India, the world’s top rice shipper, may extend an export tax on the parboiled variety as part of efforts to ease food inflation ahead of national elections, a move that could keep world supply tight and send prices to new peaks.

 

The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who will seek a third term in the polls due in the first half of this year, is considering keeping the export levy at 20%, according to people familiar with the matter. There is no immediate proposal to ban exports of parboiled rice, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the talks are confidential. The tax is currently due to expire March 31.

 

Any such move could add to the rally in benchmark Asian rice prices, which are hovering near a 15-year high after India began restricting sales of key varieties in 2023. That would be bad news for some countries in West Africa and the Middle East that rely on the South Asian nation for most of their requirements of the food staple.

 

A spokesperson representing both the food and commerce ministries didn’t immediately comment.

 

An extension of the levy would be a part of the government’s aggressive measures to control food inflation that climbed to almost 10% in December from a year earlier. India has already curbed exports of wheat, sugar and most rice varieties, and cracked down on hoarding. It has also extended low edible oil import duties for another year.

 

Still, retail prices of rice in Delhi remain about 11% higher than a year ago. Food Minister Piyush Goyal launched a program Tuesday to provide subsidized rice to retail customers across the country. The government is already selling wheat flour and chickpeas at cheaper-than-market rates.

 

Parboiled rice, which accounted for about 30% of India’s total exports before the curbs, is the result of a process that involves partial boiling of paddy before milling to boost its nutritional values and change the texture of cooked rice. The South Asian nation had a share of about 40% in the global rice trade in 2022-23.

India is close to finalizing a first-of-its-kind trade deal that could see a small group of European nations invest as much as $100 billion over 15 years in exchange for easier trade access to the world’s most populous nation, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

 

The European Free Trade Association, which comprises Switzerland, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein, made a commitment to invest in India as part of a trade pact that’s in the final stages of negotiations, the people said, asking not to be identified as the talks are still ongoing.

 

The contours of the deal have been agreed and deliberations currently center on the final investment amount, which could be as much as $100 billion over 15 years, some of the people said. While India wants the commitment to be legally binding, one of the European officials said the amount will likely be framed as a goal, with no legal means to claim it included in the language of the agreement.

 

If finalized, it would mark the first time an investment commitment of this nature is secured by India as part of a free trade agreement.

 

Switzerland’s Economy Minister Guy Parmelin said last month that the outline of a deal had been agreed upon, without giving details. Legal clarifications are currently being rushed so the deal can be signed before India holds elections likely from April, a European official with knowledge of the matter said.

 

India’s commerce ministry didn’t immediately respond when contacted by Bloomberg News.

 

The Swiss economy ministry said in a statement that the text of the agreement is 'still to be finalized and both parties have agreed not to disclose the details at this stage.' The main points where agreement has been reached include 'patent protection, which was controversial in the past, as well as a new type of investment promotion chapter,' it said.

 

Norway’s government declined to comment on the terms of the deal.

 

Trade Bloc

Switzerland is by far India’s largest commercial partner among the members of the EFTA bloc, which comprises European nations which are not members of the European Union. Swiss two-way trade with India amounted to $17.14 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year, out of $18.66 billion with the whole group.

 

For EFTA countries, the agreement — which has been 16 years in the making — will allow manufacturers to export processed food and beverages, electrical machinery, and other engineering products at reduced tariffs to a potential market of 1.4 billion people. The deal is also likely to benefit the pharmaceutical and medical devices industry of the bloc.

 

India is attracting investor interest from several countries as businesses look to diversify their supply chains from China and seek new growth markets. India expects growth of about 7% in the fiscal year beginning in April, making it one of the fastest-expanding major economies in the world. The United Arab Emirates is also considering investing as much as $50 billion in India.

 

The investment in India from EFTA countries would mostly come from private businesses and state-sponsored vehicles and would be targeted toward existing and new manufacturing projects, according to people familiar with the discussions. The investment will see more than 1 million jobs created in India, one of the people said.

 

The deal would also ensure easier movement of Indian professionals to the bloc and market access for some agricultural products, the people said. While Switzerland — the biggest economy in the EFTA bloc — is usually very protective of its farmers, easier market access for Indian rice could be acceptable since Switzerland only produces marginal quantities itself, a person familiar with the negotiations said.

 

The Government is cognizant of the importance of supply chain and effective logistics for improved resilience in domestic production and trade.

 

In this regard, Government of India has taken several measures to strengthen supply chains including logistic ecosystem. PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan (NMP) was launched on 13th October 2021 for multimodal infrastructure planning, with a ‘whole of government approach’. PM Gati Shakti NMP is a GIS-enabled platform that integrates data layers of the infrastructure of roads, railways lines, ports, inland waterways, telecom lines, power lines, etc. onto a single platform and enables comprehensive planning for multimodal logistics.

