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Herbal/traditional products are generally regarded relatively highly by Dutch consumers due to the long-standing presence of national brands such as Anta Flu (Pervasco BV) and the high level of health literacy among consumers with regards to herbal extracts and medicinal plants. This is also amplified by the growing distrust among consumers for big pharmaceutical companies and the way they are perceived to "sell" health. This phenomenon can also be related to the economic crisis that has led many to question consumerism and seek a more "natural" and simple lifestyle. The herbal/traditional products category fits into this as the products tend to be accessible in terms of price and many have been used for generations.

Total visitor numbers grew by 2% in 2013, which was by far the strongest performance since 2007 in fact. This did not translate into especially strong calculated sales figures, however, as many tourists were enticed by discounted deals, offered on sites such as Groupon and Living Social, and there remained a number of very popular free attractions in Ireland, which performed strongly throughout the year. Nevertheless, the overall revenue from tourist attractions grew, which was also for the first time since 2007.

Rheonix, Inc. (Rheonix) is a diagnostic system developer. The company develops patented Rheonix CARD system and EncompassMDx instrument. Its Rheonix CARD system manipulates reagents with an internal active fluidized network of pumps, valves and channels. Rheonix performs molecular techniques such as sample preparation, amplification and detection. The company's EncompassMDx instrument combines unique technology and industry standard automation components in order to bring new diagnostic tests to the market. Its elements include liquid handler with disposable pipette tips, bulk reagent packages, drive components, hybridization heaters, barcode reader and imager. The company also has office in Grand Island. Rheonix is headquartered in Ithaca, New York, the US.

Baby and child-specific products saw a positive performance in 2013, as marketing activities and the rising baby population helped to drive sales. As the category became more competitive, producers drove their brands with increased marketing activities, which helped to create awareness of the benefits of baby and child-specific products. Furthermore, the year-on-year growth in the baby population also contributed to the increase in value sales, due to new consumers entering the market.

The increasing urban population resulted in growing sales of retail tissue products in each year of the review period. Despite this, consumers do not perceive napkins, kitchen towels or paper tableware to be essential products for the home, but sales of retail tissue are set to continue growing over the forecast period. This is due to changes in consumer habits, increasing urbanisation and growing incomes.

Data usage is expected to be one of the key drivers for H ong Kong's telecoms sector over the next few years. The Hong Kong government is actively promoting the territory as a regional hub for data centres, and BMI believes Hong Kong has the right characteristics to attract data centre investments, given its safe business environment, reliable power supply and highly educated workforce. Telecoms operators benefit from the usage of their network infrastructure when demand for data centres increase. For the mobile sector, operators are looking to upgrade users to higher value 3G/4G service plans to offset the loss of voice and SMS revenues to free messaging applications.

Travel retail had an excellent year in 2013, with growth being fuelled by rising demand for air transportation, which accounted for 95% of total value sales. Flight sales recorded the fastest retail value sales growth in travel retail in 2013, with current value sales rising by a remarkable 450%.

The Romania IT market is forecast outperform the majority of its peers as a result of a strong economic recovery and its position as a regional centre for skilled IT professionals. We forecast total IT market spending will increase to RON 5.4 bn in 2014, growth of 9.1% in local currency terms from 2013. Over the medium term i ncome growth will support the retail hardware market , while improvements to telecommunications infrastructure is forecast to accelerate the development of Romania as an outsourcing and cloud computing market. However, r egional economic and security instability could derail this bullish outlook, but the wider region could also drive the market to a higher growth trajectory.

This report is the result of Timetric's extensive market research covering the construction wood market in Greece. It contains detailed historic and forecast market value data for the construction wood market and its categories (solid wood and wood-based panels), including data by domestic production, supply balance, existing stock, imports and exports. 'Construction Wood in Greece to 2018: Market Databook' provides an overview and insight into the operating environment of the construction wood industry in Greece. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Greek construction value chain and for new players who are considering entering the market.

The key event is that PET packaging will remain on the market. The Customs Union will not impose a ban on PET packaging for beer. The Kazakh side insisted on the introduction of the ban. The main argument in favour of the ban is large capacity PET packaging, which is an indirect factor stimulating the spread of alcoholism. Also, PET packaging is not considered safe by some consumers. However, nowadays modern PET bottles are made ??in compliance with all safety requirements. In Belarus, PET...

Some brands are not widely sold through hypermarkets or supermarkets, such as Japlo from Takaso Rubber Products and Hana from Hana Corp (M). These brands are sold in more-rural areas and some minimarkets as these types of products do not generate a high turnover for their companies compared with other tissue products, such as boxed facial tissues. Towards the end of the review period, some cotton products imported from other countries, such as China, began to be sold through hypermarkets and supermarkets.

2013 was a challenging year for alcoholic drinks manufacturers across the market, but especially for beer, as a consequence of the negative macro-economic factors as well as unpredictable ones, like the poor climate conditions seen during the year. Macro-economic factors include decreasing purchasing power amongst low-income consumers, high inflation on food and beverages, timid GDP growth, as well as a population more indebted with durable products. Consequently, total volume declined in 2013,...

This report is the result of Timetric's extensive market research covering the construction wood market in Argentina. It contains detailed historic and forecast market value data for the construction wood market and its categories (solid wood and wood-based panels), including data by domestic production, supply balance, existing stock, imports and exports. 'Construction Wood in Argentina to 2018: Market Databook' provides an overview and insight into the operating environment of the construction wood industry in Argentina. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Argentinian construction value chain and for new players who are considering entering the market.

