Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shobha Karandlaje has given a clarion call to farmers to explore the possibilities of starting micro industries by utilising 50 percent subsidy given by the Centre to start micro industries. The farmers should open millet processing units and export the products to foreign countries.

 

She was addressing the gathering after inaugurating a Seminar on ‘Agriculture,’ organised as part of Adi Jagadguru Sri Shivarathreeshwara Shivayogigala Jatra Mahotsava, at Suttur Srikshetra in Nanjangud taluk yesterday.

 

'India has contributed best practices like Yoga and Ayurveda to the world. By announcing the year 2023 as International Year of Millets, a step has been taken towards gifting millets to the world. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has aided farmers by expanding the size of agriculture budget which was restricted to Rs. 23,000 crore from the last 75 years to Rs. 1.32 lakh crore. Under Krishi Vikasa Yojane, Rs. 1.2 crore has been set aside for the processing of agricultural produces and development of production units. The funds are earmarked for setting up cold storage units at every districts to store every agricultural produces and laboratories,' said Union Minister Shobha Karandlaje.

 

The other countries in the world are ready to buy quality seeds, millets and millet based products. The small farmers should come together and set up production centres and export the products. The  farmers can also export their products through Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and should make use of the opportunity, said Shobha Karandlaje.

 

MLA G. T.  Devegowda, Managing Director of Artha 360 Eco Ventures M.N.  Dinesh Kumar, progressive farmer Honnur Prakash and senior journalist H.R. Ranganath also spoke on the occasion.

 

Suttur Seer Sri Shivarathri Deshikendra  Swamiji,  HiriyurAdi Jambava Peetha’s Sri Shadaksharamuni Deshikendra Swamiji and Kaginele Gurupeetha’s Sri Niranjananandapuri Swamiji graced the occasion.

Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurates Millets Mahotsav at Mandla, Madhya Pradesh on Saturday.

 

In the wake of the United Nations General Assembly declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millets, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries is hosting Millets Mahotsav across 20 States and 30 Districts in the country with the aim of creating awareness about the nutritional benefits, value addition, consumption and export potential of Millets. The districts include Mandla (Madhya Pradesh), Vizianagaram (Andhra Pradesh), Bhojpur (Bihar), Mahbubnagar (Telangana), Dharmapuri (Tamil Nadu), Agra (Uttar Pradesh), Karbi Anglong (Assam), Virudhunagar (Tamil Nadu), Dang (Gujarat), Parvathipuram Manyam (Andhra Pradesh), Komaram Bheem (Telangana), Almora (Uttarakhand), Nuapada (Odisha), Bathinda (Punjab), Palakkad (Kerala), Davangere (Karnataka), Tapi (Gujarat), Barmar (Rajasthan), Kullu (Himachal Pradesh), Tumkur (Karnataka), Bhind (Madhya Pradesh), Nandurbar (Maharashtra), Jodhpur (Rajasthan), Sukma (Chhattisgarh), Mahendragarh (Haryana), Aligarh (Uttar Pradesh), Kalimpong (West Bengal), Khunti (Jharkhand) and Jamui (Bihar).

 

The series of events under Millets Mahotsav commenced from Mandla, Madhya Pradesh on 21-22 January 2023. Mandla is the hub of production of the Kodo and Kutki Millet which has also been identified as the One District One Product (ODOP) under the Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme launched by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India.

 

During his inaugural address, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel touched upon the importance of millets and the immense market potential for millet-based value-added products. He informed the stakeholders about the various initiatives undertaken by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries to support the food processing sector and cited the role of the PMFME Scheme in empowering micro food processing enterprises by providing financial, technical and business support across the value chain.

 

The two-day event was aimed at bringing all the stakeholders of the food processing sector with special focus on millets, on a common platform and encompassed a wide range of activities like exhibition and sale of various millet-based products, informative sessions on millet processing, interactive sessions between industry experts and micro food processing enterprises, SHGs, FPOs engaged in food processing followed by acultural programby indigenous tribal groups. The event witnessed an overwhelming response with more than 1000 participants attending the event including micro food processing enterprises, self help groups, farmer producer organizations, producer cooperatives, etc.

 

The exhibition focused on various Millet-based products such as flour, pasta, vermicelli, suji, ready-to-eat snacks along with showcasing processing machinery. The products were also open for sale, providing a great opportunity for the micro-entrepreneurs to not only participate in technical sessions but also generate revenue and forge partnerships for stronger market reach.

