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16 Feb, 2024 News Image

Efforts being made to attain self-sufficiency in pulses by 2027: Munda.

Observing that India has become self-reliant in chickpeas and many other pulse crops, Agriculture Minister Arjun Munda Thursday said 'consistent efforts' are being made to attain self-sufficiency in pulses by 2027.

Addressing the Pulses Convention-2024 organised by the Global Pulses Confederation (GPC) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), Munda said, 'The government is also consistently striving towards increasing domestic production of pulses to gradually reduce dependence on imports and move towards self-reliance in the pulse sector.'

'As a result of all the efforts made so far, the production of pulses has increased from the initial level of 16.32 million metric tonnes during the period 2015-16 to 26 million metric tonnes (now)…,' Munda said.

He said, 'India has become self-reliant in chickpeas and many other pulse crops, with only a slight deficiency remaining in pigeon peas and black gram. Consistent efforts are being made to attain self sufficiency in pulses by the year 2027.'

Munda said the Centre is working 'diligently' to improve agriculture production and to raise the living standards of farmers in the country.

Consumer Affairs Minister Piyush Goyal said that in a short span of time, 'Bharat Chana Dal' has captured 25% of India’s market for gram pulses. Goyal said the government has been successful in managing inflation.

'We have today seen 10 years of average inflation ranging between 5-5.5 per cent amongst the lowest decade of inflation that India has seen in its 75 years of Independence,' Goyal said.

Discussing the minimum support price (MSP) Goyal said, 'We also support our farmers through procurement of pulses at MSP, which is determined by an independent body called CACP and the MSP today in India is assured at a price 50% over the actual costs of production of our farmers, thereby giving them a reasonable and attractive rate of return for their farming activities.' Talking about Bharat brand pulses and wheat flour, Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh said that for the first time the government has intervened in the retail market. 'Many western economists will tell you that government should not be in the business of doing business. But I beg to differ, if it suits the interests of the citizen of the country and the consumers, the governments must intervene and we should not be left to the mercy of the markets,' Singh said. Singh warned foreign pulse traders not to take advantage of the situation in India.

'Sometime we see that some geographies, I can name Myanmar and some east African countries, where traders will like to take advantage of the situation in India… Please do not indulge in that… If you want to take undue advantage, we will go after you,' Singh said.

Sharing initiatives taken by the government for protecting the interests of farmers, NAFED Managing Director Ritesh Chauhan said, 'In life one may require services of a doctor, lawyer, a policeman, and a preacher. So, keep them close. But I would add that it is the humble farmer who provides us our three meals a day.'

Source: indianexpress.com

16 Feb, 2024 News Image

India s merchandise exports in Jan 2024 registers 3.12 % growth at USD 36.92 Billion over USD 35.80 Billion in Jan 2023.

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in January 2024* is estimated to be USD 69.72 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 9.28 per cent over January 2023. Overall imports in January 2024* is estimated to be USD 70.46 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 4.15 per cent over January 2023.

Table 1: Trade during January 2024*

		January 2024 (USD Billion)	January 2023 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	36.92	35.80
Merchandise	Imports	54.41	52.83
Services*	Exports	32.80	28.00
Services*	Imports	16.05	14.83
Overall Trade (Merchandise +Services) *	Exports	69.72	63.80
	Imports	70.46	67.65
	Trade Balance	-0.74	-3.85

* Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for December 2023. The data for January 2024 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for April-January 2022-23 and April-September 2023 has been revised on pro-rata basis using quarterly balance of payments data.

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-January2023-24* are estimated to be USD 638.37 Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 0.19 per cent over April-January 2022-23. Overall imports in April-January 2023-24* are estimated to be USD 708.79 Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 5.69 per cent over April-January 2022-23.

