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19 Dec, 2022 News Image

Indo-US Trade Policy Forum meet likely to be held in early 2023.

The India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meet is expected to be held in the US early next year and both the countries are working on achieving a substantial agenda for the same, the commerce ministry said on Friday. The TPF is a premier forum to resolve trade and investment issues between India and the US. It has five focus groups -- Agriculture, Investment, Innovation and Creativity (intellectual property rights), Services, and Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers.

'13th ministerial TPF meeting is expected in early 2023 in the US and both sides are working on achieving a substantial agenda for the same,' the ministry said.

The meeting was deferred earlier in November due to local elections in both the countries.

The last meeting of the TPF was held in November 2021 here after a gap of four years. In that meeting, it was decided to reconvene the TPF at the ministerial level before the end of 2022.

In last year's meeting, India had asked for restoration of GSP (Generalised System of Preferences) benefits to Indian exporters on which the US side has stated that this could be considered.

To further promote trade, the two sides had expressed an intent to continue to work together on resolving outstanding trade issues as some of these require additional engagement in order to reach convergence in the near future.

The bilateral trade between the countries has increased to USD 119.5 billion in 2021-22 from USD 80.5 billion in 2020-21. India received USD 55.61 billion foreign direct investment from the US during April 2000 and June 2022.

The ministry said the TPF is a key pillar of bilateral engagements in resolving the outstanding trade issues from time to time.

It is held annually, co-chaired by India's commerce and industry minister and the US Trade Representative.

'Discussions are organized around working groups on agriculture, non-agricultural goods, services and investment and Intellectual Property,' it said.

On the proposed India-Canada free trade agreement, it said five rounds of talks have been conducted till November-end.

The agreement includes areas such as goods, services, customs procedures, rules of origin, trade remedies, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, SMEs, trade and gender, environment and labour.

Trade in services includes telecommunication, movement of persons/temporary entry of business persons, professional and financial services.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

19 Dec, 2022 News Image

Focus on millets to help Tamil Nadu harvest a bounty from international exports.

The volume of agricultural exports from Tamil Nadu is expected to surge in 2023 as the changing dietary preferences in the western markets and shifts in the global supply chain owing to the Russia-Ukraine conflict opens up new opportunities for the state. Shobana Kumar, regional head for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) predicts the rise in volume to be 5%-7%. Agri-exports from the state stood at Rs 11,465 crore in 2021-22 and at Rs 7,302 crore in the current financial year till October, as per the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS) under the Ministry of Commerce.

Apart from traditionally exported produce like rice, wheat, processed fruits and nuts, millets would be earning the primary focus of exporters, and governments both at the centre and state. With a push from the Narendra Modi-led union government, the United Nations General Assembly recently declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets and the programme was launched earlier this month. Being less water intensive, and having a lower carbon footprint are some of the reasons the UN turned the spotlight on millets.

Eight major varieties of millets -- podo, pearl, sorghum, finger, barnyard, little, fox tail and proso millet -- are cultivated across the state and the UN programme poses a huge opportunity for the farmers, farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and food processing units. Perambalur, Madurai, Sivangangai, Ramanathapuram, and Jawadhu Hills at present boast of significant acreage for millet cultivation.

According to DGCIS data, Tamil Nadu exported 4,965 tonnes of millets in 2020-21 and 4,328 tonnes in 2021-22. APEDA has tied up with the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) in Hyderabad to facilitate entrepreneurs and exporters for value-added millet products. Many of the exporters have already completed registration. 'The state government is planning to announce 22 districts (12 southern and 10 northern) as millet export zones to promote exports. A detailed project report (DPR) for the same is in the final stages,' agriculture department secretary C Samayamoorthy told TNIE.

Tiruchy-based food processing unit founder and exporter V Sivaramakrishnan said the demand for millet-based products are on the rise in the western markets, especially in the United States as people have become more health conscious. 'Millets fit the bill perfectly as they have low glycemic index and high-nutritious value. People in countries where medical care is expensive are adopting millet-based diets,' he said.

The company sells over 80 value-added millet products such as noodles, semiya, cookies, dry dosa, idli batter, health mix and ladoo. He said the recognition of millets by the UN is a strategic move and would create great avenues for agricultural exports from TN.

Meanwhile, the demand for value-added moringa products, mango pulp, cucumber, and gherkins have grown recently, Shobana Kumar said, adding that traditional rice varieties like seeraga samba and karuppu pauni are also being exported to African countries from the delta region.

