WEBVTT - U.S.-Iran Pistachio War, China’s ‘Big Sickness’ Problem 0:00:00.440 --> 0:00:02.960 This is Bloomberg Business Week. I'm Carol Masser and I'm 0:00:03.040 --> 0:00:05.480 Jason Kelly. We're here every day bringing you the latest 0:00:05.519 --> 0:00:09.840 news from the world's of business and finance, plus technology, politics, economics, 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.480 all harnessing the power of Bloomberg Business Week reporters and editors, 0:00:13.480 --> 0:00:16.759 not to mention our journalists and analysts more than a 0:00:16.840 --> 0:00:19.520 hundred and twenty countries. You can download Bloomberg Business Week 0:00:19.560 --> 0:00:22.439 on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Bloomberg dot Com. You can also 0:00:22.480 --> 0:00:24.919 listen to our radio show weekdays at two pm Eastern 0:00:25.000 --> 0:00:28.040 only on Bloomberg Radio. Well the risk trade, as you 0:00:28.120 --> 0:00:30.440 just heard from Charlie All thanks to the rapid increase 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:34.440 of the coronavirus and cases specifically outside of China, questions 0:00:34.840 --> 0:00:38.400 continue to linger about how exactly the viruses spread. Infections 0:00:38.640 --> 0:00:41.240 are now emerging in people who have not traveled to 0:00:41.320 --> 0:00:44.239 China or come into contact with confirmed cases. So we 0:00:44.280 --> 0:00:47.280 want to have some clarity about where we are in 0:00:47.320 --> 0:00:50.560 the virus and what the outbreak and the continued outbreak 0:00:50.600 --> 0:00:53.360 of cases outside of China, what it all means. Let's 0:00:53.520 --> 0:00:57.160 bring back Dr Jennifer Nozzo, Senior Scholar at Johns Hopkins 0:00:57.200 --> 0:01:00.520 Center for Health Security, at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. 0:01:00.920 --> 0:01:04.960 Of course, the Bloomberg Public School of Health is UM 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.400 supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, founder, Bloomberg ALP, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. 0:01:08.480 --> 0:01:12.679 Michael Bloomberg, of course to a Democratic presidential candidate. So 0:01:12.800 --> 0:01:15.399 Dr Nes, nice to have you back here on Bloomberg Radio. 0:01:15.760 --> 0:01:18.600 So how do you read this news and what it 0:01:18.640 --> 0:01:23.480 says about where we are in the spread of the virus. Yeah. 0:01:23.560 --> 0:01:25.680 I think the reports that we heard over the weekend 0:01:25.720 --> 0:01:29.640 of UM rise in cases outside in countries outside of 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:33.000 China and among people who haven't traveled to China. UM, 0:01:33.080 --> 0:01:36.160 while obviously worry I'm from a public health standpoint, are 0:01:36.240 --> 0:01:39.720 not unexpected given what we've learned about the virus so far. 0:01:40.840 --> 0:01:43.600 We have known for a while now that this virus 0:01:43.680 --> 0:01:46.600 is capable of spreading quite quickly and quite silently, which 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:49.560 makes it difficult to know at any one point where 0:01:49.560 --> 0:01:53.200 in the world it's transmitting. So that we're seeing UH 0:01:53.440 --> 0:01:56.600 cases in new countries UM kind of tracks with what 0:01:56.640 --> 0:02:01.000 we've expected. And so when do you start to get 0:02:01.040 --> 0:02:03.840 more worried at this point? Doctor knows so because I 0:02:03.880 --> 0:02:07.000 have to say, you know, these Italian cases and everything 0:02:07.000 --> 0:02:08.919 that's going on in in South Korea. I do think that 0:02:09.080 --> 0:02:11.680 is giving people a little bit more pause. And as 0:02:11.760 --> 0:02:15.120 you say, sort of new countries, not a strong link 0:02:15.440 --> 0:02:18.760 maybe any link with some of these cases directly back 0:02:18.760 --> 0:02:22.120 to China or to to Wuhan. What's the next sort 0:02:22.120 --> 0:02:25.360 of worrisome step, just to be honest, Yeah, Well, I 0:02:25.400 --> 0:02:27.560 think one of the things that we've long suspected is 0:02:27.560 --> 0:02:29.600 that a virus like this, it spreads as quickly as 0:02:29.600 --> 0:02:31.359 it does and as silently as it does, that it 0:02:31.400 --> 0:02:33.519 would likely turn up in many parts of the globe. 