We have arranged the listed cannabis companies by market capitalization in CA$ million.
Companies
Market value
Website
1
Canopy Growth Corporation
20,900
Canopygrowth.com
2
Aurora Cannabis Inc.
10,590
Auroramj.com
3
Tilray Inc.
8,376
Tilray.com
4
Cronos Inc.
5,210
Thecronosgrouo.com
5
Green Thumb Industries
1,250
Gtigrows.com
6
Organigram Holdings Inc.
1,240
Organigram.ca
7
Cann Trust Holdings Inc.
1,175
Canntrust.ca
8
iAnthus Capital Holdings Inc.
915
ianthuscapital.com
9
Aphria Inc.
767
Aphria.ca
10
KushCo Holdings.inc
659
Kushco.com
11
Acreage Holdings Inc.
618
Acreageholdings.com
12
Emerald Health Therapeutic
516
Emeraldhealth.ca
13
Medmen Enterprise Inc.
471
Medmen.com
14
Cannex Capital Holdings Inc.
320
Cannexcapital.com
15
VIVO Cannabis Inc.
298
Vivocannabis.com
16
Valens Groworks Corporation
252
Valensgroworks.com
17
Namaste Technologies
233
Namastechnologies.com
18
48North Cannabis Corporation
188
48nrth.com
19
Sunniva Inc.
183
Sunniva.com
20
C21 Investment Inc.
104
cxxi.com
21
Marijuana Company of America
40
Marijuanaofamerica.com
22
Cannabis Growth Company Corporation
32
Cgocorp.com
The biggest listed cannabis company is Canopy Growth Corporation with a market value of CA$20,900 million, based on its share price on 8th, March 2019. The listed cannabis companies are mainly headquartered in Canada. It is interesting to note that several of these cannabis companies are located in small towns like Delta in British Columbia. Thus, the smaller Canadian cities have benefited from the cannabis industry.
Please note the list of companies is not an investment recommendation. Readers should consult their investment advisers before investing in these companies.
The other day, we were discussing with a friend, an old hand in investing in emerging companies in Silicon Valley and Asia, about what is the next hot companies to invest. He confidently said marijuana companies.
Yesterday, an article by Rob Davis in The Guardian noted big investment managers are betting on a marijuana boom.
It is reported that the European cannabis market will be worth Euro 123 billion by 2028 according to analysis from Prohibition Partners. Several forecasting companies projected that the world would witness the birth of an industry which could be worth from US$500 billion to US$1 trillion.
Rob Davis writes, as hallucinatory as that sounds, there is no denying that legal weed, particularly for medicinal purposes, ended last year as one of the hottest investment prospects. A number of established stockbrokers have been pumping out research on the industry. As of the beginning of 2018, there were already a dozen cannabis companies with a stock market value of more than US$1 billion. They include emerging household names as well as secretive companies.
The largest company, Canada’s Canopy Growth announced a partnership with the famous American TV chef Martha Stewart to promote CBD (cannabidiol) , a medicinal component of cannabis as opposed to the THC (tetrahydrocannabinol) component known for getting people high. The involvement of Martha Stewart indicates that cannabis products are entering the American households. The CBD and THC are natural compounds found in cannabis plant.
Cigarette companies are also entering the cannabis product markets to spur their new growth. Altria, the cigarette company behind Marlboro brand, paid US$1.8 billion for 45 per cent of Canopy’s Canadian competitor Cronos in December 2018. The beer company ABInBev, owner of Budweiser brand, has invested US$50 million in a joint venture with the cannabis company Tilray to conduct research in weed-infused beverages.
Today, the biggest cannabis companies are based in Canada. These include Canopy, Cronos and Aurora. This is because Canada had allowed recreational use of cannabis since 2008, 17 years after medicinal use. They are well placed to capitalize on the relaxation of the law in the US, particularly via the 2018 farm bill, which did away with one of the major roadblocks- a long-standing federal prohibition on hemp cultivation.