 

To complement PM Gati Shakti NMP, the National Logistics Policy (NLP) was launched on 17th September 2022 for efficiency in services by streamlining processes in logistics sector through Comprehensive Logistics Action Plans (CLAP), including development of human resources, adoption of digital technologies such as Unified Logistics Interface Platform (ULIP) and Logistics Data Bank (LDB). ULIP integrates 33 logistics related digital systems across Ministries, while LDB is operational to track and trace EXIM containers.

 

In addition, a series of reforms have been taken to promote investments and manufacturing in the country, such as a liberalised FDI policy, introduction of PLI Schemes in key sectors, reduction in corporate tax, Foreign Trade Policy 2023 with focus on improving ease of doing business through measures for reduction in compliance burden, Make In India, One District One Product initiative, District As Export Hub initiative along with other business reforms. Further, the existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are ensuring supplies and market access to the manufacturing sector on preferential terms.

 

Programmes like Bharatmala and Sagarmala, Trade Infrastructure for Exports Scheme (TIES), Setting up of Industrial Parks and development of Industrial Corridors etc. also have been taken up to facilitate holistic infrastructure planning and accelerated economic development of the country.

 

At the international front, amongst others, apart from taking initiatives such as the ‘G20 Generic Framework for Mapping GVCs’, which will help countries identify opportunities for sectors and products critical for building resilience within GVCs,  Government of India has also become signatory to the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity Agreement relating to Supply Chain (an initiative of 14 Member countries) and also part of the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) with Japan and Australia to build collective, long-term resilient supply chains based on international partnerships.

 

This information has been provided by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.

The Government has informed the Lok Sabha that onion procurement has been continuing under the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) with the buffer target being raised to 7 lakh tonnes.

 

Replying to a query on Wednesday, Ashwini Kumar Choubey, Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said the procurement target for buffer has been raised in the 2023-24 fiscal, from 2.50 lt in 2022-23.

 

Stating that procurement of onions from farmers has been continuing since June 2023, he said 6.30 lt of onions have been procured till date.

 

The procured onions have been continuously released through retail sales, e-NAM auction and bulk sales in wholesale markets. Onion buffer operations under PSF have helped in moderating the annual seasonal volatility in prices, he said.

 

In order to check the seasonal volatility in prices of onion, buffer stock is maintained under the PSF to make onions available to consumers at affordable prices during lean season.

 

Tomato

When prices of tomato surged during July-August 2023, due to white fly infestation and adverse weather condition, tomatoes were procured under PSF from source markets and made available to retail consumers in high-price regions at subsidised rates through the National Cooperative Consumers Federation (NCCF) and National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (Nafed). Through the intervention, the retail prices of tomato were brought down to normal level by first half of September 2023, he said.

 

Bharat Dal

To make dals available to consumers at affordable prices, the Government launched Bharat Dal in July 2023, by converting Chana stock in the PSF into Chana dal for retail disposal. The Bharat Chana Dal is made available to the consumers at subsidized rates of Rs.60 a kg for 1-kg pack and Rs.55 per kg for 30-kg pack.

 

He said around 2.97 lt of Bharat Chana Dal has been sold to retail consumers which constitute about 25 per cent of household consumption of Chana Dal. The Bharat Dal has been extended to include Moong Dal by converting Moong stock in the PSF buffer into Moong Dal and Moong Sabut for retail sale to the consumers at subsidized prices of Rs.107 a kg and Rs.93 a kg, respectively.

 

He said a total of 91.62 lt of pulses has been acquired under PSF buffer, and around 86.45 lt of pulses have been disposed of. During 2022-23 and 2023-24 (till January 31), a total of 24.19 lt of pulses was released from the buffer, he said.

 

Halal certification

To a separate question on the halal certification of non-veg products by certain private bodies, Choubey said the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB), Quality Council of India (QCI) had granted accreditation to Halal Shariat Islamic Law (HaSIL) Board, Lucknow; Jamiat Ulama-I-Hind Halal Trust, New Delhi; and JUHF Certification Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, as per International Standard ISO/IEC 17065 under India Conformity Assessment Scheme (i-CAS) for halal products.

 

In a notification dated April 6 2023, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) empowered NABCB to accredit halal certification bodies for exports of meat and meat products under the i-CAS for halal products and to take remedial step to minimize unauthorized halal certifications in India.

 

He said Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is designated as the overall monitoring agency for the purpose of halal certification for exports of meat and meat products.

 

PMGKAY

To a question on the beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY), Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, said around 80.49 crore people have availed the benefits of PMGKAY till January 31 of 2023-24. Around 80.10 crore people had availed the benefits of this scheme during the financial year 2022-23.

