This much-needed book brings together a wealth of information--most of which is presented in English for the first time--on a wide range of tropical fruit crops with economic potential in South-East Asia. The book begins with background data on the ecosystems and production systems that exist throughout the region. Detailed descriptions of the classification, characteristics, development, and propagation of tropical fruits follow, along with an examination of orchard establishment techniques and management. The book also focuses on the structural characteristics of tropical fruit crops and on the development of major commercial enterprises that serve both the domestic and international markets. It goes on to detail problems facing the industry as a whole, describing remedial measures--such as pest control, plant protection against diseases, weed control, drainage and irrigation, post-harvest technology, and mechanization--that can counter setbacks now and in the future. Finally, the book reviews issues that will play a major role in South-East Asian tropical fruit production in the twenty-first century. Copiously illustrated and extremely wide-ranging, The Production of Economic Fruits in South-East Asia is required reading for all students, specialists, commercial producers, and rural development specialists interested in the subject.

Bill Pritchard provides an important update on how current trade methodologies are implemented as China becomes one of the world’s largest fresh fruit importers from countries such as Laos, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam.

This book answers the recently topical questions of how China’s processed trade affects the trade of Southeast Asia. What is Southeast Asia’s role in Factory Asia, the region’s complex of cross-border supply chains? What is Southeast Asia’s involvement in building or joining production networks in the region? And, most important, how can Southeast Asia increase the value added of its products and improve its competitiveness? This book provides rigorous analysis of how trade policy affects value added, highly disaggregated at the firm and product level, of the six Southeast Asian countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Viet Nam – and combines this with thorough examinations of their trade, industrial and labour policies.

To millions of people in the world, rice is the center of existence, especially in Asia, where more than 90 percent of the world's rice is grown. This book is about the trends and changes that have occurred in the Asian rice economy since World War II, but particularly since the introduction of new varieties of rice and modern technology in the mid-1960s. Although there is now a vast amount of literature and statistical data on various aspects of the subject, no single comprehensive treatment has previously been prepared. The Rice Economy of Asia not only provides such a treatment but also presents a clear picture of some of the critical issues dealing with productivity and equity --- as a glance at the table of contents will show. In addition to 18 chapters, there are an extensive bibilography, 150 tables, and 50 charts. The volume, as a whole, should be interesting and useful to decisionmakers at national and international levels, to professionals, and to students of development.

Over the past few decades, the agricultural sector of Southeast Asia has experienced robust growth and undergone a structural transformation albeit differentially across the countries in the region. The main aims of this paper are to understand the process of transformation and sources of growth in agriculture in the broader context of economy-wide changes in domestic and international markets, and to suggest technological, institutional and policy measures for faster, efficient and sustainable growth. Our findings show faster growth in agriculture in comparatively low-income countries, with technological change, area expansion and diversification being the main drivers. On the other hand, agricultural growth in high-income countries has been relatively slow, and driven by price increases, mainly of the export-oriented commercial crops, such as oil-palm, rubber and coconut; and also, by area expansion. In view of the fixed supply of land and high volatility in global food prices, area and price driven growth is unlikely to sustain in the long-run. For efficient, sustainable and inclusive growth, the recourse has to be with exploiting potential of (i) existing and frontier technologies, by investing more in agricultural research and extension systems, and (ii) diversification of production portfolio towards higher-value food commodities by strengthening institutions that link farmers to remunerative markets; and investing in post-harvest infrastructure for food processing.