India’s fresh grape exports are seen rising by over a tenth in the 2023-24 season on strong demand from Europe, its main market. The increase in shipments is notwithstanding the higher freight costs, which have more than doubled to the region on account of disruptions in the Red Sea region. Supply issues from South Africa have helped push up demand for Indian grapes in Europe, exporters said.

 

Vilas Shinde, Chairman and Managing Director, Sahayadri Farms, the country’s largest grape exporter, said shipments in volume terms have been up around 20 per cent till now when compared to the same period last year. The export season started early, by about three weeks this year, as we had an early harvest. 'Despite higher freight rates, the market in Europe, our major major destination has been good and the prices are also good,' Shinde said

 

India exports grapes mainly during January-March. 'Grapes production has been good this season, so far. There were some rains during November-end and early December, which might have some impact on quality in March. The shipment volumes have been good. Volumes are up by about a tenth over the same period last year. The demand for Indian grapes has been strong in Europe. This is mainly on account of some issues in the South African production,' said Pankaj Khandelwal, Co-CEO, INI Farms, part of the AgroStar Group.

 

Large markets for India

Khandelwal said the market in Europe was able to absorb the higher cost as the demand was good. Freight costs have more than doubled to Europe due to disruptions in the Red Sea region. Also, air freight rates have gone up, he said.

 

'Grapes shipments have held up despite higher costs and freight. The cost is high, freight is high, and thankfully, demand is also high this year,' Khandelwal added. 'So far, the shipments have been good during January–February, as the volumes have been strong. Our shipments peak in March. We will have to see how the season eventually pans out,' he said.

 

India exported 2.67 lakh tonnes of grapes valued at $313.69 million during 2022-23. The Netherlands is the biggest buyer of Indian grapes, accounting for close to 40 per cent of the overall shipments. Other large markets for Indian grapes are Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and Russia, among others.

 

USDA forecast

The USDA in a recent report said world table grapes production for 2023-24 is forecast up 490,000 tonnes to 28.4 million on improved China supplies. India’s production is anticipated to improve slightly, up 100,000 tonnes to 3.0 million tonnes, as good rainfall and favorable growing conditions boost yield and improve fruit quality. The supply gains are expected to boost exports by 13,000 tonnes to 295,000 tonnes, especially to the top-market European Union, the USDA said.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has termed as 'good' the outcome of the WTO’s 13th ministerial conference even though it ended without a decision on India’s key interests of agriculture and fisheries. Goyal said he was going back 'fully satisfied' as the objectives with which he came to Abu Dhabi were largely met. Edited excerpts of an interview with ET:

 

Are you satisfied with the outcome?

It is a good outcome and we are completely satisfied. Progress was made on several contentious issues and India continues to retain full policy space for the benefit of our farmers and fishermen. We have been able to protect India’s interests.

 

What were the problematic issues in agriculture and fisheries?

There were no problematic issues in agriculture as we have a peace clause on public stockholding and our procurement of grains for distribution to the poor continues uninterrupted and without hindrance.

 

On fisheries, we found several ambiguities on the proposals that were on the table, more particularly some of the subsidies that certain countries give were sought to be excluded, definitions were not satisfactory and several areas where deeper consultations and greater degree of flexibility is required to ensure a fair and balanced agreement were not possible in such a short period of time. By and large the objectives with which we had come to Abu Dhabi are largely met and we go back fully satisfied.

 

Are there any concerns on the ecommerce moratorium getting extended?

We are not necessarily opposed to it fully. We were seeking that they should have discussed in the intervening period between MC12 and MC13 the scope of ecommerce moratorium, areas to be covered and excluded, and study its impact on different economies.

 

Since the process has not yet been completed, we believe that it is in the best interest that we continue this ecommerce moratorium and ensure that if at all it is found to be necessary, there will be discussions at Geneva to see if there are any areas particularly which need to be covered under the moratorium, otherwise as the decision stands, it will expire at the end of two years or the next ministerial, whichever is earlier.

 

With the world getting fragmented, is the WTO relevant?

I think it is. The WTO is an important organisation. It does carry the weight of 166 countries and creates equitable rules of trade and gives an opportunity to every country to raise areas of their interests or concerns. Of course, it can work much better and deliver much more.

 

Is it time for India to have more offensive interests?