 

In addition to the MilletsMahotsav, a mega-food event is also being organized by the Ministry from 3rd to 5thNov 2023 in New Delhi to provide a unique platform to all stakeholders i.e. producers, food processors, equipment manufacturers, logistics players, cold chain players, technology providers, academia, start-up & innovators, food retailers, etc. to interact and have a dialogue. The event is slated to be the biggest-ever congregation of dignitaries, global investors and business leaders of major global and domestic food companies which would put India firmly on the global food landscape.

 

Being grown in more than 130 countries, Millets are considered traditional food for more than half a billion people across Asia and Africa. Millets are important by the virtue of their mammoth potential to generate livelihoods, increase farmers’ income and ensure food & nutritional security all over the world. India is one of the leading producers of millets in the world with an estimated share of around 41 percent in global production. Recognizing the enormous potential of Millets, which also aligns with several UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the Government of India (GoI) has prioritized Millets. Spearheaded by the Honourable Prime Minister, the Government of India’s proposal for International Year of Millets (IYoM) 2023 was accepted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). The declaration has been instrumental for the Government of India to be at the forefront of celebrating IYoM.

Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) has announced that the largest annual global food and beverage sourcing event in the world, Gulfood, will take place from February 20-24, 2023. Bringing together F&B communities from across the world in Dubai to chart the way forward for this rapidly evolving sector, the 28th edition of the show is set to be 30% larger than the previous years, with 1,500 of the 5,000+ confirmed exhibitors new to the show. Gulfood 2023’s record scale is due in part to the introduction of Gulfood Plus, a brand-new bespoke hall, where first-time exhibitors will showcase product innovations across 10,000 m2 of added floorspace.

 

Leading global brands exhibiting include: Unilever, GMG, Americana, Agthia, Fonterra, McCain, Monin, USAPEEC, Hunter Foods, Asmak, Minerva Foods, U.S. Dairy Export Council, Frinsa Group, Emirates Snacks Foods and Al Rabie to name a few; as well as newcomers including Brazilian food processing company: BRF Global and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

 

Globally, a series of world events are causing inflation and a rise in the cost of consumer goods, food, utilities, and fuel. The food industry has a huge role to play in helping reverse these trends and moving towards healthier, more resilient food systems. With the UAE preparing to host COP 28 in 2023, Gulfood will serve as a critical opportunity to convene the global F&B industry at the start of the year, and continue the shift towards more sustainable food production and consumption.   

 

'With the ongoing food crisis, combined with climate shocks, and rising costs of food, 2023 will be an important year for turning the corner and getting back on track while elevating healthy and diversified diets that are sustainable for people and the planet. Gulfood and the UAE will be at the heart of many of these conversations and have a unique vantage point from which to lead the way,' commented Trixie LohMirmand, executive vice president, Dubai World Trade Centre.  

 

The source of the world

With the UAE acting as the central hub of all these changes, Gulfood will be at the heart of the business community, the source of propelling sector conversations from agenda to action, bringing the industry together to convene in the first key F&B industry event of the year, unveiling new products and innovations, and creating an international platform for business opportunities including 125 country pavilions with first time participants: Armenia, Cambodia and Iraq, and welcoming back returning pavilions from South Africa and Australia.

 

Sustainability at the fore

Launching in 2023 Gulfood presents: Gulfood Green - a new global sustainability initiative, to ignite and continue conversations within the wider F&B community to create a momentous shift towards more resilient and sustainable food production and consumption. The objective being to raise visibility and influence key strategic food industry champions for sustainable food systems transformation in the lead up to COP28 and set a precedent for the future.  

 

As part of the initiative the show has also launched its own Gulfood Global Forest, an international tree-planting campaign and nature-based solution to the events’ sustainability commitments, to conserve, restore and grow trees across the globe to help curb climate change. The food industry is known to be a major carbon emitter and the Gulfood Forest will enable stakeholders of the event from exhibitors and visitors, to speakers, chefs and the wider public to get involved and plant trees to help restore global forests. Gulfood Green has already started planting in four countries: the UAE, Uganda, Ecuador and Indonesia, with fruit bearing trees planted in a number of locations to enable families and local communities to become self-sufficient. The trees already planted will support 2,000 families and sequester 1 million kg of CO2 over the trees’ lifetime. Gulfood Greens’ commitment is to quadruple the number of trees and country expansion by COP28.  

