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Drying has long traditions as preservation method for fish in Norway. The fish can be dried with salt (cliff fish) or without salt (stockfish), giving very different end-product quality. The drying is usually done in the winter season, when the temperature is low. The dried fish is still important for the Norwegian export market and is included in traditional dishes in European countries as well as in Africa and America. The fish can be consumed dry as a snack or boiled after soaking in water.

This chapter discusses some other scheduling problems and models that do not fall into the categories presented in Chapters 2–9. Section 10.1 considers the problem to minimize a random variable of performance measure under stochastic order, which produces stronger results than the common approach of minimizing the expected value of the measure. Section 10.2 introduces the concept of “team-work tasks”, in which each job is processed by a team of different processors working on designated components of the job, and derives a number of corresponding optimal scheduling policies.

Food safety standards may pose a barrier to expanded food exports from less developed countries (LDCs) (Thilmany and Barrett 1997, Henson et al. 2000). The importance of such barriers may be growing as traditional trade barriers in the agricultural sector are reduced, as new hazards are identified and regulated in high-income countries, and as LDCs seek more open and export-oriented growth for their agricultural sectors. These trends converge to make food safety standards an important potential barrier to trade.

This chapter describes and analyses the development of Sweden’s high-speed train (HST), the X2000, as a case of public technology procurement. The case study is based mainly on primary data collected in recent (1997) interviews with some of the main actors involved in the procurement process, but it also draws upon relevant secondary sources. The analysis employs evaluative criteria defined from the standpoint of public policy (as elaborated below) and develops a critical perspective on the case that leads to more general policy implications.

After the termination of the Bretton-Woods-System in 1973 considerable fluctuations and unexpectedly large deviations from purchasing power parity (PPP) had been observed under the subsequent floating exchange rate regime. In particular, the Dollar-DM exchange rate was characterized by large swings around PPP equilibrium (De Grauwe 1996, pp. 92).

This chapter compares the SME support systems described in previous chapters with a view to drawing system specific policy recommendations. We first consider marketing support systems, then technology support systems and finally financial support systems.

With 120 employees Skane Erik is a fairly small sized meat processing company just south of Malmo in Southern Sweden. Skane Erik distributes its products nationwide and is growing steadily, trying to increase its sales by adding value to traditional products, introducing new products and entering new markets in other countries. The company has invested a lot of money and time in order to achieve these goals.

Japanese automobile manufacturers have maintained global competitiveness in the past by providing high quality, low cost vehicles. Recently, however, the strength of the yen and a recovering U.S. automobile industry has put the Japanese automobile export market in a precarious position.

Exporting today is a highly skilled and professional operation. To be successful in this field requires an adequate and cost effective organization designed to enlarge the company product market share overseas. Above all, the exporting results must be profitable and, accordingly, it is most desirable that the export personnel are of a high calibre, with language proficiency, adequately qualified and rewarded, to attain this objective.

In this chapter we consider packaging development, starting at the beginning and considering the objectives from the point of view of either a new package for an old product or a new package for a new product.

The focus of this study is on the support services offered by private and public institutions in Italy to small and medium-sized export firms. Previous research in this area has focused on the internationalization of Italian SMFs and the availability of export support services.

Based on a survey of Scottish food and drink companies, this chapter provides empirical evidence on the use and managerial evaluation of a wide range of export assistance bodies and the services they offer. The results show (1) which export promotion bodies are most frequently approached for assistance, (2) which bodies are perceived to be most/ least helpful, (3) which particular forms of export assistance are most frequently used by food & drink exporters and (4) which forms of export assistance offered by export promotion bodies are rated as being of high/ low quality. In addition, it is investigated whether differences exist between exporting firms which receive some form of assistance from export promotion organisations and those which do not. The implications of the findings for providers of export promotion are discussed and policy recommendations are made.

This chapter deals with the strengths and weaknesses of the Netherlands’ public export promotion and assistance efforts. According to several surveys the respondents’ expectations often exceeded what the government had to offer.

As LDC’s turn from inward focused to export oriented development, nontraditional exports have taken on added significance. This chapter examines LDC export marketing problems and practices from a policy point of view. Costa Rican exporters regard marketing problems as their most serious concerns. However, exporters’ means of gathering information about target markets, and their own choice of marketing strategies, raise serious concerns. Moreover, distinct approaches to export marketing are not evolving as firms become more experienced. It is suggested that export promotion organizations must become more involved in “marketing” marketing, if export-led development strategies are to succeed.

The worldwide production of Brassica oilseed crops, which include rapeseed/canola, is expanding faster than that of any other annual oilseed crop. As of 1987, the Brassica oilseeds were the third most important world source of edible oil after soybean and palm. Today, Canada grows 7–8 million acres of canola, and canola is Canada’s main source of edible oil with 61% of the market. Recently, canola quality has led to the development of a significant export market for oil and meal in the United States. Other countries are now poised to make the conversion from rapeseed to canola quality. With the 1991 harvest, the European Economic Community (EEC) will only pay support prices for seed that is of canola quality. Sweden is already well along in its conversion, and Australia and Chile are expected to convert to canola varieties in the near future.

Pathological diseases of fruits and vegetables can be reduced to a certain extent by maintaining the natural resistance of the host, low temperature storage, low oxygen atmospheres, and treatment with growth regulators that delay senescence. However, these beneficial practices may not adequately protect the crop from microbial attack, especially during prolonged storage or movement of the crop through export market channels. This is particularly true for crops of tropical origin such as bananas, sweet potatoes and lemons, that suffer physiological injury at the near-freezing temperatures that are required to inhibit growth of fungi over an extended period of time. The maximum storage life of many fresh fruits and vegetables can be realized only by treating the product with an antifungal agent before storage in an optimal environment. The antimicrobial treatment is not a substitute for a satisfactory storage environment, since these agents rarely influence the rate of physiological deterioration of the fresh product. However, the antimicrobial agent is most efficient when the host possesses intrinsic resistance to infection and the environmental conditions are least favorable for the growth of the pathogen.