As of now, we do not have any offensive interest per se. Our largest interest was to protect our farmers and our fishermen, both of which we are strongly doing, and that is our offensive interest, which we are actively pursuing. We have always stood for least developed countries and developing countries.

 

Some people have lost interest in the WTO because of the non-functional dispute settlement body…

It is important to get the appellate body back so that the disputes can be escalated to the WTO for resolution. Sadly, without an appellate body, no dispute can be taken to its completion and to that extent people do feel now it is not worth the while to have. The progress has been relatively slow and certain countries are not yet ready to accept the two-tier dispute settlement mechanism that is the hallmark of the WTO.

 

With India supporting a joint statement initiative on domestic services, does it mean we are gradually shifting our stance on JSIs?

We continue to believe that JSIs are not part of the WTO process and we do not recognise them. This hasn’t come in through the JSI process. It has come in through countries voluntarily deciding whether to join or not, and that’s part of the process approved in WTO.

 

Non-trade issues have been making their way into the WTO and it doesn’t seem to stop…

We have been successful in making sure that non-trade issues aren't brought into the WTO. For example, an effort was made to begin investment facilitation. Since investment is not part of the WTO, we did not allow it to come in. Similarly, an effort was made to bring industrial policy discussions, again an area that India believes is not a part of the original Marrakesh framework. India has successfully made sure that no non-trade issue is brought before the WTO.

 

India also tried to reduce the cost of cross-border remittances in MC13. How will we take it forward?

That was India's offer to the world. A large number of countries, particularly less developed and developing countries, are required to use channels for remittances, which makes it extremely expensive. I am given to understand that remittances on an average can cost 4-9% of the transaction value, and India has developed the UPI and a very robust fintech system, which can help bring this down to less than one-eighth or one-fifth of the current amount.

 

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said many countries are negotiating to start trade in rupee as the country's fundamentals are strong and the Indian unit has been 'mostly stable' against most of the international currencies. Addressing the Pandit Hriday Nath Kunzru Memorial Lectures 2024 at JNU, Sitharaman also said India has opened up every sector for private investments and will extend fiscal and policy support to sunrise sectors like artificial intelligence, semiconductors and manufacturing using innovative tools.

 

'Indian Rupee being mostly stable against most of the international currencies except for the US dollar, where it had volatility. But even in that case, compared to many other currencies, the Indian rupee has been far more stable even against the US dollar.

 

'And therefore, you find countries today wanting to have trade relations built on rupee trade,' said Sitharaman while addressing students and professors at her alma mater.

 

'As a central university, JNU provided me with all India exposure that has helped me grow as a student. A nostalgic visit,' Sitharaman said in a post on X.

 

She had completed her MA and M Phil from the School of Social Sciences and School of International Studies at JNU, respectively.

 

Observing that rupee trade could have 'teething problems', Sitharaman said it is, however, helping many of the countries, which has dollar shortages.

 

'We have evolved to a stage where we recognise that the Indian rupee, in some regions at least, is used as an instrument of trading currencies. Your macroeconomic stability tells you that,' Sitharaman said.

 

India has started trade in the rupee with neighbouring countries, including Nepal and Bhutan. The rupee trade mechanism has been initiated to facilitate trade in national currency with Russia, while Sri Lanka has included the rupee in its list of designated foreign currencies.

 

India has a huge market size and has a population of middle class with purchasing power for whom they can produce. And that number of middle class by 2047 could be anywhere between 102 crore, Sitharaman added.

 

'India is being taken seriously only because the economy is a lot more stable now. Taxation policies are a lot more predictable, and systems are a lot more transparent... We have received the highest FDI beyond USD 600 billion and our reserves are also matching... Economic fundamentals being absolutely stable and strong, which gives us the position that people take us seriously, want to engage with us and we are willing to listen to the suggestions given by India,' she noted.

 

The minister said that the global fora, be it the G20 or the UN, are all now focusing on India's solutions in reforming institutions, which will help in building a better 21st Century for all. It reflects on India's important role in the evolving global landscape.

 

Sitharaman said India was able to meet the challenges of COVID-19 and other economic issues because of the 'responsive government'.

 

'A government, which was ready to listen to the people, to those affected, to observers, to experts and sieve through all the suggestions to come up with solutions and relief measures,' she said.

 

She said India has opened up every sector for investments and space, deep sea, rare earths, and sunrise sectors -- are all going to be the priority areas.