 

The theme of sustainability will be carried through multiple verticals of the event, with topics being discussed at the conference including: Working towards zero food waste and making the dairy industry less carbon-intensive, to building and securing viable, sustainable food business. Speakers include: Paul Newnham – executive director of SDG2 Advocacy Hub; Carlos Frunze Garza, advocate for sustainability and executive chef of Teible; Kylie Woodham – general manager of Magners Farm; and Kamesh Ellajosyula - president and chief innovation & quality officer of Olam Food Ingredients. The show will also put the spotlight, for the very first time, on global chefs spearheading biodiversity in the restaurant industry, with masterclasses and workshops by top chefs creating real change, through sustainability and zero waste initiatives including: Rasmus Munk of Alchemist in Copenhagen and Peeter Pihel, sustainable restaurant advocate and head chef of Fotografiska.  

 

The Gulfood Green Awards will also take place this year, with submissions open to the industry, in five categories: Green Foodservice Industry Award, Waste Management Award; Green Food Innovation Award; Sustainability Professional of the Year and Sustainability Company of the Year. The Gulfood Green Awards celebrate excellence in sustainability and encourage green best practice across the food & beverage industry.

 

Impactful conversations to spur change

The Gulfood Inspire Conference will champion core themes of: Sustainability, Quality and Access. Ministers, global F&B value chain leaders, entrepreneurs, civil society and industry experts will lead a series of keynotes, panel discussions and showcases, addressing timely topics including: Sustainable Food Production; Food Security and Sovereignty; Agri-Food and Food Tech Investment; Innovations and Web 3 Opportunities; Nutrition Education and Access; Waste Reduction; Securing International Supply Chains; and Food Services Trends, Challenges and Innovations. Confirmed first time speakers include: Yazen Al Kodmani - head of operations of Emirates Bio Farm; Alessio D'Antino - co-founder & CEO of Forward Fooding; Neha Sood - UAE market lead for Zomato; Rajiv Warrier - CEO GCC of Choithrams and Ruben Brunsveld, deputy director - EMEA, Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.  

The show has partnered with global award-winning market intelligence agency, Mintel, to curate a thought leadership programme for the F&B industry. As the events’ Strategic Knowledge Partner, the agency has undertaken exploratory interviews with leaders across the food & drink industry, covering topics including sustainability and inflation. Experts and leaders from around the globe, have shared challenges and priorities as food & drink professionals with the aim of collectively looking to understand the key challenges the food & drink industry faces and the solutions businesses are adopting to overcome them.  

 

The results from the research will be shared in a whitepaper in the weeks leading up to Gulfood 2023 and to be more widely used across the industry to provide guidance and inspiration to businesses at this critical time.

 

‘Dubai World Cuisine’ movement  

Gulfood Plus will be the home of Top Table this year, where the world’s best curators of award-winning dining experiences will showcase their signature dishes. Gulfood 2023 will launch the ‘Dubai World Cuisine’ Movement, which aims to provide a platform for homegrown chefs to collaboratively shape the cultural identity of Dubai and establish it on the world’s culinary map.  

 

For 2023, Singapore has been selected, for the nation’s vibrant and diverse culinary scene from Michelin-starred restaurants to UNESCO-recognised street food. The programme will see 6 iconic chefs from Singapore hosted in 6 restaurants in Dubai in February with masterclasses and fringe dinners outside of the event, across the city. Two months later in May, the Dubai chefs will then be hosted in Singapore for 6 dinners under the umbrella of Dubai World Cuisine by Gulfood.  

 

A star-studded lineup of internationally renowned Michelin star chefs participating in the programme include: Melbourne born Michael Wilson of Marguerite in Singapore, Winner of the Michelin Guide Young Chef of the Year, Louis Han of Nae:um; and hailing from Liguria, Italy, Daniele Sperindio of Art in Singapore. Michelin star homegrown talent includes: Gregoire Berger of Ossiano, Salam Dakkak of Bait Maryam and Saverio Sbaragli of Al Muntaha - all participating in Gulfood for the very first time. Alongside Top Table, Chef Talks will offer insights and inspiration from global chefs, food editors and influencers in the culinary world.

 

The leaders of tomorrow

As the first-of-its-kind launch-pad for empowering promising F&B talent with a career changing experience, the Gulfood YouthX Challenge grand finale winners, competing at Gulfood 2023, will be rewarded for their contribution to the region’s influence on the global gastronomic scene with a career changing internship at an international 3-Michelin star restaurant.

