India is hopeful of early conclusion of the free trade agreement (FTA) with the United Kingdom with Liz Truss appointed as the new prime minister there, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal has said.

 

'With Liz Truss assuming prime ministership of the UK, we may now be able to make up for some lost time (to conclude the FTA negotiations),' Goyal said here.

 

The minister is visiting San Francisco and Los Angeles from September 5-10 to attend the India-US Strategic Partnership Forum conference and Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) Ministerial meeting. He said the trade agreement was launched one and a half years ago when Truss was the trade and investment minister of the UK, and that he is hopeful of concluding the deal by Diwali.

 

'She (Truss) came in the midst of Covid to kick start our discussions. So, she's very committed to the India relationship,' he added.

 

On the US, he said the administration, as a policy, is not looking at an FTA with any new partner. 'Should they change their mind, India would be happy and willing to discuss,' he said. 'Without that also, we are engaged in attracting investment, technology, trade between the two countries.'

 

India is also in talks with Canada and the EU. 'There are 27 countries (in the EU), so it will take longer...' Goyal said, adding talks with Canada on an early progress trade deal could conclude by December.

 

He addressed the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum, which was attended by close to 30 CEOs and venture capitalists, in San Francisco on Monday.

Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare today relaxed the existing limit of 25 quintals for purchase of Moong and Urad under Price Support Scheme (PSS) during the summer season 2021-22 for farmers in Madhya Pradesh. It has been now increased to 40 quintals per farmer per day.

 

On the instructions of Union Agriculture Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, exemption limit has been approved for Madhya Pradesh farmers.

 

Earlier, Farmers Welfare and Agriculture Development Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shri Kamal Patel met the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar and discussed about the problems faced by the farmers of Madhya Pradesh. Shri Patel said that while selling their Moong and Urad produce under PSS, if farmers have more quantity of summer moong available with them, according to PSS registration guidelines, they faced problem due to purchase limit of 25 quintal per day per farmer.

 

This problem has been resolved with immediate effect following directions to officials by Shri Tomar, after which the relaxation has been approved by the Government.

India’s merchandise exports witnessed a 1.15 per cent year-on-year (YoY) decline in August, following a slowdown in external demand for engineering goods, textiles, gems and jewellery, as well as plastic products, preliminary trade data from the commerce department showed.

 

Industry officials and experts said geopolitical risks triggered by the Russia-Ukraine conflict are weighing on India’s exports, which recovered from the Covid pandemic shock and consistently remained robust for over a year.

 

Weak demand from India’s some of the biggest export markets, such as China, the European Union, and the United States, due to a slowdown in these regions and high inflation, as well as export restrictions on some commodities, resulted in the deceleration of goods exports. Barring the gems and jewellery segment, the decline in the value of exports was driven by a fall in prices of steel, cotton yarns, and plastic, they said.

 

'The trend that we are witnessing is that we are receiving orders for low-value products because of high inflation. Going ahead, we may see a little impact on the value of these products but volumes exported will remain intact. Stable volumes will have a positive impact on employment and job creation,' said Ajay Sahay, director-general (DG) and chief executive officer (CEO), Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

 

Vipul Shah, chairman, Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said the slight decline in gem and jewellery exports in the past two months is due to Covid restrictions in Hong Kong. Gems and jewellery exports fell 4 per cent in August to $3.29 billion.

 

Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and exports of plain gold jewellery to the Middle Eastern markets increased by 29 per cent in July. We keenly look forward to the free-trade agreement with the UK; industry will also get to reap the benefits of the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement. We expect growth in the coming months, especially from the Western markets, due to festive demands and the upcoming holiday season,' Shah said.

 

Engineering exports, which comprise a fourth of the value of total goods exported from India, witnessed the sharpest deceleration in August, falling 14.59 per cent YoY to $8.25 billion.

 

Outbound shipments declined to a 13-month low of $33 billion in August, against $33.38 billion last year. On a sequential basis, exports fell 9 per cent from $36.27 billion in July but grew 17.1 per cent YoY during April-August to $192 billion on a cumulative basis.