0:02:33.520 --> 0:02:35.760 And that's why you'll probably hear a lot of discussion 0:02:35.760 --> 0:02:37.360 as of late as to whether or not we're in 0:02:37.360 --> 0:02:41.000 a pandemic. There's a bit of a disagreement among public 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:42.920 health officials as to whether we're in one now, but 0:02:42.960 --> 0:02:44.600 I think it's hard to argue that we won't be 0:02:44.639 --> 0:02:46.600 in one at one point, regardless if you want to 0:02:46.600 --> 0:02:49.840 call what we're seeing uh now a pandemic. And so 0:02:49.880 --> 0:02:53.280 what that means is that countries should expect to see cases. 0:02:53.360 --> 0:02:55.440 And what that will also mean is that they will 0:02:55.440 --> 0:02:58.680 need to shift their focus from just trying to stop 0:02:58.680 --> 0:03:00.960 the virus at their borders of thinking about how best 0:03:01.000 --> 0:03:05.040 to protect their people from the virus that they will experience. UM. 0:03:05.080 --> 0:03:08.680 This situation is obviously quite worrisome given the large numbers 0:03:08.680 --> 0:03:10.720 of deaths that were reported. One of the things I 0:03:10.720 --> 0:03:13.480 think we still need to work out is how many 0:03:13.520 --> 0:03:16.519 infections are out there and then to hold that m 0:03:16.680 --> 0:03:19.240 in balance with the deaths that are reported. It could 0:03:19.400 --> 0:03:21.520 very well be that there are many many more infections 0:03:21.520 --> 0:03:25.959 out there which would bring down our death rate calculations UM. 0:03:25.960 --> 0:03:30.360 But nonetheless, it's a situation that warrants concern and preparedness 0:03:30.360 --> 0:03:33.240 by a government. Well. And what's interesting though, and I 0:03:33.240 --> 0:03:34.880 want to just challenge a little bit if I made 0:03:34.960 --> 0:03:38.080 doctor Noso, is that you know, the markets and investors 0:03:38.080 --> 0:03:40.600 are certainly reading this is something much worse than they 0:03:40.600 --> 0:03:44.360 had thought, maybe on Saturday or on Friday, even though 0:03:44.400 --> 0:03:47.080 we did see stocks flower on Friday, but that wasn't 0:03:47.120 --> 0:03:50.640 surprising ahead of the weekend. So are we missreading this? 0:03:50.640 --> 0:03:53.960 This spread? Is this? You know from a medical perspective, 0:03:54.560 --> 0:03:57.160 did you expect that it was going to spread like 0:03:57.200 --> 0:04:00.920 it is at this point? Yeah? I did, And UM, 0:04:00.960 --> 0:04:03.600 I have long thought that there has been a lot 0:04:03.640 --> 0:04:06.119 of hope UM. And I think some of this hope 0:04:06.160 --> 0:04:09.360 has been echoed by government leaders that this virus could 0:04:09.360 --> 0:04:13.040 be stopped. Um that you know that China's very drastic 0:04:13.080 --> 0:04:16.839 actions would stop transmission there and that countries would respond 0:04:16.920 --> 0:04:19.679 by preventing people from traveling for China and that would 0:04:19.680 --> 0:04:22.479 just put an end to the virus. Those were methods 0:04:22.520 --> 0:04:25.360 that worked, um in two thousand three when we have 0:04:25.440 --> 0:04:28.400 the Stars epidemic. But this virus is quite different than Stars, 0:04:28.440 --> 0:04:31.839 and it's spreading much more quickly and um with mild 0:04:31.920 --> 0:04:35.560 many milder cases, which for me has always signified that 0:04:35.640 --> 0:04:38.479 it would be very difficult to contain. That means stopping 0:04:38.520 --> 0:04:41.200 the spread of the virus entirely. I have long thought 0:04:41.200 --> 0:04:44.000 that we would likely see global spread and that we 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:47.360 should be putting our emphasis on how best to minimize 0:04:47.400 --> 0:04:50.440 the impacts of it from the virus. Well, and DR 0:04:50.480 --> 0:04:52.880 knows that you're you're bringing up a really interesting point 0:04:52.920 --> 0:04:55.479 that that candidly I had I had not really thought 0:04:55.480 --> 0:04:58.320 through and in all these discussions, which is I guess 0:04:58.400 --> 0:05:01.679 if there are many more k is, then then maybe 0:05:01.680 --> 0:05:06.520 previously anticipated, maybe it's not as dangerous and in a 0:05:06.560 --> 0:05:09.479 way that we look at it not