The shortage of eggs in Malaysia was reduced to one million in December last year, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu said on Tuesday (Jan 17), following the import of the product from foreign countries. 

 

This is compared to the shortage of 157 million eggs in November and 118 million eggs the month before.

 

Mr Mohamad said that the reduced shortfall was because the government had temporarily allowed the import of chicken eggs from foreign countries to help reduce the shortage faced by the country for the past few months. 

 

'I reported for duty at MAFS (Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security) on Dec 5. After getting a briefing on the latest situation in egg supply, the top management of MAFS and I met several major egg producers to seek the best ways to restore supply.

 

'The data I obtained from the Veterinary Services Department showed a critical shortage of eggs in October and November 2022. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), now the supply of chicken and eggs is beginning to recover and will be stable again soon,' he was quoted as saying by Bernama, adding that it was a 'commendable achievement'. 

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security on Dec 16 said that it allowed the import of chicken eggs from India by air as a trial phase in order to help meet the domestic needs. 

 

Local media previously reported that several states in Malaysia have seen a worrying shortage of eggs in recent months.

 

Bernama reported in December that the supply of chicken eggs in supermarkets and retail stores in five states - namely Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Selangor and Melaka - was seen to be depleting. 

Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has bought milling wheat in an international tender which closed on Tuesday, European traders said in initial assessments.

 

Initial purchases reported were around $334.50 a tonne cost and freight (c&f) included, they said. Estimates of tonnage bought ranged between 510,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes.

 

Traders said a large part of the volume was expected to be sourced from the Black Sea region.

 

More detailed assessments prices and tonnage bought are expected later.

 

The wheat is sought for shipment in two periods from the main supply regions including Europe: March 1-15 and March 15-31. If sourced from South America or Australia, shipment is one month earlier.

 

Algeria is a vital customer for wheat from the European Union, especially France. Algeria does not release results of its tenders and reports are based on trade estimates.

Saudi Arabia is open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the US dollar, according to the kingdom’s finance minister.

 

'There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,' Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday in an interview in Davos.

 

'I don’t think we are waving away or ruling out any discussion that will help improve the trade around the world,' Al-Jadaan said.

 

The world’s largest oil exporter, which has maintained a currency peg to the dollar for decades, is seeking to strengthen its relations with crucial trade partners including China. The kingdom is a pillar a petrodollar system established in the 1970s that relies on pricing crude exports in the US currency.

 

During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Riyadh last year, the two countries agreed to boost coordination on energy policy and exploration. During that trip Xi said that China would make efforts to buy more oil from the Middle East and also wanted to settle that trade in the yuan.

 

Read: Xi Visit to Saudi Arabia Brings Pledge of More Oil Trade

 

'We enjoy a very strategic relationship with China and we enjoy that same strategic relationship with other nations including the US and we want to develop that with Europe and other countries who are willing and able to work with us,' Al-Jadaan said.

 

Saudi Arabia is also working with multilateral institutions to provide support to Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, as part of the kingdom’s largesse to nations it deems 'vulnerable,' Al-Jadaan said.

 

'We are investing heavily in these countries and will continue to look for opportunities to invest,' Al Jadaan said. 'It’s very important to bring stability.'

 

Read: Saudi Arabia to Support Pakistan, Eyes Deals in Egypt and Turkey

 

The minister said his country is looking to invest $10 billion in Pakistan. It already extended the term of a $3 billion deposit to boost its foreign-currency reserves late last year, and Saudi Arabia is now exploring the possibility of increasing the amount.

 

 'We are providing even oil and derivatives to support their energy needs,' Al Jadaan said. 'So there is a lot of efforts, but we wanted this to be conducted.'

 

The kingdom is also discussing with the World Bank and other institutions how can it be 'more creative to provide that support' to Pakistan, the minister said.

 

Saudi Arabia is also 'providing a lot of support to Egypt and we’ll continue to — not directly through just grants and deposits, but also through investments,' Al-Jadaan said.

One pint of a beer, known as Malayali, is helping to close the distance between Kerala's Palakkad and Poland. Malayali, a beer created by Chandramohan Nallur using Indian rice and European hops, is gradually displacing other beers on Polish bar shelves.

 

As per a report by The New Indian Express, when Palakkad native Chandramohan Nallur got the idea of creating a beer, he didn’t have an iota of doubt about the name.

 

The beer's name, according to the 38-year-old, is a reflection of his love for fellow Malayalis. He is the first Malayali director of the Chamber of Commerce in Poland. The beverage was created out of necessity, and the Russia-Ukraine war played a role in its development.