 

Commerce Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam on Saturday said that given the current global scenario, India is not in an uncomfortable position. However, there are headwinds related to what can happen to developed nations and the Christmas orders. 'Exporters’ order books are full but the orders are getting delayed in terms of execution. They have not been asked to ship. That uncertainty is there,' he said.

 

While there is a moderation in demand for textile products because of recessionary trends in major developed nations, an industry official said India may be able to make up for this amid the challenging situation in Sri Lanka and Bangladesh -- India’s biggest competitors in this space. Disruption in these competitor nations has also affected external demand for raw materials, such as cotton yarns, the official said.

 

'There’s an economic crisis going on in Sri Lanka; Bangladesh has a fuel crisis, while Pakistan is facing massive floods. India has its own raw material, which is still intact. We will make up for the loss by the end of the year,' said Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) Chairman Narendra Goenka.

 

India exported apparel worth $1.32 billion in August, down 0.42 per cent YoY. On a cumulative basis (April-August), outbound shipments witnessed a growth of nearly 18 per cent. Exports of raw materials, such as cotton yarns and fabrics, declined by nearly a third to $881.86 million in August over the year-ago period. 

The new Foreign Trade Policy will come on 30 September and the policy has been designed with the next five year in view. The policy will lay down a road map of the ‘Amritkaal’. The policy will give a boost to Indian exports. Here are some top things to know about the policy.

 

-- The policy is likely to be announced on 30 September

 

-- The policy will provide incentives for competitive and qualitative export promotion

 

-- There will be a separate export promotion council that will be set up.

 

-- The Special Economic Zones or SEZs will be upgraded and modified to DESH - Development of Enterprise and Services Hub

 

-- the consultation work has been completed 

 

-- The new foreign trade policy could be announced before 30 September

 

-- The policy is coming after a gap of over 2 years

 

-- The government had extended the existing policy in the wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic.  

 

- The previous policy was to end by 2020

 

ODOP

 

-- The scheme for the first phase will be worth Rs 2200-2500 cr

 

-- The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has readied a road map for the implementation of ODOP

 

-- There will be an export hub in all districts

 

-- All districts have enough potential not found even in many nations

 

-- The

 

- The Commerce ministry has created an export promotion committee for each districts

 

-- A work on creating necessary infrastructure is ongoing

 

- A full list of exports has been created

 

The domestic business will benefit from the FTAs (Free Trade Arrangements)

 

-- This will give a huge boost to the exports

 

- There will be changes to benefit the MSMEs

 

-- The government has been making trade agreements with many countries

 

- Trade agreements with UK is expected to take place this monthUK ?? ??? ??? ?????

 

- FTA with Canada likely to be done by Diwali

 

Restructuring of Commerce department

 

-- The changes are being made to make India a developed economy

 

-- The people from the corporate world will be included

 

-- There will be experts from respective sectors for policy making

Food and Agriculture Organisation's (FAO) forecast for world sugar production during October 2021-September 2022 is pegged at 174.6 million tonnes, up 5.1 million tonnes (3%) from the reduced level of 2020-21. The anticipated rebound, after three years of decline, reflects expectations of output increases in India, Thailand and the EU, and will likely more than offset significant declines in Brazil and China.

 

Global sugar consumption is set to recover for a second successive season in 2021-22, but its growth is anticipated to be slower than previous expectations. India, the world's largest sugar consumer, and African countries are likely to drive the foreseen global rise in sugar consumption....

 

World sugar trade in 2021-22 is forecast at 59 million tonnes, slightly down from the estimated volume for 2020-21. Despite expectations of record exports from India and a recovery in shipments from Thailand, lower exports from Brazil are anticipated to curb world sugar trade.

 

Global sugar prices have fallen since October 2021, though remaining at elevated levels. Price declines were mainly triggered by favourable output prospects in major exporting countries, notably India and Thailand. Concerns over the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the global demand for sugar, following the resumption of containment measures in many countries, also weighed on prices in late 2021.

The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in association with the Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) of Government of Manipur organised an in-store export promotion show in Dubai for rich Kew variety of pineapples from state.

 

The primary aim of the expo was to provide a boost to the exports of pineapples from the North-Eastern Region (NER).

 

With a production of 134.82 metric tonne (MT) in 2020-21, Manipur ranks sixth in pineapple production having a share of 7.46 per cent in total production in India.