Faced with shortage of eggs, the Malaysian government recently approached Indian Embassy for airlifting eggs from India. The consignment was sent to Malaysia on Thursday, and poultry exports to the region is expected to further grow in coming years as the Ukraine conflict disrupted supply from Malaysia’s traditional exporters like France and Turkey.

Speaking on the development, PV Senthil, managing director of Kavery bio proteins and secretary of livestock and agri farmers trade association, said, the conflict has ensured a competitive price for Namakkal eggs in the international market. According to him, a carton of 360 Namakkal eggs cost 30 US dollars, while a carton from Turkey costs 36 USD. 'Eggs from Namakkal are exported to Oman, Bahrain, and Maldives among other places. Demand from Qatar has spiked at least four times recently owing to the FIFA World Cup,' he said.

Though TN’s egg export trade is negligible in the global market, PV Senthil said, the poultry industry can finally regain lost ground in the present scenario. He added 15 lakh eggs are exported daily from TN now compared to 5 lakh per day in 2021. Speaking more on the policy incentives by the state, C Samayamoorthy said, 'Tamil Nadu is taking efforts to promote and facilitate agri-exports, including interest subvention scheme for loans for food processing industries and setting up of moringa export zones.'

Source: newindianexpress.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

India is increasingly turning toward free trade. Will this Budget be another step in that direction?.

For several years now, India’s annual budget — presented at the beginning of the year — has included a few lines that dismayed economists. Successive finance ministers have raised tariffs, reversing a quarter-century-long trend dating back to when the Indian economy was first liberalized in 1991.

The good news is that the government may be undergoing a change of heart ahead of next year’s budget — or, at least, it may not be quite as willing to revel in protectionism as before. The bad news for US companies is that their own government’s inward turn may still hold them back in India.

In recent months, senior Indian officials have insisted that their nation intends to integrate further with the global economy. Several free-trade agreements have been signed this year or are under negotiation.

Perhaps most strikingly, the most senior bureaucrat in the finance ministry recently hinted that current tariffs may even be cut. In a talk at Columbia University, Finance Secretary T. V. Somanathan said that tariffs 'shall not be a significant part of our tax estimates' and added that protectionism didn’t sit well with India’s new industrial policy of providing subsidies for export-focused manufacturers.

Of course, officials are still aiming for an India that is 'self-reliant.' Any trade liberalization is likely to be limited and wouldn’t necessarily reflect a fundamental change of heart by the government.

Nevertheless, India does have good reason to rethink its course. Concluding more high-profile free-trade agreements — particularly with the European Union and the United Kingdom — is clearly a priority. Lowering import barriers would be 'in sync' with India’s expectations from those FTAs, according to trade experts — and would signal goodwill as well, increasing the chances of a successful conclusion of negotiations.

The fact is, in today’s constrained trading environment, countries such India need a good reason to drop tariff walls. Making it easier to sign mutually beneficial trade agreements may be enough incentive. That’s good news even for countries such as the US that aren’t negotiating bilateral deals with India, as their companies should benefit from a more open Indian market.

But tariffs aren’t the only obstacles that companies operating in India face. Non-tariff barriers and regulatory hurdles are easily as problematic, if not more.

In the past, tempted by promises of access to the US market, Indian officials would at least be willing to give US industry aggrieved by non-tariff barriers a hearing.

That’s less and less the case, as retailers and other consumer-facing services firms that compete with Indian national champions are discovering. In just the past couple of weeks, Alphabet Inc.’s Google has been the target of antitrust measures and ruling-party ideologues have campaigned for 'data nationalism' to be embedded in regulations — which would hurt Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc., among others. Amazon.com Inc. has put $6.5 billion into India but, amid sustained hostility from regulators, is still to see a return on its investment.

US policy is not making things easier for such companies. The Indo-Pacific Economic Framework that US President Joe Biden announced in May is supposed to address — among a host of other things, from corruption to green energy — some of these non-tariff barriers. Negotiators met in Brisbane this week for the first time to begin to hash out details.

But Biden’s 'foreign policy for the middle class' means, in practice, that Washington has taken US market access off the table. As a consequence, the IPEF is, if not dead-on-arrival, certainly not breathing very loudly. In Delhi, news about the Brisbane talks barely made the papers.

In contrast, there’s an inexhaustible appetite for news of progress on free-trade negotiations with the EU. And policymakers in New Delhi are preparing themselves to make some painful compromises to see those negotiations through.

What the US needs to realize is that India is now approaching trade policy from a transactional mindset. In the absence of any concrete benefits, Indian officials are not going to be interested in fixing problems that overt or covert protectionism may create for US companies.

