grain than do varieties new rice will go a long way toward feeding the people through the next century especially in Asia where rice is the said Ismail Seragcl-din chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research The CGIAR funded by 43 governments international organizations and private foundations funds IRRI and 16 other research centers dedicated to improving food production in developing countries CGIAR-af-filiated scientists have been the architects of a that began a generation ago and continues today The new rice is not yet ready to release to farmers not in the showroom Lampe said it is on exhibition the rice for the Some bugs in plan Super rice lacks resistance to diseases and pests that current varieties possess Lampe said plant researchers are cross-breeding the new rice with existing resistant varieties to produce IR36 was produced by crossing various combinations selected from collection of 80000 rice varieties The goal was to create a plant that devotes a higher proportion of its growth to grain rather than stem Most current varieties achieve a 50-50 split putting as much of the products of photosynthesis into stems as into grain But many of those stems bear no seed clusters called panicles The new rice makes fewer stems per plant but all of them carry panicles Moreover each panicle bears 200 to 250 seeds as opposed to the 100 seeds of IR36 How it happened Lampe said the key to creating the new variety was learning how to crossbreed two distantly related subtypes of rice One was a standard the type to which all of improved rices belong The other was a traditional tropical variety belonging to the family and grown in parts of Java The problem Lampe said was that when embryos of the new crossbred plant were forming inside the seed they would die So group dissected out the tiny embryo and transplanted it to the pampering environment of a test tube of culture medium in the laboratory Under those conditions the embryo grew into a normal plant with seeds that could be planted the usual way Colombia offered loan guarantees WASHINGTON The Agriculture Department said it offered Colombia $70 million in US backed loan guarantees under the Export Credit Guarantee Program for fiscal 1995 The financing covers $2 million in barley malt $10 million in wheat $4 million in protein meals $25 million in feed grains Experts say the new rice requires significantly less fertilizer per ton of grain than do varieties new ones that combine the best traits of the parents He said that in a year or two the first of these crosses will be distributed to rice breeders in several parts of the world for further cross-breeding with varieties suited to local soils and climates Additional plant breeding is underway to produce subvarieties with the various cooking qualities and flavors preferred by different cultures These are the kinds of adaptations that are routine with most new varieties of any crop Lampe said the new breed is needed because the world has little or no additional land on which to grow rice the primary food of the part of the world where the population is growing in the largest numbers In fact some of the best rice land has been lost to urban sprawl Overall the area planted in rice worldwide has not increased since 1980 Effort started in Super rice was developed by a team under the leadership of Gurdev Khush who has been breeding new rice varieties at IRRI since 1967 team has produced more than 300 varieties One called IR36 carries resistance to 1 5 insects diseases and environmental stresses and is planted on about 27 million acres worldwide It is the most widely grown variety of any crop The new variety which is expected eventually to replace Battered banks trying to mold conservative image in Caracas MM! Lincoln Tunnel going cellular From Herald Wire Services NEW YORK Cellular phone service has begun in the Lincoln Tunnel Technicians have installed more than 26000 feet of cable through the three tubes said Terry Benczik spokeswoman for the Port Authority which operates the tunnel She added that the cost of $12 million would be paid by Cellular One the cellular company Similar wiring is to be installed in the Holland Tunnel in the first quarter of next year she said after which the service is to be opened to all cellular telephone customers not just those of Cellular One The 57-year-old Lincoln Tunnel is the first tunnel in the metropolitan area to be wired for cellular phones it already is equipped for AM radio The tunnel the busiest carries about 56000 vehicles in each direction on weekdays Cellular One in an announcement said it now be known as the longest telephone $50 million uranium deal General Electric Co and a Japanese firm plan to invest $50 million to build a uranium processing unit at a GE plant in North Carolina The unit will convert uranium in gaseous form into uranium powder a key step in preparing uranium fuel for nuclear power plants said Kazuo Murota chief engineer of Japan Nuclear Fuel Co GE and JNF will set up a joint-venture company to build the unit with GE owning 54 percent and JNF 46 percent The unit is to be completed by 1997 at a GE plant in Wilmington NC that already handles other kinds of uranium processing Murota said Construction will begin next year The new unit will produce 1000 tons a year of uranium dioxide powder of which JNF expects to import 200-300 tons to Japan for further processing and sale to Japanese power companies Murota said The unit will use French technology for process which produces less liquid waste and is becoming the industry standard he said Monday Scott near