"Baby Food Chile" is a new report by ERC that analyzes the Baby Food industry demand prospects in Chile, key segments, features & developments, future projections based on various trends. This report also examines trends which are currently affecting the industry. Furthermore, it profiles various companies in the Baby Food industry in Chile along with the foreign trade involving the Baby Food industry.

Consumers are often more likely to seek a doctor's advice for dermatological disorders, thus typically opting for Rx medicines. This is mainly due to the taboo nature of many dermatological ailments. Many consumers are unwilling to discuss issues such as fungal infections, lice infestation or haemorrhoids with pharmacists, due to the public nature of chemists/pharmacies.

Exosome Diagnostics, Inc. (Exosome Diagnostics) is a diagnostic company. The company develops biofluid-based molecular diagnostic tests and products for use in personalized medicine. Exosome Diagnostics offers kit for BioFluid RNA purification, EXO50 kit for plasma, EXO60 kit for cerebro spinal fluid, and EXO70 kit for urine. The company provides miRNA profiling, mRNA profiling, mutation detection, and custom assay development services. The company's technology is used in the treatment of brain cancer, prostate cancer, and Alzheimer's disease. Exosome Diagnostics is headquartered in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the US.

The biggest growth area in Saudi Arabia's telecoms market is high-value services for corporate and individual customers. This view is supported by operators' fi nancial and operational results which show a strong uptake of next generation mobile and wireline data services as well as convergence services. The major service providers will focus on these areas in the future as they look to offset the impact of stagnating mobile subscriptions growth owing to market saturation and increased regulatory scrutiny of SIM card registration and ownership.

Demand for bath and shower products in Belarus keeps increasing due to the increasing awareness about personal hygiene. Key bath and shower products are considered as essential by the vast majority of consumers in Belarus. Key products are used regularly, as part of a daily hygiene routine in almost every household. Additionally, key bath and shower players continue to invest in innovations and promotions, which help to increase the frequency of usage as well as to expand the consumer base. Consumers in Belarus enjoy a wide variety of bath and shower products, suitable for all preferences and, as prices vary, bath and shower products are accessible to consumers from all income groups.

With the economy still below full recovery, consumers are seeking ways to accessorise themselves without purchasing expensive personal accessories. The compromise was apparel accessories such as belts, hats, and scarves. The latter recorded the current fastest growth of 3% in 2013. Using a scarf is the best method to coordinate as it comes in diverse patterns and fabrics. Pashminas were also popular, being worn in a fashionable manner.

This report is the result of Timetric's extensive market research covering the roofing products market in the UAE. It contains detailed historic and forecast market value data for the roofing products market and its categories (clay roofing products, slate tiles and bitumen roofing felts), including data by domestic production, supply balance, existing stock, imports and exports. 'Roofing Products in the UAE to 2018: Market Databook' provides an overview and insight into the operating environment of the roofing products industry in the UAE. It is an essential tool for companies active across the UAE construction value chain and for new players who are considering entering the market.

Over the last few years of the review period, drinking whisky has become an important trend amongst consumers, especially young adults, who are entering the category either because they perceive whiskies as an aspirational category with more social status, or due to health and wellness trends which support the drinking of whisky as a lower-calorie alcoholic drink. This trend has become so popular that it is common to hear that in many diets whisky and tequila are allowed. These trends have...

Overall, we believe there is the most potential for growth in Brazil's soybean, livestock/dairy and coffee segments over the medium term. This is because of a shift in food consumption growth towards Asia for these items, while demand growth from traditional buyers will be subdued. We are more cautious about the sugar cane sector as a whole, as mills are suffering from low profitability linked to low global sugar prices and heavy debt burdens. Only the ethanol industry will encourage cane production growth, but it is still unclear if the government will continue to see biofuels as a priority in its energy mix in the medium term. In the short term, recurring weather concerns linked to climate will pose downside risks to all our forecasts over the coming years and to global prices as the country is such a significant exporter.

Two of Russia's major ports - the port of St Petersburg, Russia's main box facility, and the port of Novorossiysk, one of the country's largest ports in terms of total throughout - are set to hold their respective positions in Russia's maritime sector in 2014. Although we expect Russia's consumer story to remain attractive over the next few years, bouying container throughput growth at the country's ports, economic growth will be modest in 2014 and 2015 as the main driver of growth over the past decade - household consumption - continues to weaken, with the impact of Western sanctions adding to a structural slowdown in household lending in recent quarters, as banks started to ramp up loan-loss provisioning and the authorities took steps to rein in unsecured household lending.

This report is the result of Timetric's extensive market research covering the plaster and lime products market in Finland. It contains detailed historic and forecast market value data for the plaster and lime products market and its categories (plasterboard, plasters, gypsum and lime products), including data by domestic production, supply balance, existing stock, imports and exports. 'Plaster and Lime Products in Finland to 2018: Market Databook' provides an overview and insight into the operating environment of the plaster and lime products industry in Finland. It is an essential tool for companies active across the Finnish construction value chain and for new players who are considering entering the market.

The Caribbean region is returning to sustained growth, with all countries expecting tourist arrivals to increase in 2014 and 2015 . However, this is expected to remain below pre-2007 trend growth, with regional arrivals now averaging about 3.0% annual growth. Nonetheless, we expect that improving growth prospects will encourage greater investment in the region, particularly in the hotel sector.