 

According to the report, Nallur's father was having difficulty selling five containers of rice flakes that he had purchased before Russia invaded Ukraine.

 

'I was trying to find different ways to help an African friend who was struggling to sell five containers of rice flakes he had bought before the invasion. As the conflict escalated, there was nothing we could do to save the rice flakes,' he told the newspaper. 

 

'Because of the lack of storage facilities, we decided to convert them into pet food, but the plan was scrapped. We read about Komban beer, which was produced outside India. This was our inspiration to find use for the flakes,' Nallur recalled.

 

But Nallur isn't the only one making global waves. Komban, a beer created by Kochi native Vivek Pillai, is extremely popular in the United Kingdom. Nallur hopes to replicate its success in Poland, where Malayali was launched in November.

 

He had already sold 50,000 bottles of the beer after two months. In the coming days, he will deliver more than 5,000 litres of Malayali beer.

 

According to Nallur, beer was created before they decided on a name. He and his partner, Sargheve Sukumaran, experienced numerous failures during the protracted process of developing the beverage before tasting success.

 

'Making a new brew was never an easy task, and we faced failures on the way. It was on the third try that the ingredients all fell in place,' Nallur recounted.

 

He stated that a Polish restaurant approached them about brewing the craft beer, which gradually gained popularity. He claimed that the smoothness of the beer impressed customers.

 

'The next question before us was a name for the beer. We started looking for unique names that could connect us to where we belong. Without much ado, the name Malayali stuck and we applied for a trademark,' added Nallur.

 

In future, the Kerala native hopes to expand his business to other European countries.

The newly-approved National Co-operative Exports Limited (NCEL) will cover agriculture and allied activities as well as handloom and handicrafts items by enrolling a large number of co-operatives under its fold with a target to double its revenue by 2025 from the current level of about Rs.2,160 crore among 10 major co-operatives that will be its members.

 

NCEL will have an authorised share capital of Rs.2,000 crore in which the initial paid-up share capital will be Rs.500 crore to be contributed equally by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO), Krishak Bharati Cooperative (KRIBHCO), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), sources said. The Cabinet last week approved its creation.

The committee headed by Noor Md Mahbubul Haque, additional secretary (FTA) of the ministry, is scheduled to submit the assessment report to the ministry within the next 10 days, said Senior Secretary Tapan Kanti Ghosh after a meeting with the senior officials of different ministries, departments and agencies of the government on Tuesday.

 

The other members of the committee are senior representatives from the foreign affairs ministry, food ministry, agriculture ministry and the tariff commission, Tapan told journalists at his Secretariat office in Dhaka after the meeting.

 

The committee will mainly analyse the annual demand, local production, and import quantity – particularly from India – over the last 10 years, for the food items.

 

Upon submission of the new report from the committee, the commerce ministry will revise the quota of three essentials and send it to India so the country can assure guaranteed supply of those items even during the crisis moment stemmed from the severe fallouts of the Russia-Ukraine war.

 

During his visit to India last month, Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi demanded assured export of seven essentials to Bangladesh under a quota that India provides for Nepal, considering the tough time of Russia-Ukraine war.

 

The seven items were wheat, rice, sugar, onion, garlic, ginger and lentil. Of the seven items, the current import trend of three items – onion, garlic and ginger – is okay for the country. The Indian government declined to assure the export of lentil to Bangladesh as India itself is one of the major consumers of lentil.

 

'So, we are mainly working on three essentials so that India can assure a guaranteed supply for Bangladesh,' Tapan Kanti Ghosh said.

 

India has suggested that Bangladesh review the proposed import quota on seven food items as the neighbouring nation believes the quantity sought as a guaranteed supply is too high.

 

For example, Bangladesh has proposed that India guarantee a supply of up to 45 lakh tonnes of wheat each year.

 

However, India believes the quantity is too high given that its overall exports of the grain to Bangladesh stands at an annual average of about seven lakh tonnes, according to Commerce Minister Tipu Munshi.

 

Bangladesh annually imports nearly 65 lakh tonnes of wheat from different sources, particularly Russia and Ukraine, to meet local demand.

 

But following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the price of wheat increased worldwide as availability of the grain became uncertain due to ensuing volatility in the global supply chain. The commerce minister paid a two-day visit to India on 22-23 December last year to this end.

 

Apart from wheat, Bangladesh asked for a secured supply of seven lakh tonnes of onion, 30,000 tonnes of lentil, 20 lakh tonnes of rice, 15 lakh tonnes of sugar, 10,000 tonnes of garlic and 1.25 lakh tonnes of ginger each year.

