Haryana Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister JP Dalal said on the proposal of the Government of India, the United Nations had declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYOM) to promote its cultivation and consumption of nutri-cereals.

 

The minister said, 'Moving forward in this direction, people and farmers in the state will be made aware about the nutritional importance of millets.'

 

During a press conference, Dalal said, 'PM Narendra Modi has resolved to take this mission forward. In this direction, the state will work one step ahead. Mainly millet crop is grown in the form of coarse grain in Haryana.'

 

He said, 'There are immense possibilities of generating livelihood from bajra/sorghum nutritious grains. It helps to reduce the effects of climate change through less carbon waste than wheat and rice.'

 

Dalal said, 'Wide publicity will be made to promote International Millet Year 2023 and the nutritional importance of such crops be conveyed to masses. For this, a special scheme will be prepared by the Agriculture Department especially to organise workshops, seminars, fairs and training camps, so that these crops can be included in food habits of common people through the public distribution, mid- day meal and other state welfare schemes.'

 

On the occasion, Dr Khadar Vali, famous as Millet Man of India, said, 'It is important to make people aware about the nutritional importance of millets.'

 

He further said, 'Nutri-cereals cure many diseases. Containing a good amount of fibre, minerals and proteins, these crops are a powerhouse of nutrition that have the ability to nourish the body and heal diseases such as diabetes, blood sugar, hypertension, hyperthyroidism and other ailments.'

 

'Kodra, kangni, kutki, swank, hari kangni, jowar, bajra, ragi and cheena should be included in food,' he added.

Jammu and Kashmir Trade Promotion Organisation (JKTPO) on Thursday organised a National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) awareness drive for organic certification of Saffron, GI tagged and ODOP products of Pulwama district in collaboration with Invest India (One District One Product) team, DPIIT, Ministry of Commerce and Industry at SanatGharBemina, here.

 

The workshop was organised with a vision to provide training and certification to farmers who are already pursuing organic farming but do not have the necessary certification for their products’ authenticity.

 

JKTPO has taken many initiatives for promotion of ODOP in Jammu and Kashmir. This includes conduction of Buyer-Seller meets, participation in national and international trade fairs/ Exhibitions and Capacity building programs. This drive will increase the export potential of saffron as organic certified products have a huge international market.

 

As part of the capacity building initiative by ODOP team, Invest India, DPIIT, GoI, organised Organic Certification training and workshop for Saffron farmers, as many such workshops are to be conducted across the country where the farmers will be provided the training for organic certification and eligible farmers will be registered under National Programme on Organic Production.

 

National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) under the Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Government of India involves accreditation of Certification Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming and marketing etc.

 

The NPOP standards for production and accreditation have been recognized by the European Commission and Switzerland for unprocessed plant products as equivalent to their country standards. With these recognitions, Indian organic products duly certified by the accredited certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries.

 

On this occasion, District Agriculture Officer, Pulwama said that organic certificate of Saffron will boost the demand of saffron internationally and will also help in doubling the farmer’s income and fulfilling the dream of Prime Minister.

 

The drive was led by Jagannath representative from Aditi Organic certifications Pvt Ltd.

 

It is worthwhile to mention that 100+ farmers from Pulwama district were given the necessary training and guidance for obtaining Organic Certification during this program.

 

JKTPO in collaboration with Invest India will organise similar organic certification drive of Kishtwar Saffron at Kishtwar soon, for the benefit of Saffron farmers.

With the recent acceptance of Indian rupee (INR) as a designated foreign currency by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka to promote trade and tourism within the SAARC region, Bank of Ceylon (BOC) opened up its first account in INR with its Chennai branch.

 

Consequently, the bank carried out the very first transaction in Indian rupees with India through this channel, becoming the very first Sri Lankan bank to initiate such a transaction, which also marks the beginning of a new chapter in foreign trade of the country.

 

Following this new initiative, the Sri Lankan residents are now able to carry out trade transactions directly in INR and not having to go through forex conversion loss of Lankan Rupee to US dollars then US dollars to INR.

 

In order to fully carry out this initiative, BOC has completed all necessary requirements to include INR as a designated currency and has been able to arrange bilateral transactions with India. The bank looks forward to further assist its customers in exports, imports and remittances while reducing the dependence of US dollars.

 

It is expected that the economic and commercial partnership between the two countries will also reach to new heights, which will immensely facilitate the exporters and importers in both countries.

A meeting on application and use of Geographical Indication (GI) of Honey was organized today, under the chairmanship of Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers welfare at Krishi Bhawan.