deal to sell unit NEW YORK Scott Paper is close to a deal to sell its energy operations for a sum between $300 million and $400 million The Wall Street Journal reported in editions Likely buyers are said to be regional utilities serving Mobile Ala and Chester Pa where Scott has two small power plants that serve its factories in those areas the paper reported citing a person familiar with the company Scott Paper Chairman Albert Dunlap said earlier this month that the company was considering selling the energy business and pulp and timberland operations because he regarded them as the paper said Dunlap has moved quickly to change the management cut staff and sell units since he has taken charge of the company in April according to the paper stock price has increased 64 percent since appointment the paper said Software developers angry NEW YORK Some software developers for 3DO Co are angry at the company for placing a $3 surcharge for every copy of games designed for its video game machines The Wall Street Journal reported Monday 3DO already charges a royalty of $3 per copy but the surcharge will be used for advertising and to help manufacturers of the machines offset losses the paper said Trip Hawkins the chief executive of 3DO acknowledged that the surcharge will antagonize developers the paper said Makers of the video game systems claim they face a combined $200 million in losses over the next 15 months in producing the machines at competitive prices the paper said Some software developers told the paper that they will abandon the company or go to court if the surcharge is not rescinded John Eastbum chief operating officer of Crystal Dynamics Inc told the paper that most of the developers cannot break even on the 3DO sales unless the consumer base increases to 500000 from the current 75000 Hawkins told the paper that the company should have 500000 users worldwide by the end of the year 1 million by spring and 4 million by the end of next year Tobacco firms to merge RALEIGH NC Two of the leading international tobacco merchants Monk-Austin Inc and Dibrell Brothers Inc have announced they will merge in a stock-swap transaction The two stock combined is worth about $560 million based on closing prices Following the merger announced Sunday and approved a day earlier by the boards of the two companies Monk-Austin based in Farmville and Dibrell based in Danville Va will become subsidiaries of a new company they will create called DiMon Inc Claude Owen Jr chairman and chief executive of Dibrell will be chairman and chief executive of DiMon which will be based in Danville The merged company provide a lot of opportunities just to be a larger stronger capitalized company to provide the resources to fuel our growth particularly Owen said Sunday in a telephone interview from his home in Danville He said he hoped DiMon would become of the stronger tobacco companies in the world at least in terms of leaf processing and merchant-ing Tobacco merchants buy tobacco from farmers process it and sell it to manufacturers Monk-Austin and customers include the major US cigarette companies including Philip Morris Cos and RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co They also export tobacco to countries like Japan Turkey and Germany Dibrell employs about 4200 people worldwide Monk-Austin has more than 3000 workers The majority of the employees work outside the United States Under terms of the agreement Monk-Austin shareholders will receive one share of DiMon stock for each of their own shares and Dibrell shareholders will receive 15 shares for each of theirs VENEZUELA FROM IB vision of the industry and told shareholders to replace much of the depleted capital At least some banks have promised to end such unethical practices as preferential loans to executives and cut back on perks like private jet flights for senior officials They have also hired international consulting firms to advise them on other changes industry will be more conservative said Helly Fernandez appointed Banco Latino general manager by authorities after they took it over in January and pumped in cash Months ago banks could lure depositors with advertisements offering interest rates at a lofty 80 percent Now that scares them away fears Made wiser by the crisis Venezuelans prefer security to a high but riskier rate of return fear that those banks offering that much interest could be in trouble and are just trying to bring in said Jose Barcia economist with the ating costs by 30 percent by saying to When the banks began to fail the public pulled funds out of institutions feared to be weak and put them in the stronger banks like the biggest Banco Provincial whose deposits more than doubled this year to 483 billion bolivars ($285 billion) A word of caution A foreign banker said Venezuelan depositors should not yet be blinded by the slick advertisements and tread cautiously the US Europe and Japan it has taken up to five years to work out their bank he said takes Banco Consolidado depositor Jose Martinez took such advice to heart recently when rumors surfaced the bank was in trouble He withdrew some funds and opened a savings account at another institution in case Consolidado went under Consolidado has since been bailed out by the government and his deposits are assured but Martinez remains skeptical not closing the second account he said in an interview am still a little NEWS ANALYSIS MetroEconomica consulting firm Advertisements now seek to sell stability Banco Union TV ads feature folk singer Simon Diaz saying had his money there for decades and there it will stay Banco Latino