Growers in other countries are also riding the cannabis investment wave. An example is Alexandra Chong, chief executive of Jacana, a medicinal cannabis company with a farm in Jamaica. She raised capital for her farm from venture capital companies.
She said that the industry’s growth potential
was rooted in very simple economics. There is far more demand for cannabis and
its derivative products, particularly for medicinal use, than there is supply.
“Black market” cannabis cannot enter the medicinal market as the latter has a
tracking system from seed to sale and the regulation on the industry right now
is very tight. Restrictive legal frameworks in existing markets such as Canada
and the US are one reason why supply is lagging behind demand.
“Patients are in need of this product and there is supply shortage, “ said Chong. There are 48 countries that have legalized medicinal cannabis and we a very long way away from being able to fill the demand. Legalization is happening very quickly and production cannot keep up.”
Tropical Jamaica has an advantage for growing
cannabis
Chong said Jacana was at an advantage because growers in Canada’s icy climate had to find and pay for indoor spaces to grow their product, using facilities that look like “prisons in the snow”. Jacana’s 100,000 kg-a –year capacity is in the sun shine that rivals and even eclipses farms that were owned by Canadian billion-dollar companies. Jacana’ s products have the advantage of Jamaican provenance too, something Chong believes gives it a branding advantage akin to that enjoyed by champagne in France. Thanks you Bob Marley with No Woman No Cry.
Another large
market is developing in the UK. Legalization of medicinal marijuana in the UK
took effect in December 2018, long after many of the world’s most developed
countries had already taken the plunge. Many UK companies are racing to enter
the industry.
Listed companies in the cannabis sector
The next article will cover the listed cannabis companies in the US and Canada. My son, who is a trader for US and Canadian stocks for a Malaysian bank noted that there were high interests on these listed cannabis companies when the drink giant Coca Cola announced that it would introduce cola beverages infused with cannabis.
Very few people will bet against us that the next company with a market capitalization of US$ 1.0 trillion will be a cannabis company.
We had a short trip to Perlis last weekend. During this period, the mango trees, named sweet and fragrant mango (harum manis in Malay) are flowering profusely now. The sweet and fragrant mango fruits will be ready to be plucked by May, 2019. Be sure to visit Perlis during that time.
Perlis shares its border with Thailand. The border town of Padang Besar is popular with locals to buy various types of Thai’s fruits, other products and clothes at reasonable .
Also enjoy the beauty of my wife’s orchids flowering side by side.
Nasi dagang, “trader’s dish” is a dish of rice and curry. Ubiquitous in the east coast of Peninsular Malaysia, it is a popular meal for breakfast as “nasi lemak” is in the west coast. It can even be found in the Southern Thai provinces of Narathiwat, Yala and Pattani. Nasi dagang or “trader’s rice” in Malay could have originated from the dish concocted by the early traders for their packed provision while plying their trades at the time, hence the name of the dish that has stuck until today.