 

In response, India said all the proposed quotas were too high as it found that annual exports of these items to Bangladesh were far less than that being demanded, Tipu Munshi told journalists at a press conference at the commerce ministry in Dhaka recently.

 

During the discussion with the journalists yesterday, Ghosh said the formal negotiation for signing the mega trade deal with India – Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) – may start with the commerce secretary level meeting scheduled to be held in Dhaka in March this year.

 

Earlier, during her visit to India in September last year, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to start negotiations for signing the CEPA by the end of 2022.

 

However, the negotiation was delayed because India demanded two more months for studying the joint study report on the CEPA, Tapan said.

An increase in the export of rapeseed meal and soyabean meal helped India record a 60 per cent growth in the export of oilmeals during the first nine months of 2022-23.

 

According to the data available with Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA) of India, the country exported 28.25 lakh tonnes (lt) of oilmeals durung April-December of 2022-23 against 17.67 lt in the corresponding period of 2021-22, recording a growth of 60 per cent.

 

Export of oilmeals was provisionally reported at 4.33 lt during December 2022 when compared to 1.70 lt in December 2021, an increase of 153.66 per cent.

 

BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA of India, said the export of rapeseed meal has set a new record of 16.71 lt during first nine months of 2022-23, and broke the earlier record of 12.48 lt in 2011-12. India had exported 7.13 lt of rapeseed meal during April-December of 2021-22.

 

Currently, India is the most competitive supplier of rapeseed meal to South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and other Far East countries at $255 a tonne (FOB India) while rapeseed meal (Hamburg ex-mill) is quoted at $405 a tonne, he said.

 

The better realisation from rapeseed (mustard) oil and export of rapeseed meal not only supported domestic price of mustard seed but also encouraged larger sowing area under mustard crop during current rabi season, he said. The area under mustard was reported at about 97 lakh hectares (lh) during the current rabi season when compared with 90 lh in the previous season.

 

Soyameal

With the fall in the price of local soyabean to the level of Rs.5,650 a quintal, local soyabean meal price also fell to Rs.42,800 a tonne from Rs.53,000 a tonne in June 2022. This has made the export of soyabean meal attractive, he said.

 

India exported 4.47 lt of soyabean meal during April-December of 2022-23 against 2.62 lt in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, recording a growth of 70.54 per cent.

 

With lower than expected soyabean crop and crushing in Argentina, soyabean meal export is expected to increase from the other origins. The supplies from the US, Brazil and India are likely to increase at better price, he said. On January 13, Brazil soyabean meal price (ex-Rotterdam) was quoted at $614 a tonne while Indian soyabean meal (ex-Kandla) was at $545 a tonne, he said.

 

South-East Asia is the major consumer of Indian soybean meal. India has a logistic advantage here and also can supply in small lots, he said.

 

Indian soyabean meal being non-GMO has an advantage, and being preferred by certain European countries and the US. The rupee depreciation is also pushing the overall export. This helped India to revive the export of soyabean meal in November and December. India shipped 2.85 lt of soyabean meal during November-December of 2022-23 against 86,211 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2021-22.

 

S Korea major importer

Mehta said South Korea has emerged as the major importer of oilmeals during the first nine months of 2022-23. India exported 7.15 lt of oilmeals to South Korea during April-December of 2022-23 (when compared to 4.65 lt in the corresponding period of 2021-22). This included 4.93 lt of rapeseed meal, 1.97 lt of castorseed meal, and 24,638 tonnes of soyabean meal.

 

This was followed by Vietnam. India exported 6.84 lt of oilmeals to Vietnam (4.22 lt). This included 2.93 lt of ricebran extraction, 1.99 lt of rapeseed meal, 1.86 lt of soyabean meal and 4,500 tonnes of groundnut meal.

 

During the first nine months of 2022-23, Thailand imported 5.09 lt of oilmeals (1.42 lt) from India. This included 5.03 lt of rapeseed meal, 2,205 tonnes of soyabean meal, 337 tonnes of groundnut meal and 500 tonnes of rice bran extraction.

 

Bangladesh imported 2.77 lt of oilmeals (2.77 lt) from India during April-December of 2022-23. This included 53,913 tonnes of ricebran extractions, 2.12 lt of rapeseed meal, and 11,516 tonnes of soyabean meal.

 

Taiwan imported 94,327 tonnes of oilmeals (74,685 tonnes) from India during April-December of 2022-23. This included 59,965 tonnes of castorseed meal, 25,479 tonnes of rapeseed meal, 6,463 tonnes of groundnut meal, and 2,420 tonnes of soyabean meal.

