Apologies for the lack of posting in recent weeks – was in the middle of relocating to Washington and juggling other projects. We are also in the process of re-launching the blog, so stay tuned for the new URL. Here are a few links as we get back into the swing of things:
-WW
1. Flynt and Hillary Mann Leverett have launched The Race for Iran, a new blog on Iran’s geopolitics. Also be sure to read their recent monograph on Iran-China relations.
2. Fereidun Fesharaki’s excellent talk at CSIS on world energy markets, with emphasis on Iran and China. A key takeaway is that China’s investments in Iran’s upstream oil and gas production are running at a loss, which underlines the Leveretts’ point that Chinese interest in Iran is more about building a long term strategic relationship than filling immediate energy needs.
3. I came across the following story about cargoes of Indian basmati rice, originally destined for Iran, that are now flooding the Emirati rice market. A timely reminder of how closely the region’s economies are interlinked:
“Boats filled with basmati have been lying idle in Dubai and at Sharjah Cornice. Iran used to be a good market for UAE re-exporters and the fall in demand there will definitely hurt the UAE market.”
He said prices of many premium basmati rice varieties have fallen by 30 per cent to 40 per cent.
An official at Dubai Municipality’s Food Safety Department told Emirates Business: “The Iranian Government’s decision to ban Indian and Pakistani basmati is an erratic decision based on wrong interpretation of a speech by an Indian minister appealing to farmers to stop cultivating basmati in some areas. The Iranian buyers panicked and stopped importing Indian basmati. The rice coming to the UAE is regularly checked at the port of entry for food safety.”
0 Response to “Catching Up”