Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, (Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare) today visited the ICAR- Directorate of Floricultural Research at Pune, Maharashtra.  The main objective was to discuss the Five year work plan for increasing production / area expansion and the implementation strategy for promoting floriculture in the country in cooperation with the State Governments / UTs.

 

Dr. Likhi reviewed the various activities in the Directorate of Floricultural research for which the Director made a detailed presentation. During these interactions senior management, scientists and other stakeholders of the institute were present.

 

Dr. Likhi emphasised that the five year work plan for increasing area / production and the implementation strategy to promote floriculture in the country must involve small and marginal farmers with the aim of providing them remunerative incomes.

 

Background

To promote horticulture, State Governments / UTs seek funds from Government of India under Mission for Integrating Development of Horticulture (MIDH) on 60:40 sharing basis under their Annual Action Plans.  Government of India has identified floriculture as a sunrise industry and accorded it 100% export oriented status. Owing to steady increase in demand of flower floriculture has become one of the important commercial trades in Agriculture. Hence commercial floriculture has emerged as hi-tech activity-taking place under controlled climatic conditions inside greenhouse. Floriculture in India is being viewed as a high growth Industry. Commercial floriculture is becoming important from the export angle. The liberalization of industrial and trade policies paved the way for development of export-oriented production of cut flowers. The new seed policy had already made it feasible to import planting material of international varieties. It has been found that commercial floriculture has higher potential per unit area than most of the field crops and is therefore a lucrative business. Indian floriculture industry has been shifting from traditional flowers to cut flowers for export purposes. The liberalized economy has given an impetus to the Indian entrepreneurs for establishing export oriented floriculture units under controlled climatic conditions.

 

The categories of the flowers includes traditional flowers- Rose, Shasta (Daisy), Statice (Sea Lavender), Rue, Sage (Clary Sage), Shirley (Poppy), Sunflower, Sky (Sunny Sky), Tansy etc.  The category of cut flowers includes Ageratum, Allium, Aster, Black-Eyed Susan, Blazing Stars, Ranunculus, Carnations etc.  The category of dry flowers includes Bunny Tails, Dried Ruscus, Cotton Stems, Dried Wheatgrass, Stirlingia, Straw Flowers, Dried Palm Fronds, Pampas Grass etc.

 

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is responsible for export promotion and development of floriculture in India. This sector offers opportunities for generating income and employment, especially for women. Noticeable advancements have been made in recent years in flower production, particularly, in the production of Cut Flowers, which have potential in terms of exports. The important flower growing States are Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Karnataka and Gujarat.  A major part of the area under flower cultivation is devoted to the production of Marigold, Jasmine, Roses, Chrysanthemum, Tuberose, etc. The area under Cut Flower cultivation has increased significantly in the recent years.

The government has no plans as of now to impose any restrictions on exports of rice and there are adequate buffer stocks to meet the domestic requirements, according to an official source. There were some discussions on imposing curbs on rice exports but no decision has been taken yet. The government is unlikely to put in any place restrictions, the source said.

 

India, the world's second largest rice producer after China, commands 40 per cent share in the global trade.

 

The country exported 21.2 million tonnes of rice in 2021-22 fiscal year, of which 3.94 million tonnes were basmati rice. It exported non-basmati rice worth USD 6.11 billion in the same period, as per official data.

 

The country exported non-basmati rice to more than 150 countries in 2021-22.

 

With area under coverage for paddy down by 6 per cent to 367.55 lakh hectares so far this kharif sowing season due to less rains in some states, there are concerns that production of rice may fall in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June).

 

Traders fear that the current situation might force the Centre to impose some restrictions on exports of rice as is now the case with wheat.

 

Till August 26 of the current kharif season, less paddy area has been mainly reported from Jharkhand 10.51 lakh hectares (ha), West Bengal (4.62 lakh ha), Chhattisgarh (3.45 lakh ha), Uttar Pradesh (2.63 lakh ha), Bihar (2.40 lakh ha), and Odisha (2.24 lakh ha).

 

Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which begins with the onset of the southwest monsoon from June and harvesting starts from October onwards.

 

Rice production rose to record 130.29 million tonnes in the last crop year as against 124.37 million tonnes in 2020-21.

 

On the back of bumper production and high procurement in the last few years, the Centre is sitting on a stock of 47 million tonnes of rice, including rice equivalent of unmilled paddy, as on July 1. The buffer stock requirement is to have 13.5 million tonnes of rice as on July 1.

 

Already, the Centre is supplying more rice instead of wheat through ration shops as its procurement of wheat fell sharply to 19 million tonnes this marketing year compared to 43 million tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

Wheat marketing year is from April to March but almost the entire quantity of the grain is procured by the end of June.

 

Currently, the government is providing wheat and rice for Rs 2 and Rs 3 per kilogram, respectively, under the National Food Security Law (NFSA). These food grains are provided free of cost under the Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY) to around 80 crore people.

 

The Centre is providing 5 kg of food grains (wheat and rice) per person per month under the NFSA and another 5 kg per person per month under the PMGKAY.

 

The PMGKAY scheme is valid till September and the government is yet to take a decision on whether to extend the welfare programme amid the tight stock situation with respect to wheat and likely fall in rice output.

India needs a set of sector- and location-specific growth initiatives to reframe some of its key industrial and regional policies to pursue a coherent strategy for growth and competitiveness upgrading, a report said on Tuesday.

 

It said that India's headline GDP growth has been strong and even accelerating but weak social progress, rising inequality and a lack of convergence across regions suggest that this growth has failed to translate into the expected improvements in quality of life for many Indians.

 

The report titled 'The Competitiveness Roadmap for India@100' is jointly published by the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and the Institute for Competitiveness. It was released by EAC-PM Chairman Bibek Debroy.