 

'Artificial intelligence, semiconductors, manufacturing in India with innovative and newer tools are all going to be priority areas where policy and fiscal supports will be extended,' she said.

 

Referring to the management term 'VUCA' principle, which speaks about the volatility, uncertainties and complexities, Sitharaman said VUCA has become a default setup in contemporary times.

 

'With all these uncertainties, it is the instrument of adaptability that is being infused into the system to prepare us for any eventuality,' she said.

The government is set to launch a portal for masur dal (lentil) where farmers who register will be guaranteed the minimum support price (MSP) for their produce.

 

The initiative, first started for tur dal, is being expanded to cover masur and other pulses in a bid to make their cultivation lucrative for farmers, a senior official said, requesting not to be named.

 

'We are about to start registration of masur farmers ahead of the harvesting season so that the procurement process is smooth,' the official said, adding that these farmers will get paid by direct benefit transfer.

 

Although India is the largest consumer of pulses, it is dependent on imports for domestic consumption. For masur, it depends on imports from Canada and Australia. Higher domestic production of pulses will help the country reduce their import.

 

While food inflation eased to 8.3% in January from 9.53% in December, it remained elevated compared with the year-ago period, when it was at 6%. The inflation rate at 19.54% in pulses remained a major factor.

 

As the government prepares to face voters in the general election, it has started selling chana dal in the retail market under the 'Bharat' brand at a subsidised rate.

 

The government expects India to become the world's largest producer of masur in 2023-24 crop year with production estimated at an all-time high of 1.6 million tonnes during this rabi season on account of higher acreage.

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi said that robust 8.4% GDP growth in Q3 2023-24 shows the strength of Indian economy and its potential. He also reiterated that our efforts will continue to bring fast economic growth which shall help 140 crore Indians lead a better life and create a Viksit Bharat.

 

The Prime Minister posted on X;

 

'Robust 8.4% GDP growth in Q3 2023-24 shows the strength of Indian economy and its potential. Our efforts will continue to bring fast economic growth which shall help 140 crore Indians lead a better life and create a Viksit Bharat!' 

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his British counterpart Kemi Badenoch will make another attempt to iron out differences and decide the future course of action on the much-awaited free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries before the general elections.

The ministers are expected to hold bilateral talks on the sidelines of the World Trade Organization’s four-day summit – the 13th Ministerial Conference -- in Abu Dhabi.

 

The meeting between Goyal and Badenoch will take place a week after a delegation headed by commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal was sent to London to seal the deal.

 

'The bilateral between Piyush Goyal and his UK counterpart at the sidelines of the WTO meet (MC13) holds the key for the future course of action,' a person aware of the matter told Business Standard.

This is an indication that the ball is now in the courts of respective political leaders to announce the signing of the FTA deal as most of the issues have been closed at the negotiators' level.

'Certain issues can only be resolved after a final political call is taken to sign the deal,' the person cited above said.

India and the UK have been negotiating a trade deal for over two years now. Both sides already missed the Diwali deadline in 2022, set by former UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

A year later, both sides were aiming to finalise the deal by October in the presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak in New Delhi. However, continued differences have delayed the deal.

The latest meeting also assumes significance as both sides are trying to arrive at a consensus ahead of the general elections in India.

Before Barthwal’s visit, the Prime Minister’s Office also reviewed the progress of the proposed deal.

Last month, a UK delegation led by Sunak’s chief economic adviser Douglas McNeill was in New Delhi to discuss the proposed FTA and an investment treaty.

 

To date, 14 rounds of negotiations have taken place.

Some of the contentious issues include the UK's demands for lower tariffs on whisky, automobiles, and electric vehicles, as well as its attempt to seek more opportunities in telecommunications, legal, and financial services in the Indian markets.

Other tricky areas included chapters on the rules of origin and intellectual property rights. Similarly, India is bargaining hard to seek a resolution on London's plan to roll out the carbon border tax on its imported goods from 2027 and an inclusion of the social security agreement.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has released Second Advance Estimates of Major Agricultural Crops (Kharif & Rabi Season) for the year 2023-24. From the last agricultural year, the summer season has been segregated from Rabi season and therefore this year Second Advance Estimate of area, production and yield includes only two seasons i.e. Kharif and Rabi season.

