The Union government has started procuring onions from farmers at market rates to build an emergency buffer of 500,000 tonne for 2024-25 to boost supplies if prices spike, an official of the consumer affairs ministry said.

India’s merchandise exports seem to have weathered the headwinds quite well so far amid heightened geopolitical tensions that have rendered the global environment highly uncertain but while support continues from some of its traditional large export partners such as Europe and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Senior officials of India and the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) bloc of will hold the next round of talks in July to review the existing free trade pact in Indonesia, the government said Sunday. The last round of the three-day negotiations concluded on May 9 in Malaysia.

A study to assess required infrastructure and identify main industry clusters for achieving the USD 1 trillion merchandise exports target by 2030 may be submitted by August-September to the commerce ministry, an official said. The official said that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is doing that study for the ministry.

Finding good quality kesar in the markets could be a task for mango lovers this season but those living abroad will be able to gorge on this luscious variety like every year.

Export-Import Bank of India (India Exim Bank) forecasts India’s total merchandise exports to amount to US$ 116.7 bn, witnessing an y-o-y growth of 12.3%, while non-oil exports are forecast to amount US$ 93.9 bn, witnessing an y-o-y growth of 10.7%, during Q1 (April-June) of FY2025.