 

The top ten importing countries of Indian pineapples include UAE, Nepal, Qatar, Maldives, USA, Bhutan, Belgium, Iran, Bahrain and Oman. A quantity of 7665.42 MT of pineapples valued at USD 4.45 million was exported in the year 2021-22.

 

With the intervention of APEDA, there has been a significant increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya in the last few years.

 

Tripura was the first north eastern state to export its ‘queen’ variety of pineapple to Dubai and Doha in 2018. Tripura’s pineapple was also exported to Bangladesh in 2020. Assam also made a debut in pineapple export to Dubai in 2019.

 

On the occasion, APEDA chairman M. Angamuthu stressed on promoting processed form of value-added pineapple to sustain in the global export market for a longer time period.

 

'We need to focus on promoting pineapple sourced from farmers in processed form in the Gulf countries through Lulu Group. It will help farmers in better price realization of their produce,' Angamuthu said.

 

The exhibition held at the Lulu hyper market was also attended by P Vaiphel, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur.

 

The NE region witnessed an 85.34 percent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22. The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe.

Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region Assam under DoH&FP Assam participated in a 3-day event of BioFach India 2022, a leading Trade Fair for the Organic Industry in India, organised by The Organic Farming Association of India in collaboration with NürnbergMesse India and APEDA from September 1-3, 2022 at the India Expo Centre & Mart, at Greater Noida.

 

Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) under MOVCD-NER Assam exhibited their organic produce in their stalls and had an opportunity to interact with international buyers.

 

The conference program highlighted the conditions needed for agriculture and food production to achieve sustainability goals and doing business in harmony with global resources. There were speakers and stakeholders from countries like Ukraine and the USA.

 

MOVCD-NER, Assam officials stated, '6 FPCs have participated in this event. FPCs have benefitted from this event. The demand for organic products from the North Eastern Region is increasing rapidly. There is a scope of sending 500 MT of fresh organic ginger to Germany. Assam has 2000 ha under third party certification with APEDA accredited certifying agency. A plan for increasing the area under organic cultivation to maximise export from the state is being formulated.'

Mizoram sent 15.7 metric tonnes of organic pineapples to Sonipat in Haryana. Agriculture Minister C Lalrinsanga flagged off the shipment from Aizawl's Ch Saprawnga truck terminal. Tuichangral Organic FPC Limited harvested the pineapples in Mizoram's Khawzawl district.

 

Mizoram exported fresh pineapples to Dubai and Bahrain last month. Speaking on the occasion, Lalrinsanga stated that Mizoram grown vegetables and fruits are in high demand throughout the country.

 

He stated that the state's harvest should be increased in order to meet the demands of people living outside the state. He stated that pineapple exports to other states and foreign countries will provide a boost to the government and local farmers.

 

He encouraged farmers to increase their harvest in order to boost exports. Dr ZR Thiamsanga of the ruling Mizo National Front (MNF), who was present at the flag-off ceremony, stated that the government prioritises farmers.

 

He stated that a recent meeting of the Council of Ministers allowed locally grown grapes to be legally processed as wine and sold freely in markets.

 

Tuichangral Organic FPC Limited was founded in 2021 by 500 pineapple growers from 8 villages in Khawzawl district as part of the Mission Organic Mizoram Agriculture department.

 

Tuichangral Organic FPC has chosen Clover Organic Private Limited as its service provider. Surifresh Extract Private Limited of Sonipat purchased the pineapples that were flagged off on Thursday.

With Liz Truss becoming new prime minister of the UK, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has expressed hope for early conclusion of talks with Britain for a free trade agreement, aimed at boosting bilateral economic ties. 'A little bit of political changes may have derailed (conclusion of FTA negotiations) by few weeks, but I do hope (that) with…Liz Truss assuming prime ministership of the UK, we may now be able to make up for some lost time (to conclude the FTA negotiations),' Goyal said here on Monday while addressing members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

 

Officials in India were looking to conclude the negotiations for the trade agreement by August 31, but political developments in Britain could have slowed the talks a bit. In January, both countries formally launched talks for a free trade agreement (FTA) to boost bilateral trade and investments. It was launched when Boris Johnson was the prime minister and Truss was the international trade secretary. In such pacts, two countries either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on the maximum number of goods traded between them besides easing norms for promoting investments and services trade.