Table 2: Trade during April-January 2023-24*

		April-January 2023-24 (USD Billion)	April-January 2022-23 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	353.92	372.10
Merchandise	Imports	561.12	601.47
Services*	Exports	284.45	pib.gov.in
Services*	16 Feb, 2024 Farmers are making India self-sufficient and a large producer of food grains, pulses, lentils, vegetables, fruits: Shri Piyush Goyal. Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal has expressed happiness at the rise in the production and quality of Agriculture products to make India self-sufficient and for also enabling export of over $50 billion of agri-related products. Shri Goyal said this during his address at NAFED: Pulse 2024 Convention organized by Global Pulse Confederation in co-operation with co-operative major National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED). Shri Goyal thanked the farmers of India for their contribution towards making India self-sufficient and making the country a large producer of food grains, pulses, lentils, vegetables, fruits. He said that this has led to expansion both in production and quality of different food products to make India an exporter of over $50 billion of agri and related products. He said that over the last decade due to the commitment and capabilities of the farmers, pulses production has grown by 60% from 171 lakh tonnes in 2014 to 270 lakh tonnes in 2024. 'The partnership between NAFED and GPC will continue to grow to make pulses not only India’s wonder-diet but to make the wonder-diet of the world', said Shri Piyush Goyal. Speaking on Bharat Dal, the Minister said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi the government launched the India pulse to support the farmers of the country and ensure the availability of reasonably-priced pulses for Indian citizens. He said that the government-procured chana dal retailed under the ‘Bharat’ brand has already captured 25% of the market share of lentil gram in four months of its launch. The Union Minister, further elaborated, that the high ratings the Bharat Dal has received from customer reviews on various e-commerce sites demonstrates the farmers’ ability to produce high-quality pulses and with the support of the government can become the affordable food for the common man. Shri Goyal also said that over the last decade government procurement of pulses has increased by 18 times. Shri Goyal noted that in 2015 the government introduced buffer stock to ensure moderate prices and price stability shielding the consumers from the food inflation that hit many countries including the developed world reeling with a 40-year high of inflation. 'India was the bright spot with among the lowest inflation rates and has been able to reign in double digit inflation to 5-5.5% in the last decade', he said. On Minimum Support Price (MSP), Shri Goyal said that MSP today assures a price 50% over the actual cost of production to our farmers, thereby providing an attractive return on investment. The Union Minister also said that the MSP is the highest today with increases as high as 117% in Masoor, 90% in Moong, 75% more in chana dal, 60% more in Toor and Urad over the amount provided a decade back. Shri Goyal further said that NAFED and NCCF are encouraging farmers to diversify into pulses and lentils and are willing to provide assured prices for 5-year contracts for government procurement, a massive step for the Government of India. Shri Goyal also stated that India is the largest producer and 5th largest exporter of millets in the world and the government is also putting similar focus on pulses and lentils as with millets and urged the industry leaders in attendance to provide suggestions and guidance to improve productivity and grow the pulse industry. Source: pib.gov.in
16 Feb, 2024 India s basmati rice exports up 19% in April-Dec at $3.97 billion. Basmati rice exports have shown a 19 per cent growth in dollar terms at $3.97 billion in the first three quarters of the current financial year on demand from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq. In the same period last year, basmati exports were $3.33 billion, as per the latest provisional data released by the Agricultural and Processed Foods Exports Development Authority (APEDA). In volume terms, basmati exports were up 11 per cent at 3.54 million tonnes (mt) during April-December 2023 over 3.19 mt in the year-ago period. Shipments of non-basmati rice, which are currently restricted, fell by 28 per cent in value to $3.34 billion over $4.66 billion a year ago. In volume terms, non-basmati shipments were down to 8.34 mt against 13.17 mt a year ago. Overall, cereal shipments were down by a quarter at $7.80 billion compared with $10.37 billion as the government restricted shipments of non-basmati rice and wheat to ensure higher domestic supplies and control price rise. Overall shipments down The overall exports of agri and processed products monitored by APEDA were down 9.14 per cent at $17.88 billion against $19.68 billion a year ago. Except cereals and cashew, all other categories such as fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, livestock products and seeds witnessed a growth during the period. Among livestock products, buffalo meat shipments saw an increase of 15.61 per cent at $2.78 billion, while poultry products registered a growth of 36 per cent at $130 million. However, dairy products saw a decline of around 31 per cent at $327 million from corresponding last year’s $471 million. Pulses exports were up 4 per cent at $454 million ($436 million in same period last year), while processed vegetables registered a growth of around 24 per cent at $454 m($366 m). The processed fruits and juice shipments were up around 4 per cent at $696 m ($670 m). Groundnut exports were up 7.6 per cent at $606 m ($563 m), while guargum shipments registered a steep decline of 20 per cent at $394 m ($496 m). Cashew shipments were flat at $249 m. Source: thehindubusinessline.com