An indigenous dish of the region, it makes use of abundant natural resources readily available – rice, herbs and spices from the land and ikan tongkol (tuna fish) from the sea for the curry. Unique to the east coast, nasi dagang has two main versions, Nasi dagang Kelantan and Nasi dagang Terengganu. The Nasi Dagang Kekantan is made from long grain reddish brown rice.The Terengganu version of nasi dagang is a mixture of white fragrant rice and white glutinous rice. Visually, Nasi dagang Kelantan is generally reddish brown while Nasi dagang Terengganu is generally white and glossy. As for its accompanying curry, the Kelantan version uses normal curry powder while nasi dagang Terengganu uses specially concocted herbs and species
About Nasi
Dagang Terengganu
In Terengganu, nasi dagang is considered its traditional rice specialty. Simple, delicious, and wholesome are among the common descriptions given to this food. True that it is a very simple dish consisting of just rice, fish curry, pickles and chilly sauce. And yet it can be very gastronomically fulfilling – a complete meal by itself that has most of the nutritional value that matters. Visually appealing to some due to the white glossy color of the rice, it is also a versatile dish for any meal of the day, be it breakfast, lunch or dinner. And it is fitting enough for those special occasions like hari raya, thanksgivings and similar events. It is available from various outlets and settings – posh hotels, restaurants & eating shops, hawkers, kiosks, and even night markets
At its most basic, the nasi dagang Terengganu comprises of a rice dish with a side dish of ikan tongkol (tuna fish) curry and mixed pickles of cucumber, carrots and onions together with chilly sauce. Hard boiled eggs whether separate or put together into the curry with the fish can be an added option. If preferable, the tuna fish can be substituted with mackerel or other types of fish. The dish is prepared by steaming a mixture of fragrant rice and glutinous rice infused with coconut milk over low heat. The result is a white glossy rice dish that is both fragrant and creamy. Preparation of the dish will take 8 hours as the rice need to be soaked overnight (or at leas 8 hours) while the cooking itself will take about 2 hours.
The nasi dagang Terengganu has not been commercialised. Hardly any cafes or restaurants promote this delicacy in Kuala Lumpur lamented a writer in a column of an online news portal recently. That aptly describes the sad truth concerning this delicacy outside its state of origin, Terengganu. It has the potential to expand its market reach, not just confined to Terengganu but there are no takers.
Well, that is about to change as a company owned by the state of Terengganu has ventured into the making of Terengganu traditional foods. And the company has produced a line of frozen foods that includes nasi dagang Terengganu. The frozen foods in packs form are not just for the domestic market but for the overseas markets as well. The company’s frozen nasi dagang Terengganu in packets are currently available in several selected T Mart convenient stores and Shell petrol stations in the Klang Valley and other parts of the country.
For the overseas markets, a trial shipment of 20,000 packs of nasi dagang Terengganu and keropok lekor Terengganu (fish sausage) made recently to the British capital was reported to be well received. The news report also said that the foods are marketed by a UK fast food chain Chicken Cottage, which is also owned by the state of Terengganu. The frozen packs of keropok lekor and nasi dagang Terengganu are available in selected supermarkets selling frozen Asian foods.
Now that is certainly good news for all the diehard fans of nasi dagang Terengganu outside the state. Now, one can easily get this delicacy when that cravings start to act.
However, the frozen nasi dagang packs do not have the real taste of freshly prepared version. You have to be in Terengganu.
About the guest contributor:
Mr Ahmad Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He resides near Rantau Abang, Terengganu . He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.
The US Plant Based Food Association (PBFA) reported growing consumer interest in vegan alternatives to traditional foods. Plant-based meat had reached sales of US$670 million in 2017, showing that plant-based food industry has gone from a relatively niche market to fully mainstream.
PBFA also adds that plant-based meat and dairy
alternatives are not just for vegetarians or vegans anymore; now even
mainstream consumers are enjoying delicious plant-based foods.
In the UK, sales of meat alternatives are also
gaining acceptance. Major supermarkets like Tesco and Sainbury’s are offering a
wider range of vegan products.
A website, www.plantbasednews.org, predicted that the global meat alternative market is set to grow over the coming years, with a market forecast predicting it will reach US$6.3 billion by 2023. It is currently valued at US$4.63 billion.
The report puts the growth down to the “increased preference for vegetarians and vegan foods” as well as changing trends toward healthy diet.
Vegetarianism by country
A posting on Wikipedia lists countries with large population of vegetarians. Some countries have strong or cultural or religious traditions that promote vegetarianism, such as in India, while in other countries secular ethical concerns dominate, including animal rights and environmental protection along with health concerns. In many countries, food labeling laws have made it easier for vegetarians to identify foods which are compatible with their diets. . A study from 2010 by ESPRI, www.espri.ie/pubs/WP340.pdf, estimated that there are 1.45 billion vegetarians of necessity and another 75 million of choice. They represent approximately 22 per cent of the world’s population. The table shows the number of vegetarians in selected countries.
