and views. The Trade Forum is
the only global magazine dealing with trade from a business and
developing country perspective. First published in 1964 and
circulated to 10,000 readers, each issue now is distributed
quarterly to 28,000 readers around the world. The online version
attracts another 40,000 to 60,000 readers each month.
Over its 40-year history, Trade
Forum magazine has helped readers understand and
benefit from the evolving trade environment. Its focus on trade
development through practical information and analysis of trade
development trends gives Trade
Forum a unique flavour. Articles over the years
have been diverse - from market opportunities for agricultural
machinery, pet accessories, organic foods and back office
operations to topics such as business advocacy for trade
negotiations, the role of trade promotion organizations and many
others.
Practical help
Trade Forum magazine is part of
ITC's technical cooperation programme to help the developing world
improve its trade competitiveness in a changing global marketplace.
Trade promotion organizations, industry associations, government
ministries, development cooperation agencies, universities,
journalists, businesses and non-governmental organizations are
regular readers. Over 75% of our print subscribers are from
developing and transition economies. From its very first edition,
the magazine has been issued in English, French and Spanish.
1964 Not just a debating ground
The first issue of
Trade Forum
promised that "its particular endeavour will be to provide
practical help to developing countries in their efforts to expand
their export trade.
"The
Trade Forum [is not]
designed to be just a debating ground for questions of
international economic policy. Primarily - as its name implies - it
hopes to be a meeting place for people interested in promoting
trade, in particular the export trade of the developing countries,
and a medium for the exchange of ideas and information between
buyers and sellers."
Forty years on, we are still meeting this challenge.
| Just before the first edition of the magazine went to
press, a cable from London "stopped press": the British Board of
Trade was offering training courses in export promotion for
officials from developing countries. From the beginning, helping
trade officials and business people gain knowledge and skills was a
priority for ITC, andTrade Forum has reflected
this in many training articles since then. |  |
1974 Practical tips... and views
| Listening to voices from the field is what keeps ITC
relevant.Trade Forum reports on views from
around the world to help developing and transition economies share
experiences, concerns and lessons. Trends in national export
promotion activities continue to be a regular Trade
Forum feature. |  |
| Practical information to help small firms increase
exports - such as tips on finding the best distributors - is
whatTrade Forum has a reputation for. |
1984 Tailored market opportunities
| When selling "lifestyle" goods to sophisticated
markets, staying in touch with consumer preferences and changing
fashions is a must. In 1984,Trade Forum advised
developing country exporters of wooden furniture to the United
States and Western Europe to concentrate on living and dining room
articles, as tastes in these items were similar in both
regions. | 
|
| South-South trade is a way for firms in poor countries
with limited international experience to move into
exporting.Trade Forum magazine has helped
promote trade between developing countries for many years, for
example through specialized market studies. There are important
markets for South-South trade in a wide range of sectors, from
agricultural machinery to newspapers and aid supplies. |
1994 Quality, essential to compete
Paying attention to product quality and buyers'
requirements is essential to export successfully, as this article
on the market for dehydrated vegetables underlines. Quality is
important in all sectors: unless producers can comply with market
standards, they won't be competitive and win greater market share,
even if demand grows. Over the years,Trade Forum
has reported on many aspects of meeting standards in export
markets.
| 
|
2004 Maintaining tradition... still innovating
In recent years, we've taken a different approach to fulfilling
our mission of "practical help", while maintaining our tradition of
providing leads and contacts for readers. With issues like
Greening Your Business, Trade Law Gets Down to Business, Trade
Talks: Is Business on Board?, Putting "E" to Work and
Women in the Global Economy, we provide in-depth reporting
on important themes in trade development today. Articles from
partner organizations and experts in these areas, as well as from
ITC, bring a more rounded coverage of the issues.
Readers glancing through recent ITC News inTrade Forum will see that "best practices" in export
strategy and tools and services for developing country exporters
remain ITC's focus, though methods to deliver assistance may have
changed. Regional meetings, stronger partnerships with local
institutions and electronic market analysis tools have become the
norm.
In the first issue of 2004, a first-time
Trade
Forum magazine report from the World Economic Forum's
annual meeting shows that at 40 years old, we're still
innovating.
Forum online
The first web version of the magazine was available in 1999. We've
refined the site constantly, and we'll be launching a new re-design
later this year that makes it even easier to find trade development
information.
The online version receives between 40,000 and 60,000
visits a month from 140 countries, 100 of which are developing or
transition economies.
In 2003, the magazine site attracted 30% of readers from
developing countries - that's almost three times the rate of
developing country Internet users worldwide. The ratio of
developing country visitors to the Spanish site was even higher -
almost 60%. The fastest-growing category of sites linking to the
Forum site are educational institutions.
Natalie Domeisen (domeisen@intracen.org) has
been the Editor of Trade Forum magazine
since 1998.