 

In another event first, YouthX Academy Acceleration has been created to provide a pathway for culinary students to fast-track their career in the world of professional gastronomy, the YouthX Academy Challenge will see teams of talented young chefs from top international culinary schools compete with each other for the chance to secure a full-time position at one of the most coveted restaurants in the region.

 

Foodverse

Also taking place at the new Gulfood Plus - the Food Metaverse on the blockchain will give visitors the chance to discover the incredible opportunities that the food ecosystem is presented with through Web 3.0, and learn about emerging technology trends that will pave the way for future innovations in the F&B industry.

 

Gulfood Innovation Awards

The Gulfood Innovation Awards are bestowed to the industry's revolutionary pioneers, honouring excellence in new product development and championing ground-breaking new products, launched within the past calendar year. Thousands of entries have already been submitted in 10 categories including: best beverage product, best organic product, best frozen product, best packaging design and best plant-based product.  

 

Enabling global connections

The show will create a platform for companies in the food industry to present their products, services, and solutions to influential buyers from across the globe, facilitating intercontinental business deals and serving as the ultimate focal point for the world of food and beverage sourcing. Over 10,000 meetings have already been scheduled and confirmed via the show’s meetings programme. 

India’s chilli production is expected to rebound by 23 per cent this season (October 2022-September 2023), while pepper and jeera (cumin) output are also estimated higher.

 

However, turmeric production will likely be lower due to waterlogging of fields during monsoon, say reports presented at the International Spice Congress 2023 (ISC-2023).

 

A panel at ISC-2023, organised by the All India Spices Exporters Forum, said jeera prices expected to be bullish while chilli prices may not rule as high as last year.

 

The global crop outlook will reflect the Indian production trend, barring pepper in which Vietnam is the largest producer. Global pepper production is seen up at 5.39 lakh tonnes (lt) this season against 5.21 lt last season. Pepper prices are likely to be under pressure due to high inventories, while turmeric prices are likely to stay at current levels due to high carryover stocks, the reports said.

 

Global cumin production continues to be below the 5-lakh-tonnes mark with production in India, which makes up over 90 per cent of the total world production, also remaining below the pre-pandemic level. India’s chilli will likely gain from a 10 per cent fall in the Chinese crop, the reports presented at the end of ISC-2023 titled ‘Reboot n’ rebound — Beyond the new normal’, said.

 

No threat for chilli

There is no threat to Indian chilli crop from the black thrips, which affected the plants badly dragging yield and production lower. As a result, chilli production dropped to 12 million tonnes (mt).

 

With the farmers’ outlook changing, the yield is expected to be 1-1.5 tonnes an acre higher in chilli. This will likely result in production increasing to 16 mt.

 

The crop in most parts of the country such as Telangana, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh is good but it has been affected in Madhya Pradesh due to heavy rains and resultant pest attacks.

 

In view of the lower production last season, chilli exports declined 25 per cent in the first half of the current fiscal. The report, presented by AB Mauri India Pvt Ltd, said stocks in cold storages are 90 per cent lower this year.

 

Some headway in jeera

Jeera production, which dropped 20 per cent last season to 3.88 lt, has been projected at 4.14 lt in the current season. As a result, global production will be higher at 4.35 lt against 4.08 lt.

 

But net supplies from India are projected 7 per cent lower keeping the prices bullish, the report prepared by ITC Ltd, said.

 

The acreage of jeera, which is the largest spice in terms of area of cultivation, is higher by 4.6 per cent this season. The report said the area under jeera increased 13 per cent in Rajasthan to 6.10 lakh hectares (lh). In Gujarat, the acreage dropped by 10 per cent to 2.75 lh. These are the two top producers in the country. Rajasthan is expected to be the top production with the output in the State estimated at 2.12 lt, while in Gujarat, it has been pegged at 2.02 lt.

 

Pepper’s Covid woes

Pepper cultivation across the global suffers from neglected farms, high labour costs, lower returns, curtained demand and supply chain disruption during the post-Covid period.

 

The report, prepared by Jayanti Herbs and spices, said production in India will likely increase to 53,500 tonnes from 52,000 last season.

 

Untimely rains during the time when the spikes grown, high labour cost as well as non-availability of workers have affected pepper output in India. However, the country has high carryover stocks of 16,742 tonnes. Production in Vietnam is seen recovering to 2.25 lt from 2 lt despite exports dropping 8 per cent in 2022. Shipments to China, in particular, declined by 30 per cent.