Country
Approximate number of individuals
India
375,000,000 to 500,000,000
China
54,428,000 to 68,035,000
Brazil
29,260,000
Japan
18,370,000
Mexico
23,370,000
US
12,646,000 to 20,233,000
Germany
8,000,000
Russia
4,380,000 to 5,480,000
Italy
4,246,000
UK
3,250,000
France
3,300,000
Taiwan
3,297,011
Poland
3,072,000
Thailand
2,300,000
Israel
1,046,000
Switzerland
1,176,156
Sweden
969,000
Source: Wikipedia
Malaysian vegetarian restaurant need
improvement in taste
Last week we took the opportunity to sample vegetarian
dishes at a restaurant in Johor Bahru, the capital of Malaysia’s southern state,
Johor. We glanced through the menu and settled for a mushroom steak, together
with a bowl of rice and mashed potato. When the food came, it was not visually appetising.
The mushroom steak was three pieces of fried battered mushroom, which was not tasteful
at all.
The restaurant was well designed as a modern café as compared to the traditional vegetarian restaurants found throughout Malaysia. Nevertheless, there is a long way to go before Malaysian vegetarian restaurants can entice typical customers to taste vegetarian foods occasionally. In the meantime, we opt for fish burger in a McDonald.
In Malaysia, the mainly Muslim Malays are still devouring meat, such as beef and chicken. In a typical Malay function, such as wedding, meat alternative is yet being served. The beef “rendang” is always the main dish, supplemented by tomato chicken.
A good indicator whether a niche market has become mainstream is to look at the merger and acquisition activities. In the last few years, major food companies have acquired growing companies in the meat alternative sector. According to livekindly.com, in 2016, there were just four global plant-based acquisitions, whereas there were seventeen in 2017.Some notable acquisitions included Daiya Foods, which was bought by Otsuka, a Japanese pharmaceutical company for US$405 million. Nestle, the giant food company bought vegan food company, Sweet Earth Food so that they can continue to expand their healthy food range.
Other companies are considering to raise their capital by the capital market instead of selling to bigger companies. An example is Beyond Meat Inc, which was covered earlier.
The road of plant-based meat from a niche food to a large market can be observed from the case of Vegetarian Butcher, a Dutch company which was recently acquired by Unilever, the food giant. Its main challenge has been to produce meat products from plants that are both visually appetizing and tasteful.
Vegetarian Butcher
The eight-year-old company was founded by Jaap Korteweg, and a business partner, Niko Kofferman, a Dutch Senator from the Party for the Animals, which champions animal rights and welfare. The company collaborated with scientists at Wageningan University , who had been working on substitutes for a long time.
Soybean is a major component of its many recipes. It also uses other bases. For example, a “ filet American” is made from wheat. A Bloomberg report by Mark Ellwood on September 14th, 2018, reported that Vegetarian Butcher’s facility uses many machines familiar to traditional mat processing. In addition, the company is developing special machines for processing plant-based meat. Most of the meat substitutes are produced by cooking specific kinds of bean until its proteins are denatured. The resulting slurry is then passed through an extruder. As it emerges from the nozzle, this bean paste expands, resulting in a spongy mass that can then be flavoured. The challenge is texture: it is almost impossible using this method to evoke the muscle and fibre in a steak. The company has successfully developed a processing machine that can be programmed to mimic protein, be it fish, chicken or pork, up to 1,000 times more precisely than extrusion. There is no limit to the size of the resulting vegan steak-they can be printed by the foot.
The difference between vegan and vegetarian
According to Alina Petre of healthline.com, vegetarian diets have been reportedly around as early as 700 BC. Several types exist and individuals may practice them for a variety of reasons, including health, ethics, environmentalism and religion.
