Competitiveness and Determining Factors of Indonesian Tea Export Volume in the World Market

Indonesia is one of the world's tea exporters, but the decline in the volume and value of its exports to date continues to occur. This study aims to 1) analyze the production trend and export volume of Indonesian tea. 2) analyze Indonesian tea competitiveness in the International market compared to other exporter countries (China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam). 3) analyze the determining factors of Indonesia's tea export volume to 7 major destination countries (Malaysia, Russia, Pakistan, USA, Germany, Poland, and Australia). The analysis methods used are simple linear regression, Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA), Trade Specialization Ratio (TSR), and data panel regression. The results showed that the production and volume of Indonesian tea export will decrease every year. Indonesian tea has a very strong comparative competitiveness, but still below India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, and Vietnam. Indonesia tends to be an exporter of tea to the international market at the stage of export expansion. Factors determining the volume of Indonesian export are Indonesian tea production, the population of importer countries, real GDP per capita of importer countries, level of trade openness of importer countries, and importer countries' inflation rate.

Big Boro rice harvest during COVID-19 pandemic: an optimism for resilient rice system in Bangladesh

The ‘big Boro rice harvest’ in 2021 amidst the COVID-19 pandemic has created new optimism for a resilient rice system in Bangladesh. Boro rice (dry season rice) has appeared as the strategic crop in sustaining resilience in the national rice system and food security with a steady rise in production trend. However, the prospect of Boro rice has been challenged by a myriad of factors such as changing climate, hydrological regimes, value-chain and crop diversification. Any unexpected production loss of Boro rice might bring about a big setback in total food security. Therefore, holistic policy planning and research supports, strong value-chain, efficient procurement system and, farmer’s capacity development have been suggested to sustain the production trend of Boro rice in the year to come.

Production Performance Analysis of Volga-Ural Mature Waterflood with PRIME Diagnostic Metrics

The paper presents a practical case of production performance analysis at one of the mature waterflood oil fields located at the Volga-Ural oil basin with a large number of wells. It is a big challenge to analyse such a large production history and requires a systematic approach. The main production complication is quite common for mature waterflood projects and includes non-uniform sweep, complicated by thief injection and thief water production. The main challenge is to locate the misperforming wells and address their complications. With the particular asset, the conventional single production analysis techniques (oil production trend, watercut trend, reservoir and bottom-hole pressure trend, productivity trend, conventional pressure build-up surveys and production logging) in the vast majority of cases were not capable of qualifying the well performance and assessing of remaining reserves status. The performance analysis of such an asset should be enhanced with new diagnostic tools and modern methods of data integration. The current study has made a choice in favor of using a PRIME analysis which is multi-parametric analytical workflow based on a set of conventional and non-conventional diagnostic metrics. The most effective diagnostics in this study have happened to be those are based on 3D dynamic micro-models, which are auto-generated from the reservoir data logs. PRIME also provided useful insights on well performance, formation properties and the current conditions of drained reserves which helped to select the candidates for infill drilling, pressure maintenance, workovers, production target adjustments and additional surveillance. The paper illustrates the entire PRIME workflow, starting from the top-level field data analysis, all the way to generating a summary table containing well diagnostics, justifications and recommendations.

Performance of Aerobic Denitrification by the Strain Pseudomonas balearica RAD-17 in the Presence of Antibiotics

Aerobic denitrification, one of the important nitrate metabolic pathways in biological denitrification, has been attracting increasing interest recently due to its functional advantages. In order to evaluate the effect of antibiotics on aerobic denitrification and guide practical engineering application of aerobic denitrification techniques, we evaluated the performance of aerobic denitrification by the strain Pseudomonas balearica RAD-17 in the presence of ciprofloxacin (CFX) and oxytetracycline (OTC). No significant negative impact on the performance of aerobic denitrification in the presence of CFX or OTC within the range of 50 to 300 μg L−1 was found. Significant degradation of OTC was found within the range of 50 μg L−1 to 300 μg L−1 under aerobic denitrification conditions, while no degradation was found for CFX. Stimulation of cell growth occurred within the investigated range of antibiotics. Under anoxic or aerobic conditions, the addition of CFX or OTC changed the N2O production trend. The results in the present study may play an important role in informing the use of aerobic denitrification techniques in the presence of antibiotics within environmentally relevant concentrations (<1 mg/L).