as you know, 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.560 this sort of deadly thing that's sweeping across countries, but 0:05:12.760 --> 0:05:15.880 as something that people can be treated for, and that, 0:05:16.040 --> 0:05:18.280 as you say, sort of countries need to get their 0:05:18.400 --> 0:05:22.440 arms around treating rather than containing. Yeah, I think we 0:05:22.480 --> 0:05:24.440 need to get our arms around this because I will 0:05:24.760 --> 0:05:28.119 determine what measures we take. For instance, China has taken 0:05:28.200 --> 0:05:33.839 very aggressive measures which UM and my view has potentially 0:05:33.880 --> 0:05:36.920 exacerbated the toll of the epidemic. They're just in terms 0:05:36.960 --> 0:05:40.160 of the social and economic impacts of it. But obviously 0:05:40.240 --> 0:05:44.520 populations willingness to be um uh subjected to those measures 0:05:44.640 --> 0:05:47.480 might be higher if we thought the violence the virus 0:05:47.600 --> 0:05:50.279 were as deadly as it just seems to be just 0:05:50.320 --> 0:05:53.919 based on the raw numbers that are reported UM. But anyway, 0:05:53.960 --> 0:05:57.760 regardless of what the true you know case UM fatality 0:05:57.760 --> 0:06:01.040 percentages wind up being, UM, just the fact that there 0:06:01.080 --> 0:06:05.120 are so many deaths reported and so many hospitalizations and 0:06:05.160 --> 0:06:07.320 critically ill people that will be a struggle for a 0:06:07.400 --> 0:06:10.760 number of countries. Uh. We know that every flu season, 0:06:11.200 --> 0:06:14.320 hospitals you know across the world are are stressed. And 0:06:14.360 --> 0:06:16.839 then layering on top of this a virus that could 0:06:16.880 --> 0:06:20.880 produce significant levels of UM severe illness, critical illness and 0:06:20.960 --> 0:06:23.560 deaths that will be quite challenging. All right, We're gonna 0:06:23.600 --> 0:06:25.920 leave it on that note. Dr Noso, thank you so much. 0:06:26.000 --> 0:06:29.799 Jennifer nosoh Uh, doctor Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins 0:06:29.839 --> 0:06:32.400 Center for Health Security at the Bloomberg School of Public Health, 0:06:32.480 --> 0:06:34.680 joining us on the phone from Baltimore, and of course 0:06:34.720 --> 0:06:38.039 the Bloomberg School of Public Health supported by Michael R. Bloomberg, Founder, 0:06:38.120 --> 0:06:41.680 Bloomberg LP, Bloomberg Philanthropies of course, all of that home 0:06:41.720 --> 0:06:44.839 to Bloomberg News, Bloomberg Radio, Bloomberg TV. Michael Bloomberg, of 0:06:44.880 --> 0:06:48.800 course a candidate as well for the Democratic presidential nomination. 0:06:49.080 --> 0:06:52.680 You're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol Masser and 0:06:52.800 --> 0:06:57.320 Jason Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. Steep Losses indeed definitely though 0:06:57.360 --> 0:06:59.680 off our loads of the session so far, and it 0:06:59.800 --> 0:07:03.640 all has to do with those increasing concerns about the coronavirus. Uh. 0:07:03.720 --> 0:07:05.920 The worry of course, as we've just heard from Charlie, 0:07:05.960 --> 0:07:09.040 impacting the financial markets. Always great though, to check in 0:07:09.080 --> 0:07:10.880 with members of the corporate community when we have a 0:07:10.880 --> 0:07:13.560 situation like this, especially one that is very much involved 0:07:13.800 --> 0:07:17.760 in the global supply chain, including the Apple supply chain. 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:20.720 In fact, roughly two thirds of this company's revenues come 0:07:21.000 --> 0:07:25.920 from Apple. Dr Jelal bag Early is CEO at Dialogue Semiconductor. 