The most common types of vegetarian include:
Lacto-ovo- vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid
all animal flesh and eggs but do consume dairy products and egg products.
Lacto vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid animal
flesh and eggs, but do consume dairy products.
Ovo vegetarians: Vegetarians who avoid all
animal products except eggs.
Vegan: Vegetarians who avoid all animal
products and animal-derived products.
Those who do not eat meat or poultry but do
consume fish are considered pescatarians, whereas part-time vegetarians are
often referred to as flexitarians. Although sometimes considered vegetarians,
pescatarians and flexitarians do eat animal flesh. Therefore, they do not
technically fall under the definition of vegetarianism.
Note:
The next article will focus on market for
plant-based meat.
The Rantau Abang beach in the state of Terengganu, Malaysia
, is one of the few places on earth that the giant leatherback turtles
(leatherbacks) choose to come ashore to nest. Once, they helped put this
normally quiet small village on the world map. Tourists, foreign and domestic
as well as locals flocked by the thousands to this village to watch the
leatherbacks come to nest and lay eggs on its beach between the months of March
and October. It once had the largest nesting population in the world, hosting
10,000 nests per year.
Leatherbacks’ Facts
The Leatherbacks (Dermochelys Coriacea or Penyu Belimbing to
locals) are both the largest sea turtles and the oldest living reptiles.
Leatherbacks can live to 50 years or more. Male leatherbacks can reach up to
2.6 metres in length and weigh 900 kg.
A leatherback is easily distinguishable by its leathery soft
shell or carapace, and by its long front flippers. Seven ridges run down the
length of its white spotted carapace. All other species of turtles have hard
shells. Leatherbacks are found in all of the world’s oceans except the Arctic
and the Antarctic. Females spend their entire lives at sea except to nest, while
males never left the water.
Leatherbacks and other turtles play an important role in the
marine ecosystem. They feed on jellyfish and help check its population. The
leatherback’s extra-long esophagus is lined with spines to facilitate digestion
of jellyfish. Leatherbacks lay eggs on
dry, sandy, tropical or subtropical beaches. They lay between two and six
clutches of eggs in a single nesting season. Each clutch contains 65 to 180
eggs and is laid approximately every two weeks. Incubation takes about 60 days.
As with other reptiles, the temperature during incubation will determine the
sex of the turtles. For leatherbacks, temperatures above 29 degrees centigrade
will result in female hatchlings. Hatchlings or baby leatherbacks are not cared
for by the adults and are left to fend for themselves. The young ones that
survive stay back in tropical waters until maturity. It takes 15 – 20 years for
them to reach breeding age and become adults and then began their oceanic
migratory journeys.
Adult leatherbacks prey on jellyfish and subsist almost
entirely on them. They migrate thousands of miles in their lifetimes through
ocean basins and high seas for the purpose. Migration occurs between the cold
waters where mature leatherbacks feed, to the tropical and subtropical beaches
in the regions where they hatch. These great swimmers complete their marathon
journeys normally every 2 to 3 years to return to the same breeding grounds to
nest. They can also dive much deeper than any other marine turtles. The deepest
dive recorded was 1,230 meters
Odds Stacked Against Survival
Female leatherbacks lay hundreds of eggs each nesting
season. Sadly however, very few of these hatchlings survive into their first
year. They are very vulnerable to become prey to crabs, monitor lizards and
birds while on their way out to sea, soon after hatching. In the shallow
waters, many more hatchlings are eaten by fish. Only about 6% of these young
leatherbacks survive their first year. Over the next 15 – 20 years more
mortality among these young leatherbacks will reduce their survival rate
further. And their chances of becoming adults and to regenerate will slide as
well. Getting caught in trawling activities as well as succumbing to predators
such as sharks are reasons for increase mortality among young and adult
leatherbacks alike. Mistakenly consuming plastic bags floating in the seas and oceans
as jellyfish is another contributing factor as well.
Why the Steep Drop in Nesting Numbers?