Production Trend, Constraints, and Strategies for Millet Cultivation in Nepal: A Study from Review Perspective

Millet cultivation is making a quick comeback in the Nepalese agrarian landscape after years of institutional neglect. Agricultural agencies and farmers ignored these cereals while giving precedence over rice, wheat, and other crops such as oilseeds and pulses. Millets can foster well in poor soil conditions with less water, fertilizer, and pesticides. The main objectives of the study were to assess prospects and potentiality of millet, constraints during farming, and the possible strategies to overcome problems by analyzing the data and secondary literature. Districts in the eastern part of Nepal show dominance in millet production. Millet contains a comparative advantage over other cereals in terms of soil climatic adaptability, drought resistance, insect pest tolerance, and management factors. Further, the health-promoting factors play an important role in tackling food security and malnutrition problems, particularly in mid and high hills. The preference of tourists towards "dhido" has further increased its demand at present. However, lack of domain-specific high-yielding varieties, high preference towards major cereals, and poor marketing infrastructure particularly in marginal areas are the constraints mainly considered for unexpected production of millet. Millet features a high possibility of improving the production which can be supported with subsidy, improving tourism, promoting the millet products with agro-based industries, and motivating the growing farmers. Proper local and national strategies to cope with the limitation will help to uplift millet farming from minor cereals to exportable standards.

Measuring and Analyzing the Common and Idiosyncratic Cycles: An Application for Turkish Manufacturing Industry

This study uses the Butterworth filter to decompose cyclical signals at low and high frequencies in the production data of the manufacturing industry and its sub-sectors. At low frequencies, the production trend exhibits considerable differences among industrial activities while most of the sub-sectors are more sensitive to common cycle than their own dynamics at high frequencies. Moreover, it is predicted that changes in the manufacture of basic metals sub-sector production can be used as a leading indicator for the expansion and contraction periods of the common cycle estimated for the manufacturing industry.

Features of the functioning of the poultrymeat market

The state of the poultry market and highlights the peculiarities of its functioning has been researchedin the article.The poultry market as competitive and efficient with other meat marketshas been identified.And the poultry industry has maintained a positive production trend in recent years. In Ukraine, the poultry population is growing from year to year. In nineteen years, the number of poultry in agricultural enterprises has increased more than five times. A feature of the poultry market is the concentration of poultry and meat production in agricultural enterprises. More than 85percent of the poultry meat production in the slaughter mass was provided by agricultural enterprises. Most poultry meat was produced in Vinnytsia, Kyiv, Cherkasy, Dnipropetrovsk and Lviv regions. It is substantiated that the increase in poultry meat production is primarily due to the growth of demand from the population in conditions of low purchasing power. Poultry meat remains the most affordable for most meat consumers. In addition, due to a significant reduction in the supply of other types of meat, and consequently rising prices for them, poultry has become a substitute for most meat consumers. At the same time, many consumers have changed their tastes and preferences for a particular type of meat in favor of dietary poultry meat. The balances of supply and demand of poultry meat were analyzed. It has been proven that domestic poultry production fully meets domestic demand and has reserves to increase exports. It is noted that the further development of the domestic poultry market will depend, first of all, on solving the crisis problems in the world. In addition, indicators of production efficiency and product competitiveness will have a significant impact. Keywords: market, poultry meat, production, supply, demand, consumption, price.

Current Status, Potentials and Opportunities of Avocado Production as an Alternative Crop: the Case of Ethiopia: A Review

The current diminishing farmland size and land productivity due to a population pressure, the decline in soil fertility and climate change is as major challenges in crop production making unsustainable necessitating some resilience mechanism. Crop diversification can be a useful strategy. Thus, avocado can be considered as an important alternative crop to the farmers in most areas in Ethiopia as there are high potential and suitability of the agro-ecologies, high domestic and export market potential. Avocado can provides multiple benefits to the farmers especially to improve farmers’ income, increase land productivity, sustainability and food security. Furthermore, it has complementary advantages for business and economic activities of growing towns in nearby areas. And avocado is a high yielder, the nitration value of avocado is recommendable for nutritional deficient people in developing countries including Ethiopia. However, currently, there is a large yield gap of avocado productivity in Ethiopia (about 4.2 t ha-1) as compared to the world (7tha-1) of which lack of improved avocado varieties has been a bottleneck. Because of this, recently some improved avocado varieties have been introduced and on distribution to small-scale farmers by the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with USAID. And for better achievement, it should be also supported by research to make more sustainable production and productivity. Therefore, a better understanding of avocado is essential. In this review article, world production and local avocado production trend, importance, potentials and opportunities, some constraints and future direction have been discussed.