For the first time in the country, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has specified the identity standards for basmati rice (including brown basmati rice, milled basmati rice, parboiled brown basmati rice and milled parboiled basmati rice) vide Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives), First Amendment Regulations, 2023 notified in the Gazette of India.

 

As per these standards, basmati rice shall possess natural fragrance characteristic of basmati rice and be free from artificial colouring, polishing agents and artificial fragrances. These standards also specify various identity and quality parameters for basmati rice such as average size of grains and their elongation ratio after cooking; maximum limits of moisture, amylose content, uric acid, defective/damaged grains and incidental presence of other non-basmati rice.

 

The standards are aimed at establishing fair practices in the trade of basmati rice and protect consumer interest, both domestically and globally. These standards will be enforced w.e.f August 1, 2023.

 

Basmati rice is a premium variety of rice cultivated in the Himalayan foothills of the Indian sub-continent and is universally known for its long grain size, fluffy texture and unique inherent aroma and flavour. Agroclimatic conditions of the specific geographical areas where basmati rice is grown; as well as the method of harvesting, processing and ageing of the rice contributes to the uniqueness of basmati rice. Due to its unique quality attributes, basmati is a widely consumed variety of rice both domestically and globally and India accounts for two thirds of its global supply.

 

Being a premium quality rice and fetching a price higher than the non-basmati varieties, basmati rice is prone to various types of adulteration for economic gains which may include, among others, undeclared blending of other non-basmati varieties of rice.

 

Therefore, in order to ensure supply of standardised genuine basmati rice in domestic and export markets, FSSAI has notified regulatory standards for basmati rice that have been framed through extensive consultations with the concerned Government departments / agencies and other stakeholders as well.

The transformation of Food Corporation of India (FCI), should be done on a fast track mode so that the organisation can continue to help the people, the poor and the farmers of the country. This was stated by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce & Industry while delivering the inaugural address at the 59th Foundation Day of FCI.

 

In his speech, Goyal directed the secretary, department of food and public distribution to monitor the transformation of FCI and Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) every week and to update him on the status on a fortnightly basis. He said strict action has to be taken against the officers who do not cooperate with or delay the transformation process.

 

Taking about the ongoing investigation against alleged cases of corruption in FCI, Goyal said that it’s a wake-up call for the organisation and assured that no one found involved in corrupt practices will be spared. He said FCI will follow the principle of zero tolerance for corruption.

 

Goyal directed the secretary to institutionalise a mechanism wherein whistleblowers may be rewarded. He called out to all officers and staff of FCI to report any incident of corruption. He praised the way FCI carried out the world’s largest food supply chain system, especially during the pandemic to ensure seamless supply of foodgrains under the “Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana” (PMGKAY). He said that despite Covid pandemic, no one slept hungry in the country.

 

He said that India has set a global example in the areas of food security, strengthening economic scenario, controlling inflation and others. He mentioned that the rice procurement figures for the year are good and he looked forward to a robust wheat procurement in the coming season as well.

 

Virtually attending the event, Minister of State, Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, applauded the remarkable job undertaken by FCI during the pandemic by ensuring sufficient supply of food grains in every part of the country especially to vulnerable sections of the society under PM’s visionary scheme of PMGKAY.

 

Secretary DFPD, Sanjeev Chopra was also present at the event and directed CMD FCI, Ashok KK Meena to ensure a system of eliminating corruption and providing an efficient and transparent service to the people.

Chintpurni MLA Sudarshan Singh Babloo today laid the foundation stone of a World Bank (WB)-funded fruit processing centre at Behar Bithal village of Amb subdivision. A sum of Rs 1.65 crore will be spent on the centre under the HP Horticulture Development Project.

 

The MLA said the centre would process dragon fruit, ashwagandha, aloe vera, fig and stevia. A private entrepreneur from the village, Riva Sood, had mooted the project and the products would be branded under Agriva Naturally, added Sudarshan.

 

DC Raghav Sharma said 5,000 saplings of dragon fruit had been planted in the district during the last two years under MGNREGA scheme. He said the fruit processing unit would provide a ready market to the horticultural produce of farmers.

 

He said with new technical interventions and high-yielding varieties of vegetables and fruits, the youth, too, could take up agriculture and horticulture as a profession.

 

Riva said her organisation was building a nursery for various types of fruits and medicinal plants. She added they were also motivating local farmers to cultivate these plants so as to increase their income.