16 Feb, 2024 Govt looking at expanding rice classification to limit export curbs. The Commerce and Industry Ministry is weighing the merits of expanding the codes of classification (HSN codes) for rice so that the varieties of non-basmati rice that are not traditionally consumed in the country can be separated from the popular staple variety of non-basmati white rice and excluded from export curbs when restrictions are being contemplated on the latter. The interests of all stakeholders, including farmers, however have to be kept in mind while deliberating the matter, so a decision would be taken by the government only after extensive consultations, said Rajesh Agarwal, Additional Secretary, Commerce Department. The government has temporarily banned all categories of non-basmati white rice for exports. At present, there are just six HSN codes for non-basmati rice while there are 30-40 varieties of such rice grown in the country. 'There is a demand from the industry for new HSN codes for other varieties of rice... When we ban non-basmati white rice, all varieties get banned, whether it is sona masuri, govind bhog and kala namak or the normal non-basmati white rice which is our core concern. The question is how do we differentiate. That is a debate that we are having internally. We are trying to see if there is merit in doing so,' Agarwal said at a media interaction. Interests of all stakeholders need to be balanced while considering the matter, the additional secretary said, 'As a country, on one hand we will not like to impose ban on rice varieties which we are not much worried about (in terms of domestic shortages). At the same time we would need to see there is enough incentive for farmers to keep on producing the normal variety of rice, which is the core staple diet of the country. We need to balance this. That is a decision that the Department of Commerce will take after detailed stakeholder consultation,' Agarwal added. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is working on separate HSN codes for GI (Geographical Indications) rice varieties like red rice, black rice and kalanamak rice, per a presentation by APEDA chairperson Abhishek Dev. The country’s agriculture exports may decline by 9 per cent this year primarily due to restrictions on exports of rice, sugar, and wheat, according to APEDA. The Red Sea crisis may have some impact on India’s basmati exports this year to the EU and Egypt but the country’s primary exports to West Asia will not be hampered, another official said. Source: thehindubusinessline.com
16 Feb, 2024 India biggest US partner in South Asia, says American official. Describing India as its biggest partner in South Asia, the Biden administration has said it is working with New Delhi to deploy a multi-billion-dollar climate infrastructure and a new fund that will include a USD 500 million investment contribution from its development finance institution. Afreen Akhter, Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs (SCA), told this at a news conference organised by the Washington Foreign Press Center. 'With India, which of course is our biggest partner in South Asia, we launched in January of last year the US-India Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology. We call this iCET,' Akhter said. The goal is to build a resilient semiconductor supply chain, elevate space cooperation, and partner on the next generation of telecommunications - so, again, a really ambitious initiative to build cooperation on critical and emerging technologies with India, she said on Wednesday. The US is also advancing regional resilience to transnational threats. 'We want to talk about it in terms of our work on infrastructure or - and climate change and responding to pandemics. So under the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, which is another initiative we announced recently, we're working with India to deploy multi-billion-dollar climate infrastructure and a new fund that will include a USD 500 million investment contribution from our Development Finance Corporation,' she said. 'This will also include 40,000 public e-buses through an innovative payment secured - security mechanism financed by the Government of India, the United States, and our partners of philanthropy,' Akhter said. 'And then finally, we also launched the Climate Action Champions Work in South Asia, which is intended to invest in the next generation of climate leaders to support climate advocacy and respond to their needs throughout the region. So as you can see, we're deeply engaged with all of our partners across the Indo-Pacific and East Asia and South Asia,' she said. Akhter said the US and India have deepened a very broad and multifaceted defence partnership through joint exercises, strengthened defence industrial cooperation, and the annual 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue. 'We are really focused on building out that defence relationship. It's one of the key features of our Indo-Pacific strategy,' she said. The US is making huge investments throughout South Asia, she said. 'So last fall, the United States and India's Adani Group announced a half-billion-dollar investment in the Port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. This investment is intended to expand the capacity of the port, which is already operating at like 90 per cent capacity and really enable Sri Lanka to become an even bigger economic player in the region as it sits in this prime shipping route,' Akhter said. 'To bolster regional security, we're always engaging with our South Asian partners and really looking to build out those security relationships in the region. And we're doing that through a variety of ways, but one way we're doing it is, of course, providing our partners with new capabilities,' she said. In the Maldives, the US recently announced the delivery of four new patrol boats to help them monitor their Exclusive Economic Zones. It has provided three Coast Guard cutters to Sri Lanka, she said. Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