Globally, the leatherbacks are now classified as endangered
while in Malaysia, where the situation is much worse; it is classified as
critically endangered. Nowadays very few of these graceful leatherheads return
to Rantau Abang to nest. Where 10,000
nesting was recorded in the 1950s, this had dropped to fewer than 10 nesting by 1999
and just 2 in 2008 and 2010. There was only a solitary nesting in 2017.
Poaching and human consumption of the leatherbacks’ eggs are
often cited as the most significant factor for the species decline. Gross
abuses towards the leatherbacks by the locals and tourists during nesting and
when returning to sea, most likely discourage the leatherbacks from returning
to nest. They were trapped in net by trawling activities, and these further add
to this dwindling population of leatherbacks coming to nest. Mortality due to
ingestion of floating marine debris like discarded plastic bags which resemble
their favourite prey, jellyfish is also a contributing factor. Ineffective conservation
efforts initiated in the 1960s had not helped either as exposure of the eggs to
high temperatures inadvertently results in only female hatchlings.
The Department of Fisheries Malaysia (The Department) now
has a Turtle Information Centre at Rantau Abang. Besides disseminating
information concerning turtles; the Centre and the Department are also involved
in conservation efforts: Rangers are patrolling the beaches to protect the
turtles and their eggs from poachers when they come ashore to nest. Collection
(except by licensed turtle egg collectors) or eating of turtle eggs are
forbidden.
The Rantau Abang Fisheries Protected Area was established in
1991 covering the entire 30km beach and extends 18.5km out to sea. Gill nets of
a mesh size 25.4cm, which killed up to 400 turtles a year, were subsequently banned
from Malaysian waters altogether. The department is now enforcing these
requirements and protective measures.
The Department is continuing and improving on its hatchery
activities in its efforts to help increase the turtle population, particularly
the leatherbacks
Will these giant leatherbacks make a come-back to Rantau
Abang?
Rantau Abang is now returning to its quiet days of old – no
more bustling with tourists as it used to be. And the reason is due to the
dwindling number of turtles coming to nest at its beach, especially the
leatherbacks. Given its relatively unspoiled and undisturbed stretch of beach,
Rantau Abang is thought as the right place for leatherbacks to come to nest.
The beach terrain is favorable. Its soft sandy beach is steep and is close to
vegetation allowing the leatherbacks to quickly find suitable nesting spots –
just a short crawl from the water edge. Minus the crowd of turtle watches and
their attendant disturbing antics of old, the place would be ideal for the leatherbacks
to return and nest again. So given time, these giants of all turtles might just
come back more often. But for how soon I’m not willing to guess.
Dato’ Dr Anuar’s Comment
The lesson for Rantau Abang is that it is costly for the folks of the town and Terengganu as a whole. By selling eggs of the leatherbacks continuously over many years for a fistful of RM, the town lost its important economic assets that come onshore voluntarily. Consuming the eggs means that future generation of leatherbacks is gone forever.
About the guest contributor:
Mr Ahmad Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He resides near Rantau Abang, Terengganu . He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.
Honey of the stingless bees is a sweet, viscous food substance produced
by stingless bees from floral nectar. It is quite similar to honey from the
common honey bees (genus Apis) in most aspects but with its own
distinctive physicochemical profiles, minerals and bioactive compounds.
There are more than 500 species of stingless bees worldwide. They can be
found in most tropical or subtropical regions of the world, such as Australia,
Africa, Southeast Asia and tropical America. Malaysia has its share of 33
species.
Stingless bees are closely related to the common honey bees (genus Apis) as both belong to the same Apidae family. However stingless bees are categorized under the Meliponini tribe while the common honey bees (genus Apis) are from Apini. Even though they cannot sting as their name suggests, these bees are able to protect their colonies by using their strong mandibles to grip their intruders.