 

Brazil is coming up with a bigger crop of 1.08 lakh tonnes and surprisingly, Vietnam is the major importer of the spice from the Latin American nation. Its shipments to the US, however, have been hit by the presence of salmonella bacteria. China’s pepper imports are rebound that it offers hope, said experts at the panel discussion on the crop report.

 

White pepper prices may rule firm as its production is projected lower at 87,000 tonnes against 95,000 tonnes, while the carryover stocks is projected lower at 17,000 tonnes (26,400 tonnes).

 

Turmeric lacks gleam

The country’s production is estimated at 13.14 lt against 13.29 lt with heavy rains waterlogging the fields and affecting the output. The area under cultivation is lower in most parts of the country, barring Maharashtra.

 

Farmers are likey to benefit from low incidences of pest attack and use of lower chemicals. Though demand for turmeric will dictate the price trend, a bearish factor is that there is a large carryover stock of 1.7 lt this season.

 

The crop study, done by Olam Spices in December and early January, showed that waterlogging affected the turmeric crop in Maharashtra, which accounts for 28 per cent of the area under the spice crop. However, there has been no major pest attack and hence, due to the rise in overall area under the crop, the production was expected to be 10 per cent higher.

 

Production is projected lower by 5 per cent in Telangana due to overall drop in acreage and 20 per cent in Karnataka due to rot disease. The crop in Tamil Nadu is projected 15-20 per cent lower due to the impact of rains, while the output in Andhra Pradesh has been affected, in addition to rains, pest attacks and diseases.

 

In the North-East, the area is up 10 per cent and with the crop in fine condition, the production will likely be 15 per cent higher, the report said.

India is set to export a record 50 million eggs this month, boosted by sales to Malaysia, where there have been acute shortages as soaring feed prices caused by the Ukraine war forced many small-scale farmers to cut output, industry officials said.

 

Middle Eastern countries, including Oman and Qatar, are the main buyers of eggs from India, but over the past few months, Indian hatcheries have received large orders from surprising quarters as output fell in some of the world's top suppliers. The biggest such unexpected order came from Malaysia, which used to export eggs to Singapore and other Asian countries.

 

To secure egg supplies as prices rose to record highs, Malaysian Minister of Agriculture and Food Security Mohamad Sabu earlier this month visited Namakkal, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu, where several leading hatcheries are based.

 

'For the first time, Malaysia is buying large quantities of eggs from India, and it seems that India's egg exports to Malaysia will remain strong during the first half of 2023,' Sasti Kumar, joint managing director at Namakkal-based Ponni Farms, one of India's leading egg exporters, told Reuters.

 

India shipped 5 million eggs to Malaysia in December, and will ship 10 million in January and up to 15 million in February, according Kumar.

 

The outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, has curtailed supplies of eggs and chicken in many countries around the globe, pressuring already high food prices and triggering trade restrictions from countries that import poultry.

 

The imports from India have helped Malaysia bring prices down from the record highs seen in late December. Having suffered a shortfall of 157 million eggs in November, the market gap was down to just one million in December, the Malaysian minister said in a statement earlier this week.

 

Malaysia's egg production would recover in a few months as the government has increased a subsidy, said Tan Chee Hee, president of the Federation of Livestock Farmers' Association of Malaysia.

 

Meantime, prices in India have shot up to a record 565 rupees ($6.96) per 100 eggs, up by nearly a quarter on year ago prices and adding to domestic concerns over food price inflation.

 

Exports are rising amid robust local consumption during the winter months, said Prasanna Pedgaonkar, general manager of poultry-focused Venky's.

 

At the same time, Pedgaonkar said, domestic supplies have fallen by around a tenth as small-scale Indian farmers, like their counterparts in Malaysia, have curtailed production after incurring losses in the past two years due to the high price of feed and the impact of the pandemic. India's domestic prices could eventually make exporting eggs less profitable, in which case foreign buyers will have to look elsewhere, said C Panneerselvam, an exporter also based in Namakkal who sold one million eggs to Malaysia last month.

 

But for the time being, demand is not abating.

 

Countries such as Singapore and Sri Lanka could be next in line to buy from India in coming months, said Kumar of Ponni Farms.