0:07:25.960 --> 0:07:28.880 He joins us on the phone from London. Dr Ba Gearley, 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:32.280 Great to have you here with Jason Kelly and myself. UM, 0:07:32.320 --> 0:07:33.760 I do want to start. We know you did a 0:07:33.800 --> 0:07:36.040 deal recently, Hi, and we'll get to that in a moment, 0:07:36.080 --> 0:07:38.320 But talk to us about this virus and how it's 0:07:38.400 --> 0:07:44.480 changing and impacting what's going on at your company. UM So, 0:07:45.200 --> 0:07:48.920 I think I'll make comments about what we see so 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:54.400 like pretty much all semiconductor companies, the supply chain UM 0:07:54.800 --> 0:08:00.080 for us and UH customers that we supply tends to 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:03.240 go through Asian particularly China. So so it's no great 0:08:03.280 --> 0:08:07.920 surprise that these are affected, UM in terms of you know, 0:08:08.000 --> 0:08:12.000 capacity and an operation UM and I think you know 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:14.600 it is it is a tragic event in terms of 0:08:14.640 --> 0:08:18.000 the effect on people and and the whole area. UM 0:08:18.320 --> 0:08:21.320 and from a disease point of view, but from a 0:08:21.400 --> 0:08:23.960 business and the operation point of view, I think we 0:08:24.080 --> 0:08:31.840 see UM, we've seen um um number of manufacturing contact 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:37.439 manufacturers of you know, phones and electronic products are gradually 0:08:38.679 --> 0:08:46.120 operating back. But maybe capacity but much reduced people that 0:08:46.200 --> 0:08:49.200 don't have all their workers back at the factories. Um, 0:08:49.240 --> 0:08:51.640 but you have all your workings? Do do you have 0:08:51.679 --> 0:08:54.800 all your workers at your factories? As a results manufacturer, 0:08:55.320 --> 0:08:57.600 we don manufacturer we we are we are We do 0:08:57.760 --> 0:09:02.200 design and marketing and being manage our my infactoring throughout sourcings. 0:09:02.200 --> 0:09:05.800 So we don't have direct so factory operation. But but 0:09:05.960 --> 0:09:08.840 we deal with factories all the time every day and 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:13.160 uh and BC the capacities are coming back, uh in 0:09:13.240 --> 0:09:17.480 terms of our customers factories, um, every every week we 0:09:17.559 --> 0:09:20.680 see improvement. So so I think in a few weeks, 0:09:20.720 --> 0:09:23.880 my guess is from a business operation point of view, 0:09:23.920 --> 0:09:28.840 those factors will be getting way close to normal operation. Alright, 0:09:28.880 --> 0:09:31.520 So dr Big earlier, let's talk about the deal that 0:09:31.559 --> 0:09:34.520 you did, because obviously amidst all of this, UH, you're 0:09:34.559 --> 0:09:37.960 still creating partnerships and and uh and doing some some 0:09:38.080 --> 0:09:40.880 M and A work. What is this deal with a 0:09:41.040 --> 0:09:46.400 Desto do for you? Right? So that's still is it? 0:09:46.720 --> 0:09:52.480 UM list of company on AZDAG They are a IoT 0:09:53.000 --> 0:09:56.560 pure play IoT business play. So what it does for 0:09:56.679 --> 0:10:00.520 us is UM increase our exposure to the very attractive 0:10:00.520 --> 0:10:04.760 industrial market for US We've been UM entering this market 0:10:04.880 --> 0:10:07.760 recently about a few months ago with a small acquisition 0:10:08.160 --> 0:10:11.520 of a company called Creative Chips. So a Deskto gives 0:10:11.559 --> 0:10:14.840 a scale in that market UM and providing us with 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:19.320 technology for UH Internet of Things as as it relates 0:10:19.360 --> 0:10:24.160 to industrial building, smart building, small cities type application, both 0:10:24.200 --> 0:10:28.240 in terms of silicon chips as well as cloud connectivity 0:10:28.280 --> 0:10:32.480 solution platforms that they can offer our customs and some 0:10:32.520 --> 0:10:35.080 more deals to come. Do you think are you in 0:10:35.120 --> 0:10:38.040 a mode where you want to be more aggressive on 0:10:38.120 --> 0:10:42.920 the combination front. I think, you know, we have always 0:10:43.160 --> 0:10:48.840 UM a pipeline of targets that is under under review, 0:10:48.960 --> 0:10:53.400 and we look at the number of angles clearly before 0:10:53.440 --> 0:10:57.000 we make any move on a target, you know, from 0:10:57.000 --> 0:11:00.720 a from a fit, strategic fit, shareholder value, you culture, 0:11:01.080 --> 0:11:04.880 a bunch of other items that they look at. So 0:11:04.960 --> 0:11:07.520 we do have other targets to look at. But you know, 0:11:07.600 --> 0:11:10.520 currently we just closed down a desk To. We're very 0:11:10.559 --> 0:11:14.000 pleased with that and very excited about integrating that company 0:11:14.040 --> 