 

Dr. Likhi mentioned that National Bee Board (NBB) will support stakeholders to get GI Tag for different types of honey with support from State Governments and other stakeholders. He said, GI Tagging will immensely help in uplifting the beekeeping community as after the Tag, beekeepers can further proceed for value addition in honey & other beehive products.

 

A geographical indication (GI) is a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and ensures good qualities or a reputation in the region. GI is important to proliferate the beekeeping at national and international level.

 

Dr. Likhi said, Government has launched a Central Sector Scheme (CSS) titled 'National Beekeeping and Honey Mission' (NBHM) under Aatmanirbhar Bharat announcement with an outlay of Rs. 500 crores for three years 2020-21 to 2022-23.

 

100 Honey FPOs/ Clusters have been identified under NBHM to promote and support the honey sector in a holistic way in the country. 'Madhukranti portal' is another initiative under NBHM which is launched for online registration and developing Blockchain system for traceability of source of honey and other bee products. At present, over 20 lakh honeybee colonies have registered with NBB on Madhukranti portal. NBHM is being effectively monitoring the beekeeping activities in India.

 

He informed that India is currently producing about 1,33,000 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of Honey (2021-22) and India has also become one of the main honey exporting country. The country has exported 74,413.05 MT of Honey world-wide during 2021-22.

 

Dr. N.K. Patle, Executive Director, NBB has explained about need and importance of GI tagging in honey. He mentioned that GI Tagging of Honey promotes the economic prosperity of beekeepers/ other stakeholders by enhancing their demand in national and international markets. He also mentioned GI tagging of honey helps consumers to get quality products of desired traits and is assured of authenticity. It will also help to stop adulteration in honey.

 

Dr. Prabhat Kumar, Horticulture Commissioner, Govt. of India mentioned that for holistic development of beekeeping, thrust is also needed to boost honey marketing at national as well as at international level. GI Tag will boost rural sector by increasing revenue of the producers and employment in the region. It mentioned special quality/ characteristic unique to the geographical indications. It prevents duplication of the tagged products so in another way it provides legal protection to Geographical Indications in India. This Tag is given to good quality products so it increases customer satisfaction. The good quality of the products opens the international door for the producers. With changing marketing dynamics, it is becoming necessary for all industries today to make the best use of the geo tagging service.

 

Dr. Sudhanshu, Secretary, Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) briefed about the GI tagging of agricultural commodities and mentioned that GI Tagging in is based on area and species specific and it must be adopted with the prospective of export.

 

Dr. P. Chandra Shekar, Director General, MANAGE informed that 432 agriculture products are officially registered for GI Tagging with M/o Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India. He briefly explained the process of GI Tag registration in detail and also emphasized the organization to come forward for GI registration.

 

Dr. S.C. Dubey, ADG (PP), ICAR appreciate the efforts making for GI Tagging of Honey. Mentioning that GI Tagging highlights the characteristic of products thus helps in marketing and exports of commodities.  He mentioned that ICAR will create awareness about GI Tag through its AICRP (HB&P) centres.

 

Shri Jaidev Singh, Managing Director, Ambrosia Natural Products India Pvt Ltd., Uttar Pradesh, a Member Society of National Bee Board (NBB) mentioned major production is mustard honey about 70%. He also appreciated the efforts for GI Tagging of Honey.

 

Shri Amit Dhanuka, Managing Director, Kejriwal Bee Care India Private Limited,  a Member Society of National Bee Board (NBB) mentioned that every area have specific flora which makes it easy to get a GI tag at any particular area.

 

Shri Devvrat Sharma, Director, Hi Tech Natural Products Pvt. Ltd., Uttar Pradesh, a Member Society of National Bee Board (NBB)also appreciated the efforts of NBHM regarding GI Tagging of honey. 

Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) is seeking to buy a total of 144,441 tonnes of food-quality wheat from the United States and Canada in a regular tender that will close on Thursday.

 

Japan, the world's sixth-biggest wheat importer, keeps a tight grip on imports of the country's second most important staple after rice and buys the majority of the grain for milling via tenders typically issued three times a month.

India’s wheat production may set a new record this rabi season and surpass 112 million tonnes due various factors such as favourable weather conditions and increase of around 1.5 million hectares in the wheat acreage across the country, including in the agriculture -dominated states of Punjab and Haryana, the scientists of the ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) in Karnal have predicted.

 

Last year, the scientists had predicted that the wheat output may touch 112 million tonnes but inclement weather and early heatwave in March had affected both early and late varieties, resulting in yellowing and shrivelling of wheat grain in northern states of the country.

