:00:00. > :00:00.peninsula. It is being seen as a strengthening of relations between
:00:00. > :00:18.Beijing and Seoul. Now, it is time for World Business Report.
:00:19. > :00:27.A lifeline for the low paid, or a drag on the economy? Germany set to
:00:28. > :00:33.vote through a minimum wage after serious debate. Plus, from the
:00:34. > :00:40.farmer's field straight to the dustbin, we look at India's food
:00:41. > :00:46.waste problem. Welcome to World Business Report. Also in the
:00:47. > :00:51.programme, a $230 billion trading relationship. We will also talk to
:00:52. > :01:00.the implications of china's president, Xi Jinping, visiting
:01:01. > :01:03.South Korea. First of all, is it a vital safety net and a boost for the
:01:04. > :01:07.economy, or a recipe for uncompetitiveness? Arguments have
:01:08. > :01:10.been fierce on both sides, but later today Germany is set to introduce a
:01:11. > :01:14.national minimum wage in a bill that is expected to pass through
:01:15. > :01:17.Parliament with a strong majority. It will be phased in from the
:01:18. > :01:22.beginning of next year, and eventually benefit more than 5
:01:23. > :01:25.million low`paid German workers. Let's have a quick look at some of
:01:26. > :01:32.the figures. Germany's minimum wage will be reviewed every year, but it
:01:33. > :01:39.will start at 8 euros 50 per hour. That is more generous than debt in
:01:40. > :01:44.Britain, where it is ?6.31, or 7.91 euros per hour. That will go up in
:01:45. > :01:46.the UK in October. It is a full euro lower than what you will get in
:01:47. > :01:54.France, where the minimum wage at the moment is 9.53 euros per hour.
:01:55. > :02:00.Let's speak to Steve Evans in Berlin. I assume the vast majority
:02:01. > :02:07.of people in Germany are for this move? The opinion polls show large
:02:08. > :02:11.majorities in favour, but if you ask people if they should go up, they
:02:12. > :02:14.will say yes. The bigger argument will be whether it will hurt
:02:15. > :02:21.Germany's competitiveness in the long run. What the unions say is
:02:22. > :02:27.that it is still substantially lower than the going rate in many
:02:28. > :02:31.industries, and that the industries that will benefit are not those
:02:32. > :02:37.industries which trade competitively across borders. Hairdressing, for
:02:38. > :02:46.example, is notoriously poorly paid in pretty well every country. It is
:02:47. > :02:50.industries like security guards, and trade industries, that they say will
:02:51. > :02:58.benefit. The argument on the other side is that any rise in wages in
:02:59. > :03:03.one part of industry then moves through industry is everyone raises
:03:04. > :03:07.their prices. The convocation to this argument is that there are lots
:03:08. > :03:10.of people saying that German wages should go up anyway, just to
:03:11. > :03:15.reinflate the economy. The eurozone economy still has very high
:03:16. > :03:22.unemployment, and a bit of inflation wouldn't go amiss. It is a complex
:03:23. > :03:26.argument that has played out, because the conversation in the
:03:27. > :03:29.government has been split on this. Having said that, it will go through
:03:30. > :03:33.Parliament. What our business leaders saying about this?
:03:34. > :03:37.Presumably small and medium`size companies, this could be quite tough
:03:38. > :03:43.to put this in place in their companies. Business leaders say what
:03:44. > :03:50.they always say when there is a minimum wage. They set it in Britain
:03:51. > :03:55.ten years ago, they say it will cost jobs, it will be anti`competitive.
:03:56. > :03:59.The argument is always where you pitch it. If you pitch it so low it
:04:00. > :04:06.is below the going rate, it will have no effect. If you pitch it very
:04:07. > :04:13.high than it has a big effect. It will be phased in for some
:04:14. > :04:19.industries, for example, and interns will be exempted, and also young
:04:20. > :04:27.people starting out on their careers. Thank you very much indeed.
:04:28. > :04:32.As we get news that going through Parliament in Germany, we will you.
:04:33. > :04:40.Now, let's speak to Sharanjit Leyl. As you have heard, prime ministers
:04:41. > :04:47.Xi Jinping has arrived in South Korea.
