THE CONFERENCE PROCEEDINGS - IFEAT

Currently, there are about 1.5 million foreigners in Singapore - making up about 28% of the totalpopulation of 5.3 million. Paul Arrowsmith, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management inSingapore is quoted as saying that: "Singapore is fast becoming an all-round expat destination forcareer progression, financial rewards and quality of life".In the World Bank Doing Business Reports,Singapore ranked number 1 in both the 2013and 2012 reports. In fact, Singapore wasranked 1st for the ease of doing business for 7consecutive years. This is a strong stamp ofrecognition by the World Bank on theimportant role of Singapore as a hub forbusiness and investments. Besides the HSBCSurvey and World Bank Report, Singapore iseasily ranked in the top three in many moreglobal surveys - a great recognition of theglobal status of Singapore in the business andinvestment world.2013 Doing Business Report– World BankSingapore is a preferred residence for many celebrities in the entertainment, electronicand other industries. Thus, Gong Li, a celebrity in her own right, became a Singaporecitizen in 2008.Jet Li, another well-known figure in the entertainment world, became aSingapore citizen together with his family in 2009.Eduardo Saverin, the 30-year-old billionaire co-founder of Facebook Inc.renounced his US citizenship in September 2011 to settle in Singapore.Well, if any of you decide to migrate, you may learn a thing or two fromthese celebrities by choosing Singapore as your final choice!FUNDAMENTAL CONCEPTS OF AGRICULTURAL ECONOMICSBefore I begin the lecture proper on menthol, I would like to touch on a few fundamental conceptsrelated to agricultural economics. These concepts help us to understand better the nature of thementhol business, and why I said earlier that menthol is not an easy business. The three fundamentalconcepts are (i) cost (ii) supply and demand and (iii) imperfect information. I will discuss each ofthese in turn.CostThe concept of cost in agricultural economics, or to farmers, is different from that of manufacturers.To farmers, it's about opportunity cost, which can be defined as the value of the next best activityforgone. Thus, in the case of the Indian farmer, if he decides to plant mint during February ~ May, hemay have to give up planting potatoes. So farmers would choose the crops that give the most monetary6