 

This estimate has been primarily prepared on the basis of information received from State Agricultural Statistics Authorities (SASAs). The data received has been validated and triangulated with information received from Remote Sensing, Weekly Crop Weather Watch Group inputs and other agencies. Further the climatic conditions, previous trends, price movements, mandi arrivals etc. are also considered while preparing the estimates.

 

The details of production of various crops (Kharif & Rabi only) are given as under:

 

Kharif Foodgrains– 1541.87 LMT/ RabiFoodgrains– 1551.61 LMT

Kharif Rice -1114.58 LMT; Rabi Rice – 123.57 LMT

Wheat – 1120.19 LMT

Kharif Maize – 227.20 LMT; Rabi Maize– 97.50 LMT

Kharif Shree Anna– 128.91 LMT; Rabi Shree Anna– 24.88 LMT

Tur – 33.39 LMT

Gram –121.61 LMT

Kharif Oilseeds–228.42 LMT / Rabi Oilseeds– 137.56 LMT

Soybean –125.62 LMT

Rapeseed & Mustard – 126.96 LMT

Sugarcane – 4464.30 LMT

Cotton – 323.11 Lakh Bales (170 Kgs. each)

Jute – 92.17 Lakh Bales (180 Kgs. each)

The Kharif foodgrain production is estimated at 1541.87 LMT, and Rabi foodgrain production is estimated at 1551.61 LMT.

 

Kharif Rice production is estimated at 1114.58 LMT as compared to 1105.12 LMT in 2022-23, showing an increase of 9.46 LMT. Production of Rabi Rice is estimated at 123.57 LMT. Production of Wheat is estimated at 1120.19 LMT, which is higher by 14.65 LMT as compared to previous year production of 1105.54 LMT.

 

Production of Shree Anna (Kharif) is estimated at 128.91 LMT and Shree Anna(Rabi) is estimated at 24.88 LMT. The production of Jowar (Kharif) and Jowar (Rabi) is estimated at 15.46 LMT and 24.88 LMT respectively, which is higher by 0.66 LMT and 1.66 LMT respectively, than the previous year. Further, Production of Nutri/Coarse Cereals (kharif) is estimated at 356.11 LMT and Production of Nutri/Coarse Cereals (Rabi) is estimated at 144.61 LMT.

 

Production of Tur is estimated at 33.39 LMT which is approximately similar to last year’s production of 33.12 LMT. Further the Tur harvesting is still progressing, which may result further changes in successive estimates. Production of Gram is estimated at 121.61 LMT which is marginally lower from previous year’s gram production but higher than the average (2018-19 to 2022-23) Gram production. The production of Lentil is estimated at 16.36 LMT which is higher by 0.77 LMT than the previous year’s production of 15.59 LMT

 

The production of Soybean is estimated at 125.62 LMT and production of Rapeseed & Mustard is estimated at 126.96 LMT which is approximately similar to last year’s production however higher by 20.57 LMT from average production. The production of Cotton is estimated at 323.11 Lakh Bales (of 170 Kg each) and production of Sugarcane is estimated at 4464.30 LMT.   

 

While preparing the kharif crop production estimates the Crop Cutting Experiments (CCEs) based yield has been considered. However, States are still under the process of compiling results of Kharif CCEs. Further, CCEs of few crops viz., Tur, Sugarcane, Castor etc. are still ongoing. The Rabi crop production is based on preliminary area sown report and the average yield. Therefore, these figures are subject to change in the successive estimates on the receipt of better yield estimates based on CCEs. The production of various Summer crops will be included in the forthcoming third advance estimates.

 

The details of Second Advance Estimate 2023-24 along with previous estimates are available on upag.gov.in .

INI Farms, part of the AgroStar Group, has shipped its first container of ‘Kimaye’ pomegranates to the United States through the sea route. Travelling nearly 20,000 kms, this is the longest distance travelled by any Indian fruit in the world, the company said.

 

Pomegranate shipment through the sea route is the result of more than year-long joint efforts of APEDA, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Agriculture Govt of Maharashtra, Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), United States Department of Agriculture APHIS (USDA APHIS), NPPO, Pomegranate National Research Center (NRC) and INI Farms. This encompassed various initiatives from farm registrations, training & monitoring, air shipment trials, development of sea protocol, static trials for shelf life extension and post-harvest treatment, the company said.