0:11:17.520 when the deal actually closes. So one last question just 0:11:17.559 --> 0:11:19.120 got about thirty seconds, so I have to ask you 0:11:19.160 --> 0:11:20.600 to be quick, and I just want to go back 0:11:20.640 --> 0:11:23.080 to the virus. So based on what you're seeing, because 0:11:23.080 --> 0:11:25.959 I'm assuming that you saw obviously a little bit of 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.800 an impact as the virus got worse, you're saying you 0:11:28.840 --> 0:11:30.880 would you would make the conclusion that things are getting 0:11:30.920 --> 0:11:33.640 better because you're seeing kind of business pick up again 0:11:33.840 --> 0:11:36.320 in terms of some of your clients, you manufacturer, and 0:11:36.400 --> 0:11:40.480 just got about thirty seconds here. Yes, I think they 0:11:40.520 --> 0:11:42.400 see over the next few weeks, you know, more and 0:11:42.440 --> 0:11:45.040 more factories are telling us that they have more people 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:48.160 coming back, and they're opening more of their branches. You know. 0:11:48.240 --> 0:11:52.000 Sometimes they have multiple factories. Some of them have been open, 0:11:52.160 --> 0:11:54.240 some have been shot so far, but as they get 0:11:54.280 --> 0:11:57.839 decontaminated and the work has come back from other parts 0:11:57.840 --> 0:12:01.559 of China, they add more capacity. Alright, Gonna leave it 0:12:01.600 --> 0:12:04.280 on that note. Um, we really appreciate it. Dr bag Geary, 0:12:04.400 --> 0:12:08.600 Dr Jalal Bagearley, he is chief executive officer at Dialogue Semiconductor, 0:12:09.240 --> 0:12:12.240 joining us on this Monday on the phone from London 0:12:12.320 --> 0:12:14.720 and of course giving us some great insight in terms 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:22.560 of the virus. When you feel like your flavors. Alright, 0:12:22.600 --> 0:12:25.400 so this next story is a little bit different. We've 0:12:25.440 --> 0:12:27.599 been talking a lot about the virus and will continue 0:12:27.720 --> 0:12:31.679 to but a fascinating feature in the upcoming edition of 0:12:31.960 --> 0:12:36.840 Bloomberg Business Week. You can read it online on Bloomberg 0:12:36.880 --> 0:12:41.120 dot Com and via the Bloomberg terminal. A pistachio war 0:12:41.360 --> 0:12:45.200 between the US and Iran. Mark Champion joins us. He's 0:12:45.240 --> 0:12:48.080 a senior reporter for international affairs for Bloomberg, joining us 0:12:48.120 --> 0:12:51.440 on the phone from London. We appreciate him giving us 0:12:51.480 --> 0:12:54.760 a long day, and Joel Weber, the editor Bloomberg Business Week, 0:12:54.800 --> 0:12:58.520 back in our Bloomberg Interactor Burker Studio. So, Mark, this 0:12:58.640 --> 0:13:01.760 is a little bit, as Carol Master might say, of like, wait, 0:13:01.800 --> 0:13:04.320 what kind of story tell us what's going on in 0:13:04.360 --> 0:13:09.080 the world of pistachios? Well, yeah, I mean the the US. 0:13:09.520 --> 0:13:11.360 You know, we all know that the US and Iran 0:13:11.440 --> 0:13:14.680 have been at each other for decades, basically since the 0:13:14.840 --> 0:13:20.400 Revolution in nine in ninety seventy nine UM. But perhaps 0:13:20.440 --> 0:13:24.120 a little less known is that the one aspect of 0:13:24.160 --> 0:13:28.439 that contest has been over the pistachio nuts, which Iran 0:13:28.640 --> 0:13:32.000 for literally thousands of years, more than a thousand years, 0:13:32.160 --> 0:13:37.160 perhaps more than two was basically the monopoly producer of 0:13:37.920 --> 0:13:41.200 um and it exported them and then at the time 0:13:41.200 --> 0:13:43.600 of the revolution saw this as a big source of 0:13:43.920 --> 0:13:47.880 hard currency and very successfully developed a big industry exporting 0:13:48.160 --> 0:13:51.599 you know, this is a billion dollar plus industry exporting 0:13:52.000 --> 0:13:54.960 nuts to the rest of the world. But the US 0:13:56.120 --> 0:13:59.079 got into the act in you know, the first crop 0:13:59.120 --> 0:14:03.559 in nineteen seventies x um and since then California has 0:14:04.160 --> 0:14:10.360 been you know, expanding its production enormously with the help 0:14:10.480 --> 0:14:14.800 of you know, bands, variously bands and heavy duties of 0:14:14.840 --> 0:14:20.640 