which was the second largest bank before it collapsed is running spots saying it is back and it is better difficult most difficult thing now is the recovery of Fernandez told Reuters are even going door-to-door to get back some commercial Latino lost 20 percent of its deposits from April when it reopened through June But deposits have recovered since then to the 125 billion bolivar ($735 million) level of last year he said Fernandez and other members of the restructuring team have slashed the payroll to 3600 from 6200 and reduced monthly oper COTTON FROM IB he added goal is to meet anticipated demand of 12 million tons by the year 2000 Production in 1994 is estimated to have fallen to 460000 tons from 717000 tons in 1991 when Brazil was the eighth largest exporter at the lowest point of growing cotton in said Andrew Macdonald president of the cotton committee at Sao Commodities and Futures Exchange Several factors have contributed to the decline one of which was the severe recession in 1990-1991 which pushed real interest rates up to 256 percent in 1 990 Also the import tariff for cotton set at 60 percent was eliminated in 1 990 and as a result imported cotton became attractive to the Brazilian textile industry In contrast to production consumption this year has increased to 850000 tons from 700000 tons in 1991 The deficit has been met by imports that are forecast to represent 40 percent of consumption this year as against 15 percent in 1993 At the same time exports have shrunk to practically nothing from 124000 tons in 1991 In order to address these problems the government has favored cotton in its 199495 agricultural crop plan Now all cotton producers including small farmers may apply for financing Before only agricultural cooperatives could apply for loans The government also will provide 100 percent of all seeding costs The minimum price guaranteed to the government has been raised 9 percent and may be reviewed in 1995 The government is also considering a 6 percent import tax on cotton from non-Mercosur countries to take effect from Jan 1 1995 Macdonald is hoping for an increase of 25 to 30 percent in planted area this year which would give a 1 995 cotton crop of 600000 tons The drought that has impacted many of key crops may delay planting in some areas but there has been sufficient rain in Parana to start the process he said For Macdonald the key to potential growth in output is to increase yields IADB loans are slated for Panama and Peru from now government wants a splashy event to announce that makes it look like it has gotten access to a large amount of said one US analyst in Panama Panama has had trouble getting new loans recently The IADB and the World Bank postponed disbursement of about $200 million in loans to Panama this year because of failure to enact economic reform Perez Balladares has said he intends to cany out economic reforms that include privatizations lowering trade restrictions and slashing the state payroll president said he need the development loans to offset the social costs of modernizing economy Panama began taking on new debt in 1992 after it restructured some $3 billion in debt with international institutions a year earlier It is currently negotiating to restructure an additional $31 billion in commercial bank debt LOANS FROM IB Peruvian credit line from the IDB of $25 billion for 1994-97 In Panama City Perez Balla-dares has said loans will total some $15 billion and be used in public investment projects especially in rural health and education Analysts said some of the loans were previously negotiated between Panama and the IADB and that many are not slated for disbursement until several years bitter fruit banana-import policy bears Meanwhile the commission continues its diplomatic battle to get the Latin American producers to call off their campaign seeking adoption of a second critical GATT panel report It has already Costa Rica Colombia Nicaragua and Venezuela which accepted a slightly increased quota in return for dropping their complaint to GATT Under the deal the EU will increase the annual quota for Latin American bananas from 2 million metric tons in 1993 to 21 million metric tons in 1994 and 22 million metric tons in 1995 Caribbean leaders also have launched a diplomatic offensive to get other Latin American producers to call off their attempt to increase access for their bigger and cheaper dollar bananas The US threat to the import regime is potentially the most serious because it could result in trade sanctions Chiquita Brands International and the Hawaii Banana Industry Association have alleged that the EU quotas discriminate against US companies and in favor of their European rivals in the allocation of licensing eligibility for imports The banana row is set to rumble on and on NEWS ANALYSIS right enshrined in the European founding Treaty of Rome in 1957 to import the fruit from wherever they want The Bonn government recently decided to challenge the import regime for the second time in the European Court of Justice the highest legal authority renewing anxiety in the commission that it could lose the case this time on a BANANAS FROM IB mid-September by sneaking through a regulation to prevent bananas less than 56 inches long or 108 inches wide from reaching EU wholesalers But the attempt to protect consumers from bananas backfired badly when the tabloid newspapers in Germany and then Britain seized on the story The fiasco refueled the banana controversy in Germany putting renewed pressure on politicians to overturn the import regime that had robbed German consumers of their.