 

'We are at an advanced stage (of FTA talks) with the UK…Miss Anne-Mary, who is currently the trade and investment Minister, and I are in regular contact and we are shooting for an agreement between India and the UK within the next few months possibly by Diwali,' Goyal said. India has become one of the world’s attractive investment destinations and it is evident from the way world leaders and developed countries are making every effort to expand trade and investments into India and looking for bilateral agreement, he added.

 

Talks are happening on certain goods like scotch and automobiles from the UK side and certain products from the Indian side. India’s main exports to the UK include ready-made garments and textiles, gems and jewellery, engineering goods, petroleum and petrochemical products, transport equipment and parts, spices, metal products, machinery and instruments, pharma and marine items.

 

Major imports include precious and semi-precious stones, ores and metal scraps, engineering goods, professional instruments, non-ferrous metals, chemicals and machinery. In the services sector, the UK is one of the largest markets in Europe for Indian IT services. The bilateral trade increased to USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22 compared to USD 13.2 billion in 2020-21. India’s exports stood at USD 10.5 billion in 2021-22, while imports were USD 7 billion.

Low procurement of pulses, not even one per cent of target in case of urad, is unlikely to ensure minimum support price (MSP) for the farmers.

 

Data collected by BusinessLine shows that pulse procurement is low and the Union Cabinet’s decision last week to raise procurement limit may remain ‘on paper’ unless there is a clear policy on 'procurement and disposal', experts said.

 

The Union Cabinet last week raised procurement limit of tur (pigeon peas), urad (black gram) and masur (luntil) to 40 per cent from 25 per cent of production.

 

Data gathered by BusinessLine show that only 0.7 per cent of sanctioned 2.25 lakh tonne (lt) of urad and 5.2 per cent of 7.1 lt of tur could be procured from last year’s crop by the Centre through its agencies — Nafed and Food Corporation of India (FCI).

 

Moong was slightly better, 16 per cent of 4.7 lt (sanctioned quantity) could be purchased. Data also show that mandi prices (all India average) were 5-16 per cent below MSPs during the procurement period.

 

Normally, the government defends the low procurement by claiming higher mandi prices or States’ poor performance. However, data points to lack of a political will to take any decision since higher mandi prices of pulses will also mean more inflation. The retail inflation in pulses was 0.18 per cent in July from the year-ago period.

 

'As India is not self-sufficient in pulses, the government cannot keep a huge reserves creating artificial shortage in the market. Whatever quantity is to be procured beyond buffer norms has also to be sold out somewhere and open market auction is the only option left when pulses are neither demanded by States nor distributed under the National Food Security Act (NFSA),' said a former managing director of Nafed.

 

Procurement policy

The current policy allows government to re-imburse losses to certain extent and not full when Nafed buys at MSP and sells at market rate, the agency’s procurement policy also keeps this aspect as to how much quantity it can buy, the former official said adding there is no such limitations for wheat and rice. Raising the procurement limit ‘on paper’ will have no meaning unless target is also met particularly when farmers sell below MSPs in mandis, he added.

 

According to Agmarknet portal, moong prices in top producer Rajasthan were 22.3 per cent below MSP of Rs.7,275/quintal during November-January of 2021-22 when the government procured the pulse crop in the State.

 

However, it could buy only 57,260 tonnes though the sanctioned quantity was 3.61 lt. From Karnataka, the government purchased 13,980 tonnes out of 30,000 tonnes sanctioned, 46.6 per cent of the target, which was the highest for any crop among all States.

 

Uttar Pradesh was the only State where urad in mandis were sold above MSP between March and July this year, the main arrivals period and there was no procurement of the crop despite 63,000 tonnes approved.

 

Criticising the Centre’s move not to include moong and chana in the higher limit of 40 per cent, Kisan Mahapanchayat’s president Rampal Jat said that since masur has been included in the decision which shows that the move is also for rabi-grown pulses, there should be no restriction of quantitative limit on procurement of all pulses and oilseeds as done in paddy and wheat.