 

PMGKAY was launched with the specific purpose of ameliorating the hardships faced by the poor and needy due to economic disruptions caused by the Covid outbreak in the country in 2020.

 

She said the extension of free foodgrains under PMGKAY for five years with effect from January 1 2024, reflects the long-term commitment and vision of the Government for addressing national food and nutrition security.

India will stick to its stance and oppose any negotiation mandate on non-trade issues such as environment, gender and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) at the upcoming 13th ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), officials said.

 

New Delhi is of the view that protectionist trade barriers should not be erected in the guise of sustainable development and there are different multilateral fora such as the United Nations where these issues can be discussed.

 

'Issues like environment and labour are non-trade issues. These are non-negotiable at WTO. We are sticking to that stand,' said an official. 'These are not trade issues but they have trade implications.'

 

The official added that India is against linking issues such as MSMEs and gender with trade.

 

WTO’s MC13 will be held from February 26 to 29 in Abu Dhabi and developed nations are pushing to begin formal talks on such non-trade issues.

 

On the inclusion of issues related to economic empowerment of women at the WTO talks, the official said India believes that this is a social and domestic matter, and there are specialised conventions of the UN to discuss these.

 

'So, we will not agree to any work programme; we will agree to discussions to promote sustainable development but our rights and obligations should not be impacted,' the official said.

 

The final agenda of the MC13 is expected to be finalised in the General Council meeting of the WTO next week in Geneva.

 

Officials also said that India is likely to oppose any negotiations on investments in the WTO as these fall outside the mandate of the global trade body and cannot be deliberated in formal meetings.

 

'It will be tightrope for India,' said an official.

 

China, along with a 100 countries is pushing for a Joint Initiative on Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD).

 

As per the official, India is watchful of the different positions of the EU and the US on issues related to agriculture especially market access.

 

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public, Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that it is important to understand and appreciate the importance of Quality. While addressing the students at the Convocation Ceremony of the first batch of ‘Gunvatta Gurukul Program’ of the Quality Council of India (QCI), the Minister said for Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi quality and sustainability are two most important issues that will define the nation’s journey in becoming a developed nation by 2047.

 

Shri Goyal expressed his confidence in the Prime Minister providing quality of living to the citizens in his third term, as he has worked towards providing ease of living to the people in his second term. Further, while speaking to the students, the Minister urged the graduating students to create a young confident ecosystem that respects ‘Zero Effect and Zero Defect’. He said that India cannot become a developed nation unless we respect the environment and imbibe quality and sustainability as prime focus that will help India reach the ‘golden era’ that our country once enjoyed.  

 

With an aim to strengthen the young force of India, nearly 20% of the total world youth population, QCI celebrates the first convocation ceremony of the first batch of the Gunvatta Gurukul, a ground-breaking initiative aligned with the vision of preparing and propelling youth to become an integral part of the Developed India, a Viksit Bharat, by 2047.

 

The initiative aims to empower young minds and equip them for success in the dynamic job market and provide them a platform to gain insights on the governance and public policies. In the first batch, 87 bright young professionals graduated with a recognition from QCI for their dedication and achievements.

 

The success of the first batch paves the way for the second batch, commencing on February 9, 2024. With its innovative approach and unwavering commitment to youth empowerment, Gunvatta Gurukul is poised to make a significant impact on India's future.

India imported 30,271 tonnes of arecanut valued Rs.118.45 crore during the first eight months of 2023-24, according to a reply in the Lok Sabha.

 

To a query on arecanut imports, Anupriya Patel, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, said the Customs field formations and Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) under Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIC) as well as State commercial tax departments keep constant vigil for illicit transportation of arecanut into India through air, sea and land ports and take appropriate actions as per the provisions of law to prevent imports through adoption of various deceptive methods.

 

According to the reply, India imported 30,271 tonnes of arecanut valued Rs.118.45 crore during April-November 2023-24. India had imported 73,983 tonnes valued Rs.258.19 crore during 2022-23.

 

Illicit imports

On specific cases of arecanut illicitly transported into India through airports utilising domestic supply routes, the Minister said Customs field formations seized 14,188 tonnes of arecanut valued Rs.0.56 crore in 12 cases during 2022-23, and 15,296 tonnes valued Rs.0.52 crore in 2021-22.

 

The CBIC, through its field formations and DRI, keeps a strict vigil at the possible areas prone to illegal transportation of arecanut and take appropriate action in accordance with the provisions of the Customs Act 1962, she said.

 

To restrict the illegal import of arecanut into the country and to protect the interest of the domestic arecanut growers has taken measures. These include stringent adherence of quality standards by field offices of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) before clearing the import consignments.