16 Feb, 2024 India, UK trade pact talks at advance stage; we want a fair deal: Comm Min Secretary Sunil Barthwal. The negotiations for the proposed India-UK free trade agreement are at an advanced stage, and both sides are working to iron out differences on the remaining issues, a top government official said on Thursday. Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said the negotiations are taking time because 'we want' to safeguard India's interest. 'India should commercially gain out of it and we should also be able to safeguard the interest of our farmers, PLI (production linked incentive) scheme goods. So, we are there to see that the deal is a fair deal,' he told reporters here. Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry L Satya Srinivas said the talks are at an advanced stage and going on at a 'very' high level to iron out differences. The 14th round of talks started on January 10. The investment treaty is being negotiated as a separate agreement between India and the UK. The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23 from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22. On the India-European Union (EU) free trade agreement, the ministry informed that the seventh round of talks is scheduled from February 19-23 here. In June 2022, India and the EU restarted the negotiations for the long-pending trade and investment agreement on Friday after a gap of over eight years. On the India-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Additional Secretary in the ministry Rajesh Agrawal said that legal scrubbing of text on clean and fair economy agreements is underway. He said the supply chain resilience pact will come into force from February 24 this year. To implement this, he said, action plans are being developed to optimise participation in institutional structures under the supply chain pact. Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
16 Feb, 2024 NABARD suggests establishment of meat & egg processing units in Gujarat. In the State Focus Paper for the financial year 2024-25, the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has suggested the establishment of meat and egg processing units in Gujarat for the preparation of value-added products such as chicken samosa, patties and momos. The focus paper which was formally unveiled at Gandhinagar on Thursday states, 'In order to increase utilisation and demand of meat from other states, establishment of meat processing units may be considered for preparation of value-added products such as chicken samosa, patties and momos which have a high demand in the market as ready to eat products. Suggestions For the last two years (2021-22 and 2022-23), the total meat production in Gujarat has been stagnating at 0.35 lakh kilograms, states the paper. NABARD also suggested increasing the breeding infrastructure for goat and sheep in the state. Like meat, NABARD also suggested setting up egg processing centres for ready to eat products. It suggested promotion of contract farming to develop the poultry sector at rural level. The egg production in Gujarat marginally fell by 3.6 per cent in 2022-23. The State produced 18,789 lakh eggs during 2022-23. The state has 12.84 lakh desi fowl from backyard poultry and 55.67 lakh improved fowl from commercial poultry farms. The State Focus Paper has projected a 18 per cent growth in the credit potential for the priority sector in Gujarat for the year 2024-25. 'The credit potential for the priority sector in Gujarat for the year 2024-25 at Rs.3.52 lakh crore, a growth of 18.29 per cent over the previous year,” states the paper. Of the total credit potential for Gujarat, Rs.1.8 lakh crore is for MSMEs, Rs.1.42 lakh crore for Agriculture and allied sectors and the remaining for other priority sectors. Source: thehindubusinessline.com
15 Feb, 2024 APEDA promotes export of agro products. The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a statutory organization under the administrative control of the Department of Commerce, has the mandate to promote export of agricultural products, including millets, from India. APEDA provides assistance to its registered exporters, including those of millets, under Agriculture & Processed Food Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA. The assistance is provided under various components of the schemes viz. Infrastructure Development, Quality Development and Market Development. Buyer-Seller Meets (BSMs) are organized in the clusters to provide export-market linkages. Regular interactions, through video conferences, are held with the Indian Missions abroad, to assess and tap export opportunities. Country specific BSMs, through Indian Missions, are also organized. State-wise details of India’s millet exports during the year 2022-23 are given below. The year 2023 was celebrated as the International Year of Millets (IYM – 2023). The Government of India has taken a proactive multi-stakeholder