Addressing Matrix Acidizing Stimulation Challenges in Depleted, High-Temperature, and Acid-Sensitive Sandstone Formations with a High-Performance Acid System

Acid stimulation in high-temperature sandstone reservoirs with high clay content can lead to undesired results due to secondary and tertiary reactions between treatment fluids and reservoir clays. Although there have been significant advancements in treating clastic formations over the years, high bottomhole temperature (BHT) coupled with high clay content of up to 35% and subhydrostatic conditions still presents a major challenge. A stimulation workflow to address these challenges was adapted to treat and successfully enhance well production in sandstone reservoirs in southern Pakistan. Candidate wells were selected for acidizing treatments based on declining production trend and identification of significant damage skin. X-ray diffraction tests on core samples indicated presence of acid-sensitive clays and calcite. Due to the risk of precipitation from secondary and tertiary reactions, conventional hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acid treatments were not viable options. Core flow testing was conducted to assess the efficiency of alternative acid systems at the reservoir conditions with BHT above 320°F, validating the selection of a high-performance sandstone acid system that was designed to handle undissolved clays in the critical matrix by helping to bind the clays to the pore surfaces, thus preventing them from migrating and plugging the pore throat during flowback. The matrix stimulation campaign included vertical and deviated dry gas wells, completed with 3 1/2-in. to 4 1/2-in. production tubing and 7-in. liner, with perforated intervals averaging 20 ft. Prior to the main acid treatment, high-pressure rotary jetting across the target intervals was conducted by pumping organic acid via coiled tubing. This wellbore conditioning technique allowed maximizing the acid performance by delivering 360° high-energy fluid to clear the perforations of scale and improve injectivity. The main treatment consisted of an organic acid preflush and a high-performance sandstone acid system as the main fluid, followed by a brine post-flush. Throughout the treatment, nitrogen was added to all fluids to facilitate fluid flowback under subhydrostatic conditions. The wells treated using this matrix stimulation engineered workflow yielded sustained production gains from 3 MMscf/D to 3.5 MMscf/D, exceeding expectations by more than 50% and achieving payback periods less than 20 days. The success of the treatment was largely due to the carefully designed stimulation workflow and its flawless execution. Acidizing high-temperature sandstone reservoirs with 30 to 35% clay content is uncommon. The experience gained in southern Pakistan validates the high-performance sandstone acid system as a reliable option for matrix acidizing in hot, acid-sensitive sandstone reservoirs. It also provides a detailed engineering workflow for candidate selection, treatment design, and job execution and evaluation, which can easily be adapted to regions facing similar challenges.

Overview of Native Chicken Breeds in Italy: Small Scale Production and Marketing

The intensive use of high-performing strains in poultry production has led to the extinction of several autochthonous chicken breeds and, consequently, loss of genetic variability. Interest in saving biodiversity is growing rapidly and has become a major objective worldwide. The aim of this study was to shed light on the production trends of native Italian poultry breeds and the related market. A questionnaire, which asked about the production cycles, the number of animals and table eggs produced per year and their retail prices was completed by 121 breeders across Italy. The surveyed breeders were divided into two categories: breeders conducting an agrozootechnical farm, referred to as ‘farmers’ (F); and breeders keeping chickens as backyard poultry, referred to as ‘fancy breeders’ (FB). Analysis of the data acquired indicated that animals were mainly slaughtered between 6 and 12 months of age, with F processing more animals per year. The same production trend was observed for table eggs. The recorded retail prices of native chicken products were higher than those for conventional products, but similar to those reported for valuable niche poultry products, such as the Poulet de Bresse in France and organic eggs. Knowledge about these highly valuable markets should be used to encourage the use of local breeds in alternative poultry farming and help protect biodiversity.