two on pistachio nuts from Iran at various times um 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:24.600 And has an now overtaken. Iran is the largest producer 0:14:24.640 --> 0:14:30.440 in the world. What's gone wrong for Iran on this front? Mark, Well, 0:14:30.480 --> 0:14:32.600 all kinds of things. I mean, first, you know, one, 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:37.120 there's no doubt that the sanctions policy, you know, broader 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:40.720 financial sanctions that made it difficult to invest. You know 0:14:40.800 --> 0:14:45.880 that these things had an impact. Secondly, um you have 0:14:46.040 --> 0:14:50.880 climate change, no different for Iran and California, except that 0:14:51.200 --> 0:14:56.000 Iran has been relied even in you know, the the 0:14:56.320 --> 0:15:01.320 earliest days. It relied on an ancient form of underground 0:15:02.280 --> 0:15:05.800 canal ng to bring the water to the pistachio fields 0:15:05.800 --> 0:15:07.840 which tend to be the growth which tend to be 0:15:07.880 --> 0:15:11.360 in in very arid areas that needs a hot climate, 0:15:11.640 --> 0:15:14.560 it needs cool winters um but as you have very 0:15:14.560 --> 0:15:17.960 specific climate conditions needed and tends to be dry in 0:15:17.960 --> 0:15:21.600 those areas, and so they always brought the water from underground. 0:15:21.640 --> 0:15:24.720 But since the revolution, one of the promises of the 0:15:24.720 --> 0:15:27.680 revolution was that, you know, ordinary farmers would be able 0:15:27.680 --> 0:15:29.720 to have access to as much water as they wanted. 0:15:30.160 --> 0:15:33.760 And they've been drilling wells, you know, unregistered wells across 0:15:33.760 --> 0:15:36.720 the country and sucking out with electric pumps instead of 0:15:36.720 --> 0:15:39.640 the old systems, as much water as they can. So 0:15:39.720 --> 0:15:43.080 that's you know, that's the second item, and then the 0:15:43.160 --> 0:15:49.280 third is simply a failure of governance and planning and 0:15:49.520 --> 0:15:53.760 just general efficiency. So that you know, since you know, 0:15:53.840 --> 0:15:57.520 the the US aren't producing they both used to yield 0:15:57.560 --> 0:16:02.480 about the same amount of pistacia's per hector back in 0:16:02.520 --> 0:16:06.560 the seventies, but now the US produces more than three 0:16:06.600 --> 0:16:10.160 times as many pistachios hector. Then the Iranians haven't improved 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:14.400 at all. Mark, did you do taste testing as part 0:16:14.400 --> 0:16:18.040 of your reporting for this article. Well, every time I 0:16:18.480 --> 0:16:21.960 have gone to Iran, I've you know, I've eaten a 0:16:22.000 --> 0:16:25.280 lot of pistachios they are fantastic, and the Iranian pistachios 0:16:25.280 --> 0:16:27.960 were really really very good. So it was, you know, 0:16:28.040 --> 0:16:30.880 really striking to me that last year, the last sort 0:16:30.880 --> 0:16:32.920 of growing year which goes across it was would have 0:16:32.920 --> 0:16:39.800 been um. Their crops simply collapsed. It was a result 0:16:39.840 --> 0:16:43.800 of four years of drought and it virtually disappeared. UM. 0:16:44.080 --> 0:16:48.480 And you know, this year they've had heavy rains, floods 0:16:48.520 --> 0:16:51.000 and so on, and they've got a crop back, but 0:16:51.120 --> 0:16:53.600 it's a rather poor quality. And in the past the 0:16:53.720 --> 0:16:57.440 Uranians are enormously proud that their pistachio and they thought 0:16:57.480 --> 0:17:01.600 were better than those produced by Alfornia. But this year 0:17:01.600 --> 0:17:05.080 at least not true. Well, and I feel like Mark, 0:17:05.160 --> 0:17:07.760 you know, somewhere Sean Don in our trade guru is 0:17:08.480 --> 0:17:11.600 is smiling because it's like this is the trade ward. 0:17:11.600 --> 0:17:13.560 You know that this is sort of global trade at 0:17:13.600 --> 0:17:16.399 its best and worst to some extent. Where does it 0:17:16.440 --> 0:17:21.520 go from here? Well, that's a really good question. I mean, basically, uh, 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:26.640 there's no reason to think that Iran is going to 0:17:26.680 --> 0:17:30.200 turn this around. They you know, the climate change isn't 0:17:30.200 --> 0:17:33.600 gonna get any better. Um, the governance doesn't look like 0:17:33.640 --> 0:17:36.920 getting any better. Um. And certainly U S sanctions aren't 0:17:36.920 --> 0:17:39.520 going to get any better for any time soon, so 0:17:39.840 --> 0:17:42.560 there's no reason to think that's going to turn around. UM. 