Business Daily

Could growing genetically modified mustard be the answer to oil shortages in India? Each year India spends billions of dollars importing 70 percent of its cooking oil from other countries like Argentina, Malaysia and Brazil. We speak to a farmer struggling to make a profit growing un-modified mustard crops. We also explore the debate in India around genetically modified food crops and speak to one farmer already growing genetically modified cotton. Presenter / producer: Devina Gupta Image: Cotton farmer Ganesh Nanote; Credit: Ganesh Nanote

How Peru went from having virtually no blueberry plantations to being the world's top exporter in just ten years. In this episode Stefania Gozzer visits a plantation in the region of Ica and hears from experts, firms and farmers about the key developments that made blueberries growing such a success, despite Peru’s ongoing political crises. Presenter / producer: Stefania Gozzer Image: Blueberry farmer; Credit: BBC

Why are so many young French people feeling demotivated and quitting their jobs? Sabrina Teresi had a high-paying job as an engineer. She’d studied for years to qualify. She enjoyed the job at first but soon felt demotivated and after 3 years decided to quit. Polls show more and more young workers are struggling to find the energy to do their job, suffering from boredom and quitting their jobs. Is France facing an epidemic of laziness? Or are companies simply not adapting fast enough to new ways of working? Presenter / producer: Joshua Thorpe Image: Sabrina Teresi; Credit: Sabrina Teresi

Increasingly, US companies are 'nearshoring' - moving their operations closer to home. Cities in the north of Mexico, like Monterrey, are seeing a manufacturing boom. We speak to some of the companies who are cashing in, and ask, is this a renaissance that will last? Plus we look at other countries who are trying to get a share of the market. Presenter/producer: Samira Hussain (Image: Truck at the Mexico/US border. Credit: Getty Images)

Non-alcoholic and low alcohol beer is a rapidly growing market, as consumers search for healthy alternatives. Bill Shufelt started Athletic Brewing with his partner, brewmaster John Walker in 2018. Speaking to Dougal Shaw, Bill Shufelt explains how he sees the alcohol free beer market, and describes his 'career change moment'. Presenter/producer Dougal Shaw. (Image: Bill Shufelt at his brewery. Credit: Getty Images)

As the price of food increases, we speak to Muslims to find out how it has affected their Iftar - the fast-breaking evening meal during the holy month of Ramadan. It is often a lavish family meal, but price rises mean that people are having to make changes. We hear from women in Somalia, Canada, Pakistan and the UK who are all facing a slightly different Ramadan, and Eid, this year. Presented by Emb Hashmi with reporting from Ahmed Adan Editors: Carmel O'Grady and Helen Thomas (Photo: Fatuma and her family in Somalia. Credit: BBC)

The South American country is famous for its steaks, ribs, and milanesa. It is the second largest home market for beef in the world, and the fifth biggest exporter. But with soaring inflation, this much loved staple is becoming unaffordable for ordinary people. We look at the country’s love affair with beef and what measures the government is taking to protect it. Producer/presenter: Natalio Cosoy (Image: Porfirio Dávalos at his Friday barbecue. Credit: BBC)

Prices are around 45% more expensive than equivalent trips elsewhere, and it's often cheaper to fly out of the continent and back in. We look at the reasons Africans are paying higher fares for both internal and international flights, the impact this is having on business and tourism, plus the wider impact on the African economy. Producer/ presenter: Rebecca Kesby (Image: A plane on a runway in Nothern Africa. Credit: Getty Images)

Has people using less cash and higher tip suggestions on pay terminals increased expectation on customers? Tipping has a long history in the United States, but there is evidence that the coronavirus pandemic has changed the culture and percentages involved. Presenter Rick Kelsey speaks to waiting staff in New York, travel experts and explores the legal rules around tipping. Presented and produced by Rick Kelsey (Image: Someone placing dollars into a tip jar. Credit: Getty Images)

It sounds like a movie script, like Jurassic Park, but Australian scientists are actually aiming to 'de-extinct' an animal. The Tasmanian Tiger, or Thylacine, became extinct in 1936, nearly 90 years ago. It's native to Australia, and thanks to millions of dollars of funding via a US-based biotech company, Colossal Biosciences, research is underway which could bring it back to life. Sam Clack finds out why the project has attracted funding from a host of celebrity backers and asks whether science fiction could become reality? Produced and presented by Sam Clack. (Image: Tasmanian Tigers. Credit: Getty Images)