 

The container consignment of 12.6 tonnes of ‘Kimaye’ pomegranates was flagged off by Rajesh Aggarwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce and Abhishek Dev, Chairman, APEDA, at MSAMB’s Irradiation Facility Center in Vashi (Navi Mumbai) on Wednesday.

 

India is the world’s largest producer of pomegranates, with over 2,75,500 hectares of land under cultivation. During the fiscal year 2022-23, the country exported over 60,000 tonnes of pomegranates to UAE, the Netherlands, Oman, Bahrain and others.

 

The successful export of pomegranates to the US opens up a new opportunity for Indian pomegranate farmers and exporters and will open doors to other long-distance markets like Australia.

 

Rajesh Agarwal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said, 'There is a huge opportunity for exports for the Indian agriculture industry. India’s unique agro-climatic conditions combined with the vast diversity of F&V offerings and our ability to grow produce around the year give us a unique advantage in the global F&V trade. Such initiatives are connecting Indian farmers to the world and this will massively benefit both parties as global consumers will get the opportunity to enjoy Indian produce and as a result, Indian farmers will prosper with the help of access to global markets. This initiative is a good start and a testament to the growing Indo-US relations.'

 

Abhishek Dev, Chairman, APEDA. said, 'Fruit exports from India have been growing steadily over the last few years. We are seeing 29 per cent year-on-year growth in fresh fruit exports and pomegranate alone is growing at 20 per cent year-on-year and has the potential to grow further in the coming years. This initiative is a collaborative effort from the production side, the exporter and the buyers. We are grateful to the efforts of the USDA officials who helped us implement the right practices. We also developed sea protocols which have helped us build a 60-day shelf life of the product and preserve its quality. With the success of this first commercial sea trial shipment of pomegranates to the US, we are hopeful that it will open up many more opportunities for F&V exports to the US.'

 

Pankaj Khandelwal, Co-CEO, INI Farms, said, 'We are proud to be the pioneers in the industry to ship pomegranates to the US. This milestone is part of the continuous efforts of the entire INI Farms team that has helped put the Indian Farmer on the world map by making great quality Indian fruits available worldwide.'

 

Michael Schreuder, Dy Principal Officer, US Consulate-Mumbai, said, 'This is a landmark day for India-US trade as this consignment of pomegranates commences its journey via a 37-day journey by sea. This initiative is also a demonstration of the growing bilateral relations and trust between the two countries.'

A NITI Aayog working group on agriculture has suggested the government to re-visit its open-ended procurement policy for rice and wheat at minimum support prices (MSP) to dissuade farmers from growing these crops and instead move to other crops such as nutri-cereals, pulses and edible oil as their demand could surpass production by 2047.

 

'The open-ended procurement of rice and wheat at minimum support prices acts as a disincentive for diversification towards high-value and riskier crops,' it said in a report submitted to the Aayog on Thursday.

 

'It is, therefore, important to re-think about the policy of open-ended procurement, and restrict the procurement of rice and wheat to the requirements of the country's food security and welfare schemes,' it said, suggesting that farmers be compensated through price deficiency schemes for the additional market surplus. 'If they diversify away from rice and wheat, they can be compensated for the revenue foregone from these, if any.'

 

The 23-member working group on crop husbandry, agriculture inputs, demand and supply, set up by the Aayog in 2022 under PS Birthal, director, ICAR-NIAP, was tasked to study and analyse the trends in demand and supply of major food commodities and examine the changing consumer preferences for food and related items by 2047 and make suitable recommendations.

 

The other recommendations of the working group included evolving economically feasible cropping patterns suited to the resource endowments to meet the disproportionate increase in the demand for fruits, vegetables, pulses, edible oils, nutri-cereals and maize compared to rice and wheat,

 

Besides, it suggested aggressive investment in infrastructure required for perishable commodities to avoid post-harvest losses and reduce high price volatility through private investment.

 

'Promote millet consumption and production, reduce consumption of edible oils which is more than its recommended intake and may adversely affect human health and enhance pulses production,' it said.

 

According to the report, pulses will remain one of the key components of the Indian diet, even as production remains lower than the demand. 'There is a need for a technological breakthrough in pulses, and for exploring possibilities of their cultivation in rice-fallow areas,' it said.

 

The working group said that with the sustained rise in per capita income, changing lifestyles and increasing consumer preferences for nutritious foods, the consumption basket will continue to diversify away from staple cereals towards high-value food commodities.