:04:48. > :04:56.The economic relationship is crucial, likely to be very high on
:04:57. > :05:02.the agenda. A huge business delegation is travelling with Xi
:05:03. > :05:08.Jinping. This will elevate the crucial trade ties between Beijing
:05:09. > :05:13.and Seoul, and a break with tradition in that he will be
:05:14. > :05:15.visiting Seoul ahead of Zhong Yang. That highlights just how important
:05:16. > :05:22.the business relationship is `` Pyongyang. He will attend a business
:05:23. > :05:31.forum, where a huge business delegation is coming along, meeting
:05:32. > :05:35.senior management from companies like Samsung and LG. They are also
:05:36. > :05:39.likely to talk about a string of agreements, but direct training
:05:40. > :05:44.between the currencies `` trading. That could boost trade ties between
:05:45. > :05:49.the two countries. We know that trade between the countries tops
:05:50. > :05:56.more than $270 billion, and foreign investment is about a quarter of
:05:57. > :06:00.that, at around 57 billion. There are talks about a bilateral free
:06:01. > :06:05.trade agreement, and they are said to be close to an agreement, but
:06:06. > :06:10.analysts say it won't likely happen on this trip, because there are
:06:11. > :06:21.sticking points, particularly in the agricultural sector.
:06:22. > :06:24.Throughout the week, we have been highlighting the issue of food
:06:25. > :06:28.waste, and what can be done to address it. Industrialised countries
:06:29. > :06:33.waste roughly twice as much food as developing countries, but plenty of
:06:34. > :06:42.food is still lost in those developing nations. Usually it is
:06:43. > :06:46.because of a lack of proper storage and transport as foodies moved from
:06:47. > :06:53.the farm to the market. This means losses for farmers and higher prices
:06:54. > :07:01.for consumers. We look at what is being done to try to tackle this
:07:02. > :07:04.problem. This is one of Asia's largest
:07:05. > :07:07.wholesale markets. It is in the Indian capital. Truckloads of
:07:08. > :07:14.produce a here every day to be auctioned and sold at the best
:07:15. > :07:16.prices. This man has driven eight hours from a village in a
:07:17. > :07:22.neighbouring state, bringing his harvest of potatoes. It is a long
:07:23. > :07:30.trip that might earn him as much as $3000. But he says he has no other
:07:31. > :07:34.choice. TRANSLATION: Once we harvest our vegetables, we just don't know
:07:35. > :07:38.what to do with them. We need to sell them fast or they are just
:07:39. > :07:42.going to rot. We don't have large markets in the village, so I have to
:07:43. > :07:48.pay for them to be transported all the way to Delhi. More food is
:07:49. > :07:52.brought here than ever before to feed India's hungry cities. But
:07:53. > :07:56.conditions here haven't really changed in the last few decades.
:07:57. > :08:00.This reflects one of the biggest threats to India's food security.
:08:01. > :08:03.Improper storage means that nearly 14% of what the country produces
:08:04. > :08:12.perishes before even reaching consumers. Despite being the world's
:08:13. > :08:15.second`largest grower of fruits and vegetables, India throws away fresh
:08:16. > :08:26.produce worth about $7 billion every year. This is one solution, India
:08:27. > :08:33.has just over 6000 are still it is like this. `` facilities like this.
:08:34. > :08:37.Only a fraction of what it actually needs. Providing technology for
:08:38. > :08:45.climate controlled warehouses is proving to be a good business for
:08:46. > :08:54.companies. The price of milk per litre potentially could go down by
:08:55. > :08:57.20 to 40% if wastage was reduced. For fruit and vegetables, prices
:08:58. > :09:01.could be halved potentially, so for a country, as I said earlier, of 1.2
:09:02. > :09:03.billion people, if you can bring down pricing it is good for
:09:04. > :09:09.everyone. India's inability to keep much of what it produces edible
:09:10. > :09:11.means many are left hungry. Unless India invests in modern warehouses
:09:12. > :09:14.and cool trucks, or perhaps tempting foreign retail giants to make the
:09:15. > :09:32.investment for them, the problems of hunger and high food prices will
:09:33. > :09:36.only get worse. Copper business stories, the European Central bank
:09:37. > :09:39.is expected to take no new action when it meets today, after
:09:40. > :09:42.announcing a raft of stimulus measures last month, including
:09:43. > :09:47.cutting deposit interest rates to below zero. Investors will be
:09:48. > :09:56.looking for any hints large`scale money printing or quantitive easing
:09:57. > :10:00.could be the next step. Monthly payroll data out early in the US
:10:01. > :10:05.because of the Independence Day holiday should show that they
:10:06. > :10:10.created around 230,000 new jobs last month. That would be a fifth
:10:11. > :10:19.straight month of good job gains above 200,000. It is the positive
:10:20. > :10:23.sentiment about the US economy that has been boosting markets.
:10:24. > :10:49.sentiment about the US economy that has The Dow and the SSP closed up.
:10:50. > :10:50.The NHS in England may need an additional ?4 billion per year