January 16, 2007

International community marks 2007 with upsurge
by Doreen Hemlock, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

These are busy times for South Florida's international business community, with new alliances, business groups and real estate deals.

Some developments:

Fort Lauderdale-based consulting firm Maritime Transport & Logistics Advisors added John Jamian, former acting chief for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration, to its roster of affiliate consultants.

Jamian is a partner in Jamian Fahmy LLC, based in Washington, D.C., and Michigan. He also is president of the Seaway Great Lakes Trade Association.

For information, check www.maritimeadvisors.com.

Yet another African business group has joined the Association of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce in Florida: the Cameroon USA-Chamber of Commerce.

It joins fellow African groups in the association from Nigeria, Ghana, Rwanda, Congo and Togo.

Ariel Ngnitedem, president of the new Cameroon group, also becomes a director of the association, known as ABiCC.

For information, check the Cameroon chamber's Web site at www.cam-usa.us.

Ram Management Co., based in Scarborough, Maine, said it bought two cold-storage facilities in Miami and leased them to Agriflora Group, a fresh flower trading company.

The properties span 80,000 square feet and handle flowers flown into Miami International Airport, the top entry point for flowers into the United States.

Ram has developed properties in Maine, England and Israel, among other locales.

Miami-based Agriflora imports flowers mainly from Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica for U.S. distribution.

>Cosmetics maker Palladio Beauty Group of Hollywood was named U.S. Exporter of the Year in the health and beauty category by the U.S. Commerce Department's export promotion magazine.

Commercial News USA gives exporter awards in 15 categories a year.

Palladio reported $1.9 million in exports in 2005, up 60 percent from the previous year. Exports now account for one-quarter of sales. For information, check www.exporteroftheyear.com.

Riviera Beach attorney Wayne M. Richards is the new chairman of the Port of Palm Beach District Board of Commissioners, elected to a one-year term by fellow members of the five-member port board.

Events

The World Trade Center-Palm Beach is organizing a seminar on import-export from 9 a.m. to noon Jan. 26 at Lincoln College of Technology, 2410 Metrocentre Blvd., Room 113 in West Palm Beach.

For information, call 561-1712-1443 or check www.wtcpalmbeach.com

Miami-Dade Aviation Director José Abreu and Port of Miami Director Bill Johnson will discuss the "State of the Ports" at 4 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Carnival Center for the Performing Arts in Miami.

For information, call organizers at the World Trade Center-Miami at 305-871-7910 or check www.worldtrade.org.

Updates

Global economic growth has peaked, the U.S. dollar will decline sporadically, and U.S. export demand will grow at a moderate pace, according to a new quarterly report from the Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI, based in Arlington, Va.

MAPI economist Cliff Waldman predicts the dollar will remain flat against currencies of industrialized countries in the first quarter 2007 and then decline 7 percent during the second and third quarters.

For information, check www.mapi.net.

Peruvian President Alan Garcia met with U.S. senators Jan. 2 to push for approval of the U.S.-Peru free trade agreement, already passed by Peru's legislature.



Doreen Hemlock can be reached at dhemlock@sun-sentinel.com or 305-810-5009.