 

The overall production of wheat reached 106.84 million tonnes, reporting a dip of 2.75 million tonnes as compared to 109.59 million tonnes estimated during the 2020-21 season, revealed the Fourth Advance Estimates of Production of Foodgrains for 2021-22 released by the Union ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare.

 

'As per our estimates and experiences, we are hopeful that the country’s wheat production may reach an all-time high this year and go beyond 112 MT,' said Gyanendra Singh, IIWBR director.

 

Answering a query on the key factors that could be behind the rise in the produce, he said that this year, the country has witnessed an increase of around 1.5 million hectares in the wheat acreage, which is likely to reach 31.5 million hectares against 30 million hectares of the last year.

 

Besides, a bumper wheat crop season is expected this year due to the ongoing weather conditions as there is a strong possibility of a longer winter spell, especially in the northern wheat growing belts of the country.

 

'Another reason for better yield and produce is the increase in the seed proportion of the new high yielding climate resilient varieties developed by the IIWBR,' he said, adding that the area under wheat in Punjab and Haryana is also likely to increase this year.

 

On the bad weather impact on wheat in Punjab and Haryana last year, he said that due to high temperature, the grain moisture in the grains reduced to around 8-9% from the normal 12-14% which directly led to a fall in the overall production. But this resulted in a better-quality harvest of wheat because of proper drying of the grain, he added.

 

However, the scientists of the IIWBR have also advised the farmers that the ongoing weather conditions are also favourable for the spread of Yellow Rust- a major wheat rust disease and they need to take proper care to protect their crop, especially those farmers who are cultivating old varieties of wheat.

The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) hopes mustard sowing will touch 95 lakh hectares (lh) by the end of the current season.

 

In a letter to members of the association on Thursday, Ajay Jhunjhunwala, President of SEA, said the above-normal rainfall and good sub-soil moisture, coupled with abundant water availability during the rabi season, have boosted the rabi oilseeds coverage this year.

 

The total area under rabi crop was over 97.9 lh as on December 15. Of this, the area under rapeseed and mustard was almost 90 lh, compared to 83 lh during the same period last year. Looking at the progress of sowing, he said, he would not be surprised to see a record area under sowing, to surpass last year’s acreage of 91.6 lh. It may touch 95 lh by end of the sowing season, he said.

 

Model farm project

The association has also appointed RMSI Cropalytics to conduct an all-India study to identify the district/ area potential for expansion of mustard seed cultivation, the scope for raising productivity, crop estimation and a weather update. He said the initial report of RMSI Cropalytics indicates normal weather in most of the mustard crop growing area. 'We can expect a record mustard crop,' Jhunjhunwala said.

 

SEA, in association with Solidaridad, has expanded the mustard model farm project to Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. This project currently covers over 65,000 farmers across the country.

 

He said around 1,300 mustard model farms have been established across Rajasthan (530), Madhya Pradesh (300), Punjab (234), and recently at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh (211). The Indian Council of Agricultural Research - Directorate of Rapeseed-Mustard Research - is engaged in providing technical knowledge support.

 

He said the departments of agriculture of the states are also engaged in this regard to ensure larger outreach of a mustard model farm project in different geographies.

 

'To expand the effort, recently, we had a joint meeting with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation at Delhi, and are happy to mention that they have positively responded to jointly working in Uttar Pradesh, and, may later expand to other states,' he said in the letter.

 

Union minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal and his Bangladeshi counterpart Tipu Munshi discussed the settlement of trade in Indian rupees in New Delhi on Thursday. The two countries will also likely develop a free trade agreement (FTA) soon.

 

'A joint feasibility study on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has been carried out after the two countries agreed to explore a bilateral FTA,' said the commerce ministry.

 

Under CEPA, two countries either significantly reduce or eliminate customs duties on maximum numbers of goods traded between them. Besides, they ease norms for promoting trade in services and attracting investments.

 

India and Bangladesh agreed to start discussions on CEPA 'at an early date' as it 'would provide a sound basis for substantial enhancement of trade and commercial partnership'.

 

Other issues discussed were the removal of non-tariff barriers and the re-opening of border haats, among others.

 

'The ministers discussed various issues of mutual interest, including removal of non-tariff barriers and port restrictions, re-opening of border haats, harmonisation and mutual recognition of Standards and procedures on both sides, settlement of trade in Indian rupees, strengthening connectivity and trade infrastructure, among others, to realise the full potential of India-Bangladesh economic ties,' the ministry said.