Wheat acreage has increased marginally to 341.13 lakh hectare (ha) so far in the ongoing rabi season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), according to the agriculture ministry data. Sowing of wheat, the main rabi (winter) crop, had begun from October onwards. Maize, jowar, gram and mustard are other major rabi crops. Harvesting of these crops will begin in March/April next year.

 

According to the latest data, the area under coverage for wheat has risen to 341.13 lakh ha till January 20 of the current rabi season of the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) against 339.87 lakh ha during the same period last year.

 

The higher area has been reported mainly from Rajasthan (2.52 lakh ha), Bihar (1.49 lakh ha), Maharashtra (0.92 lakh ha), Chhattisgarh (0.54 lakh ha), Gujarat (0.48 lakh ha) and Uttar Pradesh (0.22 lakh ha).

 

The lesser area under coverage for wheat is mainly reported from Madhya Pradesh (4.15 lakh ha), Jharkhand (0.34 lakh ha), Punjab (0.18 lakh ha), Himachal Pradesh (0.10 lakh ha) and Haryana (0.10 lakh ha).

 

As per the sowing data, Paddy acreage has also increased to 31.54 lakh ha compared to 23.64 lakh ha in the year-ago period.

 

Similarly, pulses acreage has risen marginally to 164.12 lakh ha against 163.7 lakh ha. Coarse and Nutri-cereals acreage has increased marginally to 51.46 lakh ha from 49.36 lakh ha.

 

In the case of oilseeds, the total area sown to various types of oilseeds has increased to 108.11 lakh ha so far this rabi season against 100.44 lakh ha in the year-ago period. Of which, the rapeseed-mustard seed area has increased to 97.1 lakh ha from 90.18 lakh ha, the data showed.

 

The total area sown to all kinds of rabi crops is higher at 696.35 lakh ha till January 20 of the current rabi season from 676.97 lakh ha a year ago.

Secretary, FPI, Smt. Anita Praveen chaired a roundtable interaction with Foreign Missions in India on Thursday at Vigyan Bhawan Annexe, New Delhi. This was in continuation to the multiple roundtable interactions held since November 2022, to apprise the Ministry’s plan of action for the Mega Food Event2023 and discuss potential areas of collaboration.The roundtable witnessed participation from representatives of19 Foreign Missions in India which included HE Ambassadors of Serbia, Myanmar, and senior officials from New Zealand, Laos, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Cambodia, Malaysia, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Australia, Japan, South Africa, Canada, Netherlands, and Mexico.

 

Secretary, FPI in her keynote address highlighted that Ministry of Food Processing Industries is organizing a Mega Food Event from 3rd to 5th November 2023, which is being envisaged on a much larger scale than the event earlier organized by the Ministry in 2017. She stated that the event wouldcater to all subsegments of food processing and allied sectors. In addition to this, the event will also focus on promoting millets and millet-based value-added products as 2023 has been declared as the ‘International Year of Millets’. Secretary, FPI further added that through the event the Ministry envisages to showcase India as a global food supply hub.

 

Representatives from all countries were requested to share their input and suggestions on the proposed structure of the event tomake it comprehensiveand inclusive for all relevant stakeholders globally. Participants were also requested to create awareness about the event amongst senior policy makers, agri-food companies, academia etc. in their respective countries andactively participateas a Partnerto make the event a grand success.

 

The Centre's push to reinvent cooperatives with the Union cabinet clearing proposals for setting up three cooperatives at the national level will help improve exports and availability of quality seeds to farmers, and enhance footprint of organic products in India and outside.

 

'Many products produced by cooperatives have a huge demand in many countries, but in the absence of an umbrella cooperative society, the export potential of cooperative services remains hugely untapped,' a senior government official said.

 

While national cooperatives for exports and seeds will be set up in the national capital, the cooperative for organic products will be headquartered at Anand in Gujarat. The cooperation ministry has roped in the external affairs ministry and commerce department to provide support and share studies on demands in foreign countries to help boost cooperatives' exports.

 

While cooperatives contribute significantly to production in some sectors, their share in exports is miniscule.

 

For example, cooperatives account for 30.6% of the country's total sugar production, but direct exports by cooperative sugar mills is less than 1% of the total sugar exports, the cooperatives ministry said in a note.

 

It further noted that cooperatives contribute substantially to various sectors such as 28.8% in fertiliser production, 35% in fertiliser distribution, and 17.5% in procurement of marketable surplus of milk in the national economy. However, many of them remain underutilised due to lack of infrastructure. 'The export society will focus on exporting the surpluses available in the country in the cooperative sector by removing such inadequacies,' a second official said. 'This will enable the farmers to access wider markets.'