Stingless bees are efficient pollinators and until recently are mainly
used for such purposes, though the Mayans of Central America had been known to
be using their honey for medical purposes a long time ago. Stingless bees honey
is now gaining popularity and more and more people are rearing stingless bees
for their honey, including Malaysia. For Malaysia this phenomenon only began
around 2012.
Two Recommended Species of Malaysia
Out of the 33 Malaysian species identified so far, two that stand out more are Heterotrigona Itama and Geniotrigona Thoracica. These two have been recommended and promoted by the Malaysian Agricultural Development Institute (MARDI) as more suitable for meliponiculture – the propagation and culturing of the stingless bees for their honey. These two species are known for their high honey production, more tolerance to diseases and parasites as well as for their ease of keeping. Stingless bees of Itama species can produce 0.5 – 1.5 kg of honey per hive per month, while the Thoracica species twice as much.
By-products of Stingless Bees
Besides honey as their primary products, stingless bees also produce bee
bread and propolis as secondary by-products. Bee bread is an extremely
nourishing food derived from pollen and serves as the main source of protein
for stingless bees and their larvae. The propolis on the other hand is produced
by stingless bees from resin of trees collected by their worker bees. Propolis
acts as the main building block for their hives. This includes pots for storage
of honey and bee pollen as well as chambers for the queen and her brood.
Studies done have shown that propolis displays antioxidant and antimicrobial
properties and so has useful medicinal benefits.
Color of Stingless Bees Honey
Honeys of stingless bees originate from floral nectar with light golden
color as almost always the norm. However they can exhibit any color from light
brown to dark brown or almost black depending on a combination of factors.
Among the factors are stingless bee species, the predominant flowers visited
and stage of fermentation of the honey among others. Fermentation of stingless
bee honey occurs naturally while still in the pots and continues post harvest,
changing the tone of its color slightly darker in the process.
Physicochemical Composition of
Stingless Bees Honey
Stingless bees honey has higher water content than honey of the Apis
bees. It is less sweet and contains less sugar. It has more antioxidant,
antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory as well as moisturizing properties than honey
of the Apis bees. Stingless bees honey also contains minerals such as
potassium, calcium, sodium, magnesium as well as manganese
Why Stingless Bees Honey?
Stingless bee honey is generally more palatable because it is not overly
sweet or thick and is nutritious. It is also believed to have medicinal
properties more than honey of the Apis bees.
Interest as well as studies done on stingless bee honey is still quite new and there lies potential for more benefits still unknown to us today to be discovered. It is comforting to know that people are opening up to accept stingless bee honey as a worthy or even superior competitor to the Apis bee honey. The Mayans were correct in pioneering its uses long time ago and they might have just helped us found the food that could well become our new superfood for today.
About the guest contributor:
Mr Rozi Daud is a stingless bee farmer in Kuala Terenganu, Malaysia. He also provides training for those who are interested to be a stingless beekeeper or apiarist. Please contact us at 6016 3220 952 for assessment of suitability of your location for stingless bee farming.
PWC, the global auditing company, regularly issued reports under the title, The World in 2050. The latest report, The World in 2020: The long-term view-How will the global economic order change by 2020? was published in February, 2017. The report showed some interesting highlights.
Among the highlights are:
Other than the usual countries of China, US and Japan, new countries such as India, Indonesia and Brazil are moving the GDP ladder.
Countries such as Pakistan, Vietnam and Bangladesh would move up the GDP ladder.
Nigeria would have the largest GDP in the African continent.
European countries such as Germany, France, Italy and Britain will move down the GDP ranking in 2050.
The projected rankings of economies based on GDP at PPP (purchasing power parity) in constant 2016 in US$ billion are shown in the table below.