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:46.000 And as a result of that, there's there's a global 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.200 trade organization for nott and and they believe that there's 0:17:50.240 --> 0:17:53.639 about a ten fift shortage in of supply in the 0:17:53.680 --> 0:17:58.120 market for global demand, in part because the Iranians simply 0:17:58.160 --> 0:18:01.880 haven't been able to grow their crops. So uh, now 0:18:01.960 --> 0:18:05.400 what you see is a lot of primarily Iranian farmers, 0:18:05.920 --> 0:18:09.160 exiles and someone who have experience of growing pistonageos from 0:18:09.200 --> 0:18:13.840 Iran going to different countries, new countries to see if 0:18:13.840 --> 0:18:17.840 they can develop crops in these other countries. I spoke 0:18:18.119 --> 0:18:20.600 went to visit a farm in in in Georgia where 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:24.240 Uh an Iranian, you know, someone who left after the 0:18:24.240 --> 0:18:29.600 revolution UM is now developing a big farm. But it's 0:18:29.600 --> 0:18:32.880 also happening in UH in Ukraine and as bai Jian 0:18:33.040 --> 0:18:36.480 in uh you know, in Central Asia. So you know, 0:18:36.480 --> 0:18:39.480 the people are in Australia to Spain, they're all trying 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:42.000 to develop. Well, it's one of those great Business Week 0:18:42.040 --> 0:18:44.080 stories where you really, you know, just kind of take 0:18:44.119 --> 0:18:46.720 it for granted. Something like Pistachio's, but you realize that 0:18:46.760 --> 0:18:49.320 there's a lot more as you dig into it in 0:18:49.400 --> 0:18:51.080 terms of what's going on in the market, and certainly 0:18:51.080 --> 0:18:53.880 when it comes to trade. Mark Champion, Thank you so much, 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:57.199 Senior reporter for International Affairs at Bloomberg News on the 0:18:57.280 --> 0:19:00.000 phone from London, Joel Weber, Thank you as well, Editor 0:19:00.000 --> 0:19:03.520 Bloomberg Business Week. In our Interactive broker studio here in 0:19:03.600 --> 0:19:07.320 New York, you're listening to Bloomberg Business Week with Carol 0:19:07.400 --> 0:19:11.640 Masser and Jason Kelly on Bloomberg Radio. Now, the coronavirus, 0:19:11.760 --> 0:19:14.440 it has spread to more than thirty countries, South Korea 0:19:14.480 --> 0:19:17.479 reporting a jump in infections, and Italy locking down an 0:19:17.520 --> 0:19:20.320 area of fifty people near Milan. And yet the most 0:19:20.359 --> 0:19:23.320 reported cases and death still in China, which has many 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:27.160 asking questions about the state of healthcare in China. Andy 0:19:27.200 --> 0:19:29.880 Brown is Bloomberg New Economy editorial director. He has seen 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:32.439 it firsthand and he writes about it this week. He 0:19:32.480 --> 0:19:35.600 joins us in our Bloomberg Interactive Broker studio. And you 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:39.080 have seen it firsthand years ago and also have an 0:19:39.119 --> 0:19:42.640 idea of what's going on currently, So give us some perspective. 0:19:42.760 --> 0:19:44.399 Is it better than it used to be. Is it 0:19:44.520 --> 0:19:50.399 still not great? So the Chinese healthcare system is in crisis. 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:55.600 Uh it was in crisis even before the coronavirus hit, 0:19:56.240 --> 0:20:00.960 and the coronavirus has exacerbated all of the strain intentions 0:20:00.960 --> 0:20:04.000 in the system and in some places stretched the system 0:20:04.240 --> 0:20:08.560 to breaking point. And that is a big political problem 0:20:08.600 --> 0:20:12.359 for the regime. Well and Andy, you know, one of 0:20:12.359 --> 0:20:15.919 the things you point out in your column is these 0:20:15.960 --> 0:20:20.840 structural problems with the Chinese medical system. You know, right 0:20:20.920 --> 0:20:25.199 down to there's a shortage of general practitioners, you know, 0:20:25.240 --> 0:20:28.720 the sort of doctor that you need on an ongoing basis. 