 

'Given the India's focus on energy security and associated high import costs, rupee trade is an effective way to mitigate the spillovers of this global change especially the challenges faced on account of currency volatility and reserve changes,' Vivek Iyer, partner at Grant Thornton Bharat told Business Standard.

 

India's neighbours are increasingly aiming to adopt trade settlement in the Indian rupee.

 

Recently, a Sri Lankan bank opened a Vostro account with the State Bank of India (SBI).

 

'Happy to note that a Sri Lankan bank has opened a Vostro account with the State Bank of India to conduct bilateral trade in INR. The High Commissioner discussed this & related matters with South Asia Regional Head of SBI Mr Vikas Goel today,' the Indian embassy in Sri Lanka wrote on Twitter on Tuesday.

 

According to an earlier report by IANS, India is looking to expand the rupee trade in Africa, UAE, and Saudi Arabia as well. India and UAE have already started talks around the rupee settlement mechanism.

 

The bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh increased to $18.2 billion ($16.2 billion exports and $2 billion imports) in 2021-22 as against $10.8 billion in 2020-21.

 

Bangladesh is India's biggest trade partner in South Asia. India is the second biggest export partner for Bangladesh accounting for 12 per cent of the total. China, with a share of 21.5 per cent, is the biggest export partner for Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has offered over $40 a tonne more to Indian cooperatives to import 2.5 lakh tonnes of parboiled rice in a government-to-government deal compared with prices quoted by the private trade in a global import tender.  The import deal will be through NCCF (National Cooperative Consumers Federation) and Kendriya Bhandar in two tranches with Dhaka getting rice at $443 and $443.5 a tonne each, trade sources said.

 

On Wednesday (December 21), India’s Bagadiya Brothers came up with the most competitive offer in the 50,000 tonnes parboiled import tender at $393.90 a tonne. 'It is a boon for the cooperative movement as they will stand to gain ?33 crore in each deal. Cooperatives have been able to fetch a better deal compared to private traders,' a trader told businessline on the condition of anonymity.

 

Last year, Bangladesh was able to get rice at a lower price from India as private traders tried to outbid one another. Then, private traders were settling even for margins as low as $1 a tonne. 

 

Despite paying a higher price to Indian cooperatives for the G2G deal, Bangladesh will be getting parboiled rice at least $25 lower than the rated quoted Thailand or Pakistan. Currently, Thailand is quoting $486 a tonne for parboiled rice, while Pakistan is offering at $453-457. 

 

A trade analyst said if Bangladesh is offering a 10 per cent higher price for the G2G deal compared to what private traders offered in the global tender, it means supply is tight in the global market.

 

Higher demand

Currently, demand in Asia for rice has increased with China, Bangladesh, Indonesia and the Philippines scouring for supplies. 'Vietnam and Cambodia are silently gobbling up rice stocks in Myanmar. Bangladesh and Myanmar are at loggerheads over the Rohingyas issue,' the analyst said. 

 

The Sheikha Hasina Wazed government is willing to pay the additional amount as it has drawn a blank in getting parboiled rice from either Vietnam or Thailand or Cambodia. A Bangladesh trade delegation visited the three countries last month but it yielded no result. Last week, another Bangladesh team visited Vietnam but the visit was not successful.

 

The rice market has been surging over the past couple of months, particularly after India imposed curbs on the cereal’s export. It banned exports of fully broken rice and imposed a 20 per cent export duty on white rice as its kharif paddy cultivation was affected by deficient rains in key producing areas of West Bengal, Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and Odisha.

 

Over the past couple of weeks, Thailand has hiked its rice prices by over 25 a tonne with parboiled rates being hiked by $33. 

 

The Agriculture Ministry in its first advance estimate has pegged rice kharif production at 104.99 million tonnes (mt) against 111.76 mt last year. Bangladesh’s paddy crop, on the other hand, has been hit by floods followed by deficient rains. 

 

The Food and Agriculture Organisation’s Agriculture Market Information System has projected rice production this year to be lower by over 12 million tonnes. However, trade sources say it could be further lower since the Chinese figures cannot be relied upon. 'China has been buying a good volume of rice from the global market. It means there are problems in rice production there due to the 79 days dry period from July,' the analyst said. 

 

According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA), China is the top rice importer of Indian rice in the first half of the current fiscal. Beijing has imported 1.32 million tonnes (mt) of rice compared with 1.63 mt during the entire 2021-22 fiscal. 

 

APEDA data show non-basmati rice exports in the first half of the current fiscal increased to 8.96 mt valued at $3.03 billion against 8.23 mt valued at $2.97 billion a year ago.