 

As per official data, there are an estimated 854,000 registered cooperative societies in India with more than 290 million members, particularly from the marginalised and lower income groups in rural areas. For organic products, India accounts for a meagre 2.7% of world organic market despite having the third in the world after Australia and Argentina when it comes to area of land under organic cultivation at 2.7 million hectares.

 

Out of total 3.4 million organic producing farmers in the world, 1.6 million are from India, while certified Indian organic product retail market is estimated to be Rs 27,000 crore which includes export of Rs 7,000 crore, as per the cooperation ministry.

Last year, Maharashtra mango farmers had much to rejoice, as their produce successfully reached US shores in the summer. The consignment marked the first successful shipment of mangoes to the US via sea. Mangoes from India have sporadically found their way to the US, but only via air. The aforementioned shipment in question was a much-needed inflection point in the export of fresh fruits and vegetables from India.

 

As one of the world’s largest producers of agricultural and food products, India occupies a leading position in the global trade of marine products. Yet, its total agri-export basket accounts for little over 2.5 percent of world agri-trade. This points to a glaring gap in realizing the true export potential of India’s Agrarian economy.

 

A study mandated by APEDA some years ago revealed many challenges in the country’s agri exports and supply chain, especially in the case of fresh fruits and vegetables. It included an inefficient and unorganized backward integration model with our farmers. That resulted in quality and longevity issues of the produce, not to mention the stricter norms enforced by importing nations concerning production standards/traceability to farms, etc.

 

As a result of the sustained efforts of the Department of Commerce and bodies such as APEDA, activation of clusters such as the Varanasi cluster for fresh vegetables, Nagpur cluster for oranges and Krishna and Chitoor clusters in Andhra Pradesh for mangoes, have solved transportation/logistics issues of these land-locked production areas. Exports took place from many clusters like these for the first time, with produce finding their way from farms to supermarkets in the Middle East and even South Korea. This was a contributing factor to India’s unprecedented growth in exports in 2020-21.

Indian gherkin producers are unable to meet demand from the West, where offtake of the pickled cucumber has increased even as supplies have shrunk from regions such as Ukraine and other parts of Europe.

 

'We are in a sellers market. There’s a rebound in demand and we are unable to meet it as the supply is low and inventories have dried up,' said Pradeep Pooviah, Vice-President, Indian Gherkin Exporters Association. He estimates the shortfall in demand-supply to be around 20 per cent.

 

Improved pricing

Pooviah said the shortfall in supply has led to improved pricing even as exporters-producers grapple to fulfil the order backlog. 'We are trying to meet the built up demand of last four months,' he added.

 

Gherkins are a type of small cucumbers grown by farmers in parts of south India are processed and shipped in brine solution by exporters to overseas markets in the West, where they are consumed as pickle.

 

The production of gherkins takes place under the contract farming model, where exporters decide on the quantity based on the projected demand. It is estimated that around 60,000 acres is under gherkin cultivation in States such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra. Close to one lakh farmers are engaged in the production of the gherkins, which are mainly exported overseas to markets in the US, Russia and Europe among other countries.

 

The current shortfall in gherkin supply is attributed to the trimming of production by the exporters, who operated at a capacity of around 60 per cent. In the previous year, the exporters had faced challenges such as lower prices and higher logistics costs impacting realisations and profitability.

 

'We produced about 40 per cent less during the April-December, which helped reduce the inventory in the market,' Pooviah said. Also, the prices paid to farmers saw a marginal increase, resulting in lower output. Now the production is getting back to normal and there is backlog to be fulfilled, he said.

 

Sources said the reduction in supplies from the war-torn Ukraine and the drought affected Europe has also contributed to the increased demand for Indian gherkins. India exports gherkins round the year, unlike other producers such as Ukraine and Mexico, while the production takes place in about nine months a year. In the year-ended March 2022, India’s gherkin exports fell by around 11 per cent in value terms to $199.46 million over previous year’s $223.04 million. In quantity, the exports were down at 2.175 lakh tonnes over previous year’s 2.235 lakh tonnes.

 

In the current financial year, the exports of processed vegetables, under which gherkins are clubbed, are up at $325 million for the April-November period over same period last year’s $275 million.