0:20:28.760 --> 0:20:32.480 Help us understand some of what's underneath this. Yeah, So 0:20:32.520 --> 0:20:35.720 if to to to wind back a little further, you know, 0:20:35.960 --> 0:20:39.600 the the legitimacy and credibility of the Chinese Communist Party 0:20:39.640 --> 0:20:43.520 has long rested to quite some considerable extent on its 0:20:43.600 --> 0:20:47.480 boast that it uh it nursed back to health the 0:20:47.520 --> 0:20:51.480 sick man of Asia, as China was once cool, and 0:20:51.520 --> 0:20:56.920 the most visible representation of that sickness was disease and poverty. 0:20:57.000 --> 0:21:00.240 Um and in the early years of the Communist rage seam, 0:21:00.680 --> 0:21:03.239 they had a system of armies of barefoot doctors who 0:21:03.280 --> 0:21:07.840 went out and fought infectious diseases and fought very successfully. 0:21:08.119 --> 0:21:12.280 Uh Infant mortality went down, life expectancy rose, and then 0:21:12.320 --> 0:21:16.600 in the nineties the system collapsed. And the big problem 0:21:16.680 --> 0:21:20.680 now is that you don't have those general practitioners who 0:21:20.720 --> 0:21:24.600 stand really at the front lines of preventative healthcare. So 0:21:24.680 --> 0:21:27.520 when people in China get sick, they go straight to 0:21:27.560 --> 0:21:31.280 the hospital, which often means it's too late or the 0:21:31.359 --> 0:21:34.399 disease has progressed to the point where it requires heavy 0:21:34.520 --> 0:21:40.320 and expensive intervention and big sickness. Even though now of 0:21:40.320 --> 0:21:44.280 the population of China has some form of healthcare coverage. Nevertheless, 0:21:45.000 --> 0:21:48.399 DA being big sickness as people in China call cancer, 0:21:48.480 --> 0:21:52.239 stroke and so on, can ruin a family and often does. So. 0:21:52.280 --> 0:21:53.919 What does it mean in a case like with the 0:21:54.040 --> 0:21:56.600 virus in terms of how people deal with it and 0:21:56.720 --> 0:22:00.240 China's ability to contain it, well, it means that the 0:22:00.240 --> 0:22:02.439 the I mean to go to what Chinese and you 0:22:02.440 --> 0:22:05.200 have to see it is to believe it. I mean 0:22:05.200 --> 0:22:09.400 the chaos that is a you know, the Chinese emergency 0:22:09.480 --> 0:22:12.280 ward in in big cities with people from all over 0:22:12.280 --> 0:22:16.560 the countryside, you know, flooding in because the best hospitals. 0:22:16.560 --> 0:22:18.040 Of course, they're in the big cities and have a 0:22:18.119 --> 0:22:21.399 very few good hospitals in rural areas. So everybody piles 0:22:21.400 --> 0:22:25.520 into Beijing, Shanghai, Wuhan, all of these big cities, and 0:22:25.560 --> 0:22:29.919 so the hospital system is already completely overwhelmed. What's happening 0:22:29.960 --> 0:22:33.720 now in Wuhan is a people with other sicknesses, not coronaviruses, 0:22:34.040 --> 0:22:37.240 aren't getting treatment, and this is causing huge amounts of 0:22:37.280 --> 0:22:41.000 public anxiety, out and and outrage. This is literally life 0:22:41.119 --> 0:22:45.080 and death. You know, Andy, you have a great anecdote 0:22:45.080 --> 0:22:48.640 in your story, very heartwarming anecdote in many ways, especially 0:22:48.680 --> 0:22:52.200 for US journalists, about the power of journalism. And and 0:22:52.359 --> 0:22:54.800 you know, very briefly, you're writing a story about this 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:58.639 child who I was being treated for leukemia basically couldn't 0:22:58.680 --> 0:23:02.239 afford it. Out ring of donations come from all over 0:23:02.280 --> 0:23:05.320 the world, including the United States. You tie that back 0:23:05.359 --> 0:23:09.360 to what is now quite a fractious relationship, to say 0:23:09.359 --> 0:23:11.600 the least. We've talked to you so many times about 0:23:11.640 --> 0:23:13.879 this between the U. S and China and between China 0:23:14.080 --> 0:23:17.120 and other countries in the world. This decoupling that we've 0:23:17.119 --> 0:23:20.520 seen that is economic in some ways, but it extends 0:23:20.560 --> 0:23:23.919