BUSINESS BRIEFS
Study: Business costly in Honolulu
Advertiser Staff and News Services
Honolulu was rated the most expensive mid-sized U.S. city in which to do business, according to a study released yesterday by consulting firm KPMG LLP.
KPMG's 2008 Competitive Alternatives study measured 27 significant cost components that are most likely to vary by location, including labor, taxes, real estate and utilities as they applied to 17 industries, over a 10-year planning horizon. Data on a variety of non-cost competitive factors also were compared.
"The study enables companies to perform a 'quick scan' of jurisdictions to determine which can offer a cost-competitive business environment," according to KPMG.
The study compared 18 cities with populations ranging from 500,000 to 1.5 million. On a scale in which 100 represented the average, Honolulu had an index number of 115.
Little Rock, Ark., which was ranked as the least costly city, had an index reading of 93.4.
MAUI PINE MOVING BACK TO HONOLUA
Maui Pineapple Co. is moving its center of production back to Honolua, the place where the company started a century ago as Baldwin Packers, the Maui News reported.
The terrain and weather are more favorable in Honolua for the Maui Gold fresh cut pineapples grown by the company. The elevation is also lower, which also helps Maui Gold.
The company's mainstay pineapple used to be Champaka, a variety often used for canned pineapples. But Maui Pineapple stopped selling canned pineapples last year.
The pineapple company developed the Maui Gold hybrid in the 1980s after 60 years of plant breeding, field observations, and evaluations. Sales began in 1996.
Darren Strand, Maui Pine's director of farming operations, says Champaka can be grown anywhere but Maui Gold is more sensitive to growing conditions.
VEGETABLE HARVEST SEES SLIGHT DROP
Hawai'i's vegetable harvest was expected to have declined slightly in February from January, according to the local office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.
Out of 11 selected crops, harvests were expected to have decreased for five crops and increased for four crops. Harvests for two crops were expected to have been unchanged.
The biggest decreases were expected for head lettuce and sweet corn, which fell by an estimated 60 percent and 58 percent respectively. The biggest increase were expected for dry onions and snap beans, which rose by an estimated 300 percent and 57 percent respectively.
WIND PROGRAM ON MAUI IN WORKS
Gov. Linda Lingle yesterday announced a public-private partnership to establish a wind technology program on Maui as part of the administration's ongoing efforts to increase Hawai'i's energy independence.
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory, the nation's primary laboratory for energy efficiency and renewable energy research and development, today signed a memorandum of understanding with UPC Wind to establish a Remote Research Affiliate Partner Site at UPC Wind's Kaheawa Wind Farm on Maui.
It is the first such partner site for the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's wind technology program outside of its base in Colorado.
This latest partnership expands on the Hawai'i Clean Energy Initiative that was initiated between the State of Hawai'i and the U.S. Department of Energy in January, which aims to have 70 percent of Hawai'i's energy come from clean, renewable sources by 2030.