 

Strict examination of the ‘Rule of Origin’ of arecanut by Customs field formations to ensure that arecanut grown in countries other than SAARC is not imported through the neighbouring countries taking advantage of import duty exemption under trade agreements.

 

Import of arecanut into the country is restricted through an import duty of 100 per cent.

 

The Minister said the Government has also revised minimum import price (MIP) to curb the import of into the country and thus to prevent entry of inferior quality arecanut into Indian markets and destabilizing the domestic prices. Accordingly, import of arecanuts is ‘prohibited’ if if CIF (cost, insurance and freight) value is less than Rs.351 a kg.

 

However, the MIP conditions shall not be applicable for imports by 100 per cent export-oriented units and units in the Special Economic Zones (SEZs) subject to the condition that no domestic tariff area sale is allowed.

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 among 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.

State-wise Details of India's Exports of Millets during 2022-23
Qty. in MT; Value in USD Millions
State	Qty	Value
Gujarat	78106.15	34.19
Maharashtra	50486.43	24.07
Bihar	19917.76	5.53
West Bengal	12587.49	3.52
Telangana	1680.25	3.30
Tamil Nadu	2952.63	2.48
Andhra Pradesh	1319.78	0.61
Haryana	301.59	0.42
Karnataka	429.25	0.35
Madhya Pradesh	345.76	0.28
Kerala	326.95	0.27
Rajasthan	405.71	0.26
Uttar Pradesh	112.14	0.11
Punjab	Source:  pib.gov.in
08 Feb, 2024 Russia buys bananas and papayas from India amid spat with Ecuador. Amidst a growing dispute with Ecuador, its main banana supplier, Russia has started purchasing bananas and papayas from India. The change in economic relations is brought on by geopolitical concerns as Russia is looking for other suppliers. It all began when Ecuador decided to swap high-tech American weapons for Russian-manufactured military hardware, which made Russia unhappy.   Russia received its first shipment of bananas from India in January, and another shipment is expected at the end of February. The Russian agricultural watchdog Rosselkhoznadzor said that 'the volume of exports of Indian bananas to the Russian market will increase,' indicating a rising demand for Indian bananas in Russia.   India, known for producing a significant amount of bananas, has expressed a desire to export other fruits to Russia, including papaya, guava, mangoes, and pineapples.   Rosselkhoznadzor reportedly stopped importing bananas from five Ecuadorian companies due to pest detections. Refuting the Russian claim, Ecuador's food safety authority said that there was no substantial risk because insects were present in a very small percentage of the exports to Russia.   Though Russian officials have not explicitly linked the decision to acquire bananas from India to the diplomatic spat between Ecuador and the US, Russia has a well-established policy of restricting food imports from nations with whom it disagrees.   These events are taking place against the backdrop of an agreement that Moscow has denounced, in which Ecuador agreed to send Russian military gear to the US. Russia views this as assistance for Ukraine against Russia in the continuing crisis. This development is part of a bigger geopolitical game in which Russia is trying to expand its trading alliances in the face of Western sanctions because of its military operations in Ukraine.   Since 2022, trade ties between Russia and India have grown closer as Russia has turned to non-Western nations to offset the effects of various Western sanctions. Ecuador had a major role in Russia's fruit import strategy, as evidenced by the fact that Russia was the country that imported the most bananas from Ecuador prior to the conflict.  Source:  economictimes.indiatimes.com
07 Feb, 2024 Investment proposals during World Food India 2023. Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) organized World Food India-2023 during 3rd to 5th November,2023 at Bharat Mandapam, Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. The total amount of Investment interests announced and MoUs signed during the World Food India 2023 is Rs. 33,129 Crore.   In order to provide boost to the Food Processing Industries, Ministry promotes investment in Food Processing Sector through its schemes (i) Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY), (ii) Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) and (iii) PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME). Projects assisted under these scheme have resulted in estimated Investment leverage of more than Rs. 25869 Cr.   Under component schemes of PMKSY, the Ministry provides mostly credit linked financial assistance (capital subsidy) in the form of grants-in-aid to the entrepreneurs including individual entrepreneurs.   The Ministry also provides financial, technical and business support for setting up/ upgradation of individual micro food processing enterprises through credit linked subsidy under PMFME scheme.   Ministry is implementing the Central Sector Scheme- “Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI)” to support creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets with an outlay of Rs.10,900 crores, to be implemented from 2021-22 to 2026-27. PLISFPI is targeted to facilitate expansion of Food Processing capacity by creating champion brands in Food Processing Sector.   An incentives amount of Rs.584.3 Crore has been disbursed so far to the 41 eligible cases for the FY 2021-22. Investment to the tune of Rs.7696.58 crore has been reported by the PLI beneficiaries   This information was given by Union Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Km. Shobha Karandlaje in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.  Source:  pib.gov.in
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