Status and constraints of costly port rejection : a case from the Vietnamese frozen seafood export industry

While the rising exports have been the source of growth for many developing countries in recent years, the rate of commodities rejected at the ports of developed countries has also been high. Yet why it has remained so despite the costs involved is mostly unknown. This paper takes a case of the frozen seafood export industry in Vietnam and examines the current status of port rejection, roles played by various stakeholders along the value chains, and the constraints faced by the Vietnamese producers and exporters. It concludes with some policy implications, including strengthening the enforcement mechanism of standards compliance particularly at the upstream of the value chain and providing public testing labs for small-scale producers.

Response of local producers to agro-food port rejection : the case of Chinese vegetable exports

This paper analyzes the factors associated with the rejection of products at ports of importer countries and remedial actions taken by producers in China by taking as an example one of the most competitive agro-food products of China: frozen vegetables. This paper provides an overview of the vegetable production and distribution system in China and the way in which China has been participating in exports of these products. Later sections will examine in detail the frozen vegetable sector in China, identify the causes of port rejections, and the actions taken by the Chinese government and by producers, processors and exporters to improve the quality of frozen vegetable exports.

Process of Expropriation of Buildings for the Construction of the New Dock of the Port of Cartagena (Spain) in the 18th Century

The need of the Bourbon monarchy to build a Naval Base in the Bay of Cartagena (Spain) during the eighteenth century, implied performing various actions on the environment which allowed the construction of the new dock. One of the priority actions was the transformation of the watershed of the streams that flowed into Mandaraches´s sea. For this reason, a dike was designed and constructed in the northern part of the city. The design of this great work, which was designed as a fortification of the city, was subject to considerable uncertainties. Its proximity to the city involved the demolition of several buildings in the San Roque´s neighborhood. The greater or lesser number of affected buildings and the value of the just indemnification for the expropriation of them, become decisive factors to determine if the work was viable for the Royal Estate or not.

Container Terminal Simulation. A case study: port of Valencia.

This paper is concerned with the study of non-Markovian queuing systems in container terminals. The methodology presented has been applied to analyze the ship traffic in the port of Valencia located in the Western Mediterranean. Two container terminals have been studied: the public container terminal of NOATUM and the dedicated container terminal of MSC. This paper contains the results of a simulation model based on queuing theory. The methodology presented is found to be effective in replicating realistic ship traffic operations in port as well as in conducting capacity evaluations. Thus the methodology can be used for capacity planning (long term), tactical planning (medium term) and even for the container terminal design (port enlargement purposes).

Recommendations on seismic actions on port structures

The paper describes the main features of a Technical Recommendation first draft on Seismic Action on port structures promoted recently by the Spanish Ministry of Public Works (MOPT). Although much more research is needed to clarify the seismic behaviour of the vast class of problems present in port structures the current state of the art allows at least a classification of subjects and the establishment of minimum requirements to guide the design. Also the use of more refined methods for specially dangerous situations needs some general guidelines that contribute to mantein the design under reasonable safety margins. The Recommendations of the Spanish MOPT are a first try in those directions.

Improving the competitiveness of the Spanish port system by optimising the cargo handling service

Port services, and in particular the cargo handling service, are responsible for the greatest share of costs incurred during the passage of cargo through a port. The provision of these services reliably and efficiently is crucial in a sector in which there is great opacity. This study has provided the responsible administration ? the Port Authority ? with a tool enabling objective decision making both when it comes to issuing the corresponding licenses and during the period of service provision. Furthermore, we have proposed a series of measures whose application would improve the conditions of service provision and reduce the costs incurred by the passage of cargo through the port.

Involutivity of the Hamilton-Cartan equations of a second-order Lagrangian admitting a first-order Hamiltonian formalism

Involutivity of the Hamilton-Cartan equations of a second-order Lagrangian admitting a first-order Hamiltonian formalism

Landslide risk in Haiti and land management in Port au Prince

This thesis aims to identify landslide risk zones in Haiti as a whole (regional scale) and Port au Prince specifically (local scale) and to evaluate how this landslide risk can affect them, especially to Port au Prince, in order to elaborate recommendations in priority zones of the city. Landslide risk priority zones are marked in order to apply land management recommendations supported in the Haitian land tenure to reduce, mitigate or delete at maximum the possible damages that these zones can suffer in the future due to landslides. These recommendations are collected in order to stakeholders decide which of them are the best options for each priority zone. Different types of maps are generated in order to locate all landslide risk zones and priority zones.