Those, such as Apple Inc., that can promise big manufacturing investment will still be welcome. Others will discover that New Delhi doesn’t have a lot of sympathy for their problems.

Tactical policymaking is all about give-and-take. If the US has nothing to give, then its companies will find they have nothing to take home from India. That’s bad news for US companies — and for the workers they employ.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

Namakkal eggs exported to Malaysia on a trial basis.

Around 90,000 eggs were airlifted from Tiruchirapalli airport on Wednesday night to Malaysia to tide over the shortage of eggs there. The trial shipment was sent after the Malaysian Agriculture and Food Security Minister approached the Indian Embassy at Kuala Lumpur seeking to import Indian eggs as Malaysia has been facing a shortage of table eggs for the past few months. The High Commissioner of India at Kuala Lumpur wrote to the Centre on December 12 detailing the egg shortage in Malaysia and their interest in importing from India. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and the Animal Quarantine and Certification Services (AQCS) expedited the certification process and facilitated trial 'First ever shipment of eggs' from Namakkal, Tamil Nadu to Malaysia. The exports are expected to continue once the trial shipment is approved and accepted by Malaysians, said Shobana Kumar, Regional Head, APEDA, Chennai, in a release.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

Enhanced MSP. India s wheat production, procurement will be normal next season: Food Ministry.

Relying on increased minimum support price (MSP) and ‘normal’ production of wheat in the current rabi season, the government has expressed hope that it would be able to buy a sufficient quantity of the grain next year, which will help it to augment the stock in the Central Pool.

The government has enhanced the MSP of wheat crop this year to Rs.2,125/quintal from Rs.2,015 last year. With the Rs.110/quintal increase coupled with fairly good climatic conditions, the Food Ministry hoped that 'it is expected that the production and procurement of wheat during next season (April-March) shall remain normal.'

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'Procurement of wheat next season would commence from April 2023 and as per initial assessment there has been a fair increase in the sowing of the crop as compared to last year,' the Ministry said in its statement.

According to Agriculture Ministry data, wheat sowing has been completed in 255.76 lakh hectares (lh) as of December 9, up by 25.4 per cent from 203.91 lh year ago. However, more clarity will be available Friday with the weekly update since the year-ago sowing data in Uttar Pradesh was the same at 55.82 lh for the past two weeks, leading to a wide gap with current coverage.

Enough stock

The food ministry also said that enough stock of wheat would still be available in Central Pool to cater to the country’s needs till the time the next crop arrives, even though procurement in the last season was on the lower side due to lesser production.

'The government has sufficient food grain stocks under Central Pool to meet the requirement of National Food Security Act (NFSA) and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) as well as for the additional allocation of PMGKAY,' the ministry said Thursday. However, there was no mention about open market sale scheme (OMSS).

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About 15.9 million tonnes (mt) of wheat will be available as on January 1, 2023, which is well above the buffer norm requirement of 13.8 mt whereas the stock was at 18.2 mt until December 12, it said.

Stressing that it is well aware of the price scenario of wheat, the government said it constantly monitors on weekly basis along with other commodities and has been taking corrective measures, as and when required.

Wheat procurement dipped to a 15-year low of 18.79 mt in the 2022-23 rabi marketing season (April-March) while the agriculture ministry estimated the production to have declined to 106.84 mt in the 2021-22 crop year (July-June) from 109.59 mt in the previous year.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

Tandur red gram gets GI tag.

Tandur red gram, a pigeon pea variety grown in about 3.74 lakh hectares of Telangana, has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

Yalal Farmers Producer Company of Viswanathpur in Vikarabad Mandal has applied for GI recognition for this famed red gram variety, a rich source for protein.

Mostly grown in the rainfed districts of Vikarabad, Narayanpet, Sangareddy, and Adilabad in Telangana, Tandur Kandipappu (red gram) is known for its aroma and taste.

Of the 3.74 lakh ha under this variety, about 50 per cent is from the four districts of Vikarabad, Narayanpet, Sangareddy, and Adilabad districts.

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Nine new GI additions

Tandur red gram is among the nine items from different parts of the country, which received the unique tag. The tag gives producers of a particular product the recognition that bars third-party producers from using the brand name.

The other products that got the GI tag included: Gamosa of Assam, RakteseyKarpo Apricot of Ladakh, and Alibag White Onion of Maharashtra. With the latest additions, the total number of products that got the GI tag has gone up to 432.

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, and Kerala top the list of States that received the maximum number of GI tags.