engagement approach (engaging various central government Ministries/Departments, States/UTs, farmers, start-ups, exporters, retail businesses, hotels, Indian Embassies etc.) to achieve the objectives of IYM 2023 and taking Indian millets globally. The Government of India has organized various events to make it peoples' movement so that the Indian millets, recipes, value added products be promoted globally. Millets were promoted during the G20 presidency in India, Millet Culinary carnival, International Trade Events, Chefs Conference, exhibition of Farmers Producer Organizations (FPOs), road shows, kisan melas, Chef's training for paramilitary forces, ASEAN India Millet Festival at Indonesia and Delhi etc. To make India a global hub for 'Shree Anna', the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad has been declared as the Global Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the national and international level. IIMR is providing training to the farmers, women farmers, home makers, students and young entrepreneurs on manufacturing of value-added millet food products, daily recipes etc., and supporting them to establish self-enterprise. The institute has also developed value-added technologies, including 'Ready to Eat' and 'Ready to Cook' for millet foods. Other steps taken in this regard are branding of millet foods under 'Eatrite' tag; holding of awareness programmes; and promoting agribusiness incubator and technology business incubators etc. In continuation to the efforts towards mainstreaming millets, a 'Millets Experience Centre (MEC)' has been opened at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi with an aim to raise awareness on Millets and encourage its adoption amongst the general public. To encourage consumption of Shree Anna among government employees, all Government offices have been advised to include Shree Anna snacks in departmental trainings/meetings and Shree Anna based food items in departmental canteens. The Government has been working to leverage partnerships with start-ups, academic & research institutions, Indian missions, processors, retailers and exporters to promote Indian millets in the global markets. An Export Promotion Forum (EPF) dedicated to promoting millets in the international market has been established. A separate millet-specific web portal has been developed containing information about millets, their health benefits, production and export statistics, millet exporter’s directory etc. APEDA has also organized a comprehensive global marketing campaign showcasing India’s potential and accordingly E-catalogues of 30 importing countries and 21 millet producing states have been released. A Virtual trade fair (VTF) for millets has been developed and made available for exporters and importers from across the globe providing a single platform to interact and negotiate business deals. VTF is operational for 24X7, 365 days. APEDA has also organized participation in international trade fairs like BIOFACH - Germany, Gulfood - Dubai , Natural Products Expo West - USA , International Food and Drink (IFE) and BSM - UK , SIAL Food - Canada, Seoul Food & Hotel – South Korea etc. facilitating exporters to present and promote their millet products in global markets. APEDA is also working with Indian Missions in importing countries to promote millets and value-added products. Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
15 Feb, 2024 India s basmati rice exports up 19% in April-Dec at $3.97 billion. Basmati rice exports have shown a 19 per cent growth in dollar terms at $3.97 billion in the first three quarters of the current financial year on demand from countries such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq. In the same period last year, basmati exports were $3.33 billion, as per the latest provisional data released by the Agricultural and Processed Foods Exports Development Authority (APEDA). In volume terms, basmati exports were up 11 per cent at 3.54 million tonnes (mt) during April-December 2023 over 3.19 mt in the year-ago period. Shipments of non-basmati rice, which are currently restricted, fell by 28 per cent in value to $3.34 billion over $4.66 billion a year ago. In volume terms, non-basmati shipments were down to 8.34 mt against 13.17 mt a year ago. Overall, cereal shipments were down by a quarter at $7.80 billion compared with $10.37 billion as the government restricted shipments of non-basmati rice and wheat to ensure higher domestic supplies and control price rise. Overall shipments down The overall exports of agri and processed products monitored by APEDA were down 9.14 per cent at $17.88 billion against $19.68 billion a year ago. Except cereals and cashew, all other categories such as fresh and processed fruits and vegetables, livestock products and seeds witnessed a growth during the period. Among livestock products, buffalo meat shipments saw an increase of 15.61 per cent at $2.78 billion, while poultry products registered a growth of 36 per cent at $130 million. However, dairy products saw a decline of around 31 per cent at $327 million from corresponding last year’s $471 million. Pulses exports were up 4 per cent at $454 million ($436 million in same period last year), while processed vegetables registered a growth of around 24 per cent at $454 m($366 m). The processed fruits and juice shipments were up around 4 per cent at $696 m ($670 m). Groundnut exports were up 7.6 per cent at $606 m ($563 m), while guargum shipments registered a steep decline of 20 per cent at $394 m ($496 m). Cashew shipments were flat at $249 m. Source: thehindubusinessline.com
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