The Matthew Company makes ice cream manufacturing equipment and wants to expand its sales overseas. Last years sales in the United States amounted to over $50 million. Last week, you attended a conference in Seattle on trade opportunities for American firms in the Pacific Rim nations. You heard a foreign trade expert speak about her trip to these nations. At your invitation, the expert visited the firms officers. She recommended that the firm establish an export department to conduct trade with foreign firms. In addition, she recommended that the firm contact the international Monetary Fund, the Export-Import Bank, the International Chamber of Commerce, the International Bank for Reconstruction, and the U.S. State Department about opportunities for trading in the Pacific Rim nations.

Hint for Critical Thinking: Ice cream manufacturing equipment is sold to companies who are going to sell ice cream to people who have money and the desire to buy ice cream. Hence I need to know where people are. Hence, one of the statistics I need is the population of each nation bordering on the Pacific Ocean. Where can you obtain the data you listed above? For each item listed I need to provide a source where the data can be found.

First Critical Thinking Hint: I just cant say the Internet or the library. There are too many publications there. So I better find a specific URL or publication. Better use Google or another search engine.

Required:

1. List the statistics and data you need to obtain in order to identify the most profitable overseas markets (nations). Remember that a market is made up of people who are willing and able to purchase and use a product. In this assignment that product to be consumed is ice cream, which would be made by people who purchase your machines. (Examples: Do people in this country eat dairy products or is this not allowed due to a religious belief? Religion could be a consideration. Can the people in this country afford to buy ice cream? Ice cream might be a luxury in poorer countries. So what is the median income in this country, or is there a high poverty level?)

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2. Where can you obtain the data you listed above? For each item listed above, provide a source where you can find the data.

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Second Critical Thinking Hint: Markets consist of people with the money and the desire to buy your product. The product is ice creamer. What data do you need to identify which nations have a lot of ice cream eaters?

Your first homework quiz will repeat the above two questions. All you have to do is copy and paste from the Word document you created with the worksheet with your own answers on it.