2016 Rankings in constant 2016 in US$ billion
GDP PPP ranking
Country
GDP at PPP
1
China
21,269
2
US
18,562
3
India
8,721
4
Japan
4,932
5
Germany
3,979
6
Russia
3,745
7
Brazil
3,135
8
Indonesia
3,028
9
United Kingdom
2,788
10
France
2,737
11
Mexico
2,307
12
Italy
2,221
13
South Korea
1,929
14
Turkey
1,906
15
Saudi Arabia
1,731
16
Spain
1,690
17
Canada
1,674
18
Iran
1,459
19
Australia
1,189
20
Thailand
1,161
21
Egypt
1,105
22
Nigeria
1,089
23
Poland
1,052
24
Pakistan
988
25
Argentina
879
26
Netherlands
866
27
Malaysia
864
28
Philippines
802
29
South Africa
736
30
Colombia
690
31
Bangladesh
628
32
Vietnam
595
2030 Rankings in constant 2016 in US$ billion
GDP PPP ranking
Country
Projected GDP at PPP
1
China
38,008
2
US
23,475
3
India
19,511
4
Japan
5,606
5
Indonesia
5,424
6
Russia
4,736
7
Germany
4,707
8
Brazil
4,439
9
Mexico
3,661
10
United Kingdom
3,638
11
France
3,377
12
Turkey
2,996
13
Saudi Arabia
2,755
14
South Korea
2,651
15
Italy
2,541
16
Iran
2,354
17
Spain
2,159
18
Canada
2,141
19
Egypt
2,049
20
Pakistan
1,868
21
Nigeria
1,794
22
Thailand
1,732
23
Australia
1,663
24
Philippines
1,615
25
Malaysia
1,506
26
Poland
1,505
27
Argentina
1,342
28
Bangladesh
1,324
29
Vietnam
1,303
30
South Africa
1,148
31
Colombia
1,111
32
Netherlands
1,080
2050 Rankings in constant 2016 in US$ billion
GDP PPP ranking
Country
Projected GDP at PPP
1
China
58,499
2
India
44,128
3
US
34,102
4
Indonesia
10,502
5
Brazil
7,540
6
Russia
7,131
7
Mexico
6,863
8
Japan
6,779
9
Germany
6,138
10
United Kingdom
5,369
11
Turkey
5,184
12
France
4,705
13
Saudi Arabia
4,694
14
Nigeria
4,348
15
Egypt
4,333
16
Pakistan
4,236
17
Iran
3,900
18
South Korea
3,539
19
Philippines
3,334
20
Vietnam
3,176
21
Italy
3,115
22
Canada
3,100
23
Bangladesh
3,064
24
Malaysia
2,815
25
Thailand
2,782
26
Spain
2,732
27
South Africa
2,570
28
Australia
2,564
29
Argentina
2,385
30
Poland
2,103
31
Colombia
2,074
32
Netherlands
1,496
Changes in Rankings of Asian Countries
Countries
Ranking in 2016
Ranking in 2030
Ranking in 2050
China
1
1
1
India
3
3
2
Indonesia
8
5
4
Japan
4
4
8
Saudi Arabia
15
13
13
Pakistan
24
20
16
Iran
18
16
17
South Korea
13
14
18
Philippines
28
24
19
Vietnam
32
29
20
Bangladesh
31
28
23
Malaysia
27
25
24
Thailand
20
22
25
Note: PPP (purchasing power parity) estimates of GDP adjust the price level difference across countries, providing better measure of the volume of goods and services produced by an economy as compared to GDP at current market exchange rate, which is a measure of value. Essentially GDP PPP controls for different costs of living and price levels, usually relative to US dollar, enabling more accurate estimate of a nation’s level of production.
Observation
In 2050, two Asian countries, China and India, would occupy the top two spots in GDP ranking. In addition, Indonesia would move from 8th spot in 2016 to 4th spot in 2050. Japan, which occupied 4th spot in 2016 would drop to 8th spot in 2050.
Our country, Malaysia, would slightly improve its spot from 27th in 2016 to 24th in 2050. The greatest mover would be Vietnam, moving from 32nd spot in 2016 to 20th spot in 2050.