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Unique variety

'This particular variety is a lifeline for the dryland farming community in the Tandur region. It is a unique brand and has good demand,' a scientist with the Prof. Jayashankar State Agricultural University (PJTSAU) has said.

The university helped farmers prepare a case for Tandur redgram to get the GI recognition.

'It is a versatile crop and is easily adapted for different drought-prone regions .

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

Only non-compliant labels of imported foods can be rectified: FSSAI.

The Food Authority has decided to allow food importers to rectify labels of imported food consignments but with a condition that it can only be done at the Customs-bound warehouses and only ‘non-compliant’ labels can be rectified.

The FSSAI has issued an order, in this regard, which says that with a view to facilitate ease of trade while ensuring the safety of food imported into India, based on the provisions under Rule 6(4) of FSS (Import) Regulations, 2017, it has been decided by the Competent Authority that all ‘non-compliant’ labels on imported food consignments may be permitted for rectification at port itself.

The order added that the Authorised Officer shall confirm the label compliance during the visual inspection whether or not it was in accordance with the provisions of the FSS Act.

'This rectification has to be carried out at Customs-bound warehouses, before visual inspection or re-inspection by the Authorised Officer or his representative, by affixing a single non-detachable sticker or by any other non-detachable method,' reads the order while adding that the Authorised Officer or his representative shall verify the label compliance during visual inspection and the consignment shall be subject to sampling and testing only if it is compliant on labelling requirements as per the FSS Regulations.

Source: fnbnews.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

Ministry of Railways with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has started operating Kisan Special Trains.

To implement the budget announcement 2020-21, a Committee was constituted on Kisan Rail and Krishi Udan. The Committee constituted a sub-committee for detailed deliberation and preparation of concept note under convener ship of executive director, Railway Board.

Ministry of Railways after due deliberation with Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has started operating Kisan Special Trains for transportation of perishable horticulture / agriculture products, dairy, fisheries. These trains are multi-commodity, multi-consignor/consignee services, running in a time-tabled manner with stoppages at all major stations.

The first Kisan Rail was flagged off from Devlali (Maharashtra) to Danapur (Bihar) by Narendra Singh Tomar, Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare and Piyush Goyal, then Minister of Railways, Commerce & Industry on August 7, 2020, for transportation of perishable agriculture/horticulture products, dairy, fisheries.

The 100th service of Kisan Rail was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the route from Sangola (Maharashtra) to Shalimar (West Bengal) on 28th December 2020.

Currently, a total of 2359 trips of Kisan Rail trains have been operated on 167 routes, wherein nearly 7.9 lakh tones of consignments have been transported.

The routes for Kisan Rail are decided on demand received from farmers and other stakeholders. Whenever a demand for Kisan Rail for a particular route is received, arrangements are made by the concerned Zonal Railway for supply for rakes and operation of Kisan Rail train, duly considering the operational feasibility of the proposed route.

Source: fnbnews.com

16 Dec, 2022 News Image

INDIA S FOREIGN TRADE: November 2022

India’s trade exhibited an impressive performance with India’s overall export (Merchandise and Services combined) of USD 58.22 Billion in November2022. The exports exhibited a positive growth of 10.97 per cent over the same period last year. Overall import in November2022* is estimated to be USD 69.33 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 5.60 per cent over the same period last year.
India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-November 2022 is estimated to exhibit a positive growth of 17.72 per cent over the same period last year. As India’s domestic demand has remained steady amidst the global slump, overall imports in April-November 2022 is estimated to exhibit a growth of 29.47 per cent over the same period last year.

Table 1: Trade during November 2022*

		November 2022 (USD Billion)	November 2021 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	31.99	31.80
Merchandise	Imports	55.88	53.03
Services*	Exports	26.23	20.67
Services*	Imports	13.44	12.63
Overall Trade (Merchandise+Services) *	Exports	58.22	52.46
	Imports	69.33	65.65
	Trade Balance	-11.11	-13.19

* Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for October 2022. The data for November2022 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for April-November2021 and April-June 2022has been revised on pro-ratabasis using quarterly balance of payments data.

Fig 1: Overall Trade during November 2022*

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-November2022* are estimated to be USD 499.67 Billion. Overall imports in April-November 2022* are estimated to be USD 610.70 Billion.

Table 2: Trade during April-November 2022*

		April-November 2022 (USD Billion)	April-November 2021 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	295.26	265.77
Merchandise	Imports	493.61	pib.gov.in
16 Dec, 2022 India would consider allowing additional sugar exports -govt official. India, the world's biggest sugar producer, would consider allowing additional sugar exports in January after assessing local production, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Thursday. Source: reuters.com
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