How did the musical manage to run for a record breaking 35 years? And why is it closing? As the curtain comes down on the Phantom in New York's famous Broadway theatre district, we look at what this means for the theatre industry. The Phantom of the Opera has played to more than 140 million people around the world, it’s sold 20 million tickets, and been performed in 33 countries. But whilst the global tours will keep going, this weekend the show is closing in New York. Actor Jonathan Roxmouth played the Phantom on a world tour, and tells us about the shows impact across the globe. Matt Rousu is a professor of economics and runs the website ‘Broadway Economics’ - he talks through the fine margins that shows like Phantom operate within. And Kizzy Cox reports from Broadway where she meets fans, speaks to veteran theatre critic Ben Brantley, and talks to Jan Mullen, an orchestra musician who has been with The Phantom of the Opera since it opened in 1986. Presenter/ producer: Izzy Greenfield (Image: Jona

Almost everything electronic is powered by chips. But the global semiconductor industry has been beset by the Covid pandemic, conflict, and economic slowdown. Despite the challenges, it's set to become a trillion-dollar industry by 2030. Alex Bell takes an exclusive look inside one of Europe's biggest chip manufacturing factories - GlobalFoundries' plant in Dresden, Germany - to find out how chipmakers are preparing for the future. Presenter / producer: Alex Bell (Picture: The GlobalFoundries plant in Dresden, Germany. Credit: Getty Images.)

How has stability in Northern Ireland helped businesses? We look at the impact of the peace deal from the perspective of people within Northern Ireland, and outside, and find out how it has helped the development of manufacturing, foreign investment, tourism, and farming. We also hear from the former Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, one of the architects of The Good Friday Agreement. Presented and produced by Russell Padmore. (Image: Former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) and then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern (right). Credit: PA)

How do you make a game with a conservative image more marketable, and more profitable? Chess has been played for centuries, two people facing off over chessboard, but now it’s big business online too. Business Daily’s Dougal Shaw meets the head of World Chess, Ilya Merenzon, to talk about expanding the sport, the opportunities of the digital format, and the challenge of the recent cheating scandals. Produced and presented by Dougal Shaw. (Image: Magnus Carlsen at the Tata Steel Chess Tournament in January 2021. Credit: Getty Images)

The Liberica bean is a species of coffee that growers are hoping will make their crops sustainable in the future as the climate changes. We speak to farmers struggling to grow the most popular coffee plants and taste test a Liberica brew. Presenter / producer: Laura Heighton-Ginns (Image: Martin Kinyua; Credit: Martin Kinyua)

The Khoi and San people, who discovered rooibos tea, have only recently started receiving a share of the industry's multimillion-pound profits. They tell us about their fight to get the money they're owed and we hear from the rooibos farmers who are now having to pay out. We also find out what this deal could mean for other indigenous groups in a similar situation. Presenter: Mohammed Allie Producer: Jo Critcher Image: Princess Chantal Revell from the National Khoi and San Council, drinking rooibos tea; Credit: Princess Chantal Revell

The barcode has become an essential part of the modern world. There are 10 billion barcode scans every day and they are used on products in every country. It started as a few lines drawn in the Florida sand and today it turns 50. It changed the way we shop and trade, without them global supply chains could not function. Presenter / producer: Sam Fenwick Image: Barcode; Credit: Getty Images

As India is poised to overtake China as the world's most populous country, we put questions from World Service listeners to the author of 8 Billion and Counting. Dr Jennifer Sciubba explains how the number of humans is growing in some countries, declining in others, how people are moving around the world and why that matters when it comes to money and work. She also discusses the issue of fertility and birth-rate, and it's close links to factors such as government support and childcare. Presenter: Devina Gupta Producers: Helen Thomas and Carmel O'Grady (Image: A mother and child. Credit: Getty Images)

Japan is the world’s fastest ageing country, nearly 30% of Japan’s population is already over 65. Devina Gupta looks into what the ever decreasing workforce means for businesses in Japan. Many companies are pouring resources into developing advanced robots and artificial intelligence to do human work. Mikio Okumura- president of one of Japan’s largest insurance companies - Sompo Holdings, tells us his company has recently started using AI to analyse complex data to predict the health risks of individuals. Many small and medium businesses owners nearing retirement age are also struggling to find successors. Japan’s trade ministry has warned that by 2025 over half a million profitable businesses could close, costing the economy $165 billion. Tsuneo Watanabe, a director of Nihon M&A Center, a company that specializes in finding buyers for such enterprises tells us how they're trying to solve the problem. Producer / presenter: Devina Gupta Image: Senior citizens advertising in Tokyo; Credit: Getty Images

Bisi Adebayo investigates why so many young, highly skilled people leave Nigeria, known in the country as Japa. Bisi hears from journalist Victoria Idowu who re-located to Canada with her family and a teacher in Lagos who is about to pack her bags and move to the UK. We also hear from an expert in employment data Babajide Ogunsanwo who tells us how much this costs Nigeria and Wale Smart an employer who explains how tricky it is to find and retain staff. Presenter / producer: Bisi Adebayo Image: Graduating students of the American University of Nigeria; Credit: Getty Images