 

The road map is a collaborative endeavour between the EAC-PM and The Institute for Competitiveness and is developed by Amit Kapoor, Chair, Institute for Competitiveness, Professor Michael E Porter and Christian Ketels of Harvard Business School.

 

'India needs to launch a new set of sector- and location-specific growth initiatives to reframe some of its key industrial and regional policies.

 

'Sector- and location-specific initiatives can identify the specific needs of individual clusters and regions and then select from generic policy tools to pursue a coherent strategy for growth and competitiveness upgrading,' it suggested.

 

The report also suggested that India needs enabling social policies that enhance the employability of labour market entrants and reduce barriers for job seekers.

 

These policies will address urgent social needs across the country and trigger job creation opportunities, it said.

 

While noting that India needs to make strengthening effective market competition a more central element of its efforts to upgrade business environment, the report said, 'deeply distorted market structures across many sectors currently lead to poor outcomes, undoing the significant gains made in factor input conditions'.

 

The report observed that regulatory frameworks that are unfit for purpose and legacy market structures reminiscent of different times are holding India back.

 

It suggested that India needs to adopt a comprehensive approach towards enabling the growth of competitive firms.

 

Noting that India's government has pursued an ambitious agenda of economic reforms, largely focused on the relevant issues and based on mostly sound conceptual principles, the report said, 'but the impact on job creation, terms of job creation and the growth of firms has fallen short of ambitions'.

 

While India performs surprisingly well in more sophisticated dimensions of competitiveness, it said, but the country still lags in key fundamentals, in particular skills, some dimensions of infrastructure, and the costs of doing business.

 

'The pandemic has pushed millions back into poverty, at least for now,' the report said, adding that social progress is lagging behind average prosperity, with dramatic weaknesses in environmental quality and the quality of basic education.

The government has decided to curb exports of maida, semolina and wholemeal aata to check rising prices ahead of the festive season. This comes after a ban on exports of wheat on 13 May and wheat flour—or atta—last week.

 

However, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said exports of these items would be allowed in certain cases, subject to government permission.

 

'Export policy of items (wheat or meslin flour, maida, semolina, wholemeal aata, and resultant aata) is amended from free to prohibited," according to a DGFT notification. Semolina includes ‘rawa’ and ‘sirgi’.

 

The provisions under the foreign trade policy 2015-20, regarding transitional arrangements, will not be applicable under this notification, DGFT added.

 

Last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved a proposal for amending the policy of exempting wheat or meslin flour from export restrictions.

 

Mint had reported that atta exports for all of FY22 stood at 500,000 tonnes but nearly 100,000 tonnes were being shipped out every month after the May wheat export ban.

 

Consequently, the union government in July made it mandatory for exporters of wheat flour and related products such as semolina, wholemeal atta and ‘resultant atta’ to seek the approval of an inter-ministerial committee (IMC) for exports.

 

Russia and Ukraine are the major exporters of wheat, accounting for around one-fourth of the global wheat trade.

India’s potential clampdown on exports of broken rice shows the world’s top shipper trying to thread the needle of cooling domestic inflation without causing global panic.

 

The government is discussing curbs on broken rice exports, which account for a little under 20% of the country’s shipments abroad. While such a move has the potential to further disrupt global crop markets and worsen a hunger crisis, the impact is less severe than if it were to restrict all rice exports.

 

India accounts for 40% of the global rice trade so any change in its export policy has huge implications for the billions of people who depend on the staple. During the 2007-08 food crisis, India blocked rice exports, leading other producers such as Vietnam to follow suit. That sparked panic buying, sending rice prices to more than $1,000 a ton, more than double the level now.

 

 

The potential restrictions on broken rice are unlikely to lead to a similar crisis to 2007-08, said Peter Timmer, Professor Emeritus at Harvard University, who worked with Asian governments on their policy responses during that crisis.

 

'I actually think this is a very responsible way for India to act, and I doubt there will be much foreign criticism,' he said.

 

India has responded to rising global commodity prices this year by limiting exports of sugar and wheat. After Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared that his country was ready to 'feed the world,' but changed course weeks later by restricting wheat exports to protect its own food supplies. This drew criticism from farm ministers of the Group of Seven nations, who said that such measures make the world’s food crisis worse.

 

With the potential trade curbs on broken rice, only about a fifth of India’s rice exports will be affected. This type of rice is fragmented during processing. The top buyers are China, which uses the grain for animal feed, and some poor African countries that import the grain for food as it tends to be cheaper.

 

Any restrictions on broken rice will hurt a few countries, but it won’t cause a full-blown crisis on the global market, according to Satish Deodhar, professor at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad. India will want to maintain a balance between its domestic requirement and export market, he said.

Pakistan, which is currently reeling from massive floods, may consider importing essential food items from India.

 

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Pakistan Finance Minister Miftah Ismail said that the government can 'consider importing vegetables and other edible items from India' to facilitate people after recent floods destroyed crops across the country, according to media reports. The minister’s comment was in response to a question.

 

Pakistan is witnessing a massive surge in the prices of various vegetables and fruits because of the floods, which have resulted in supply-related challenges in vegetables in Balochistan, Sindh, and south Punjab. According to reports, floods have claimed over 1,100 lives, so far.

 

The India-Pakistan trade has been largely affected by the tensions between both nations. After India revoked the special status of Jammu and Kashmir in August 2019 by removing Sections of Article 370, the then Imran Khan government suspended all kinds of trade with India. But after the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan allowed imports of drugs and pharmaceuticals from India in May 2020.

 

Also Read: Saddened to see devastation caused by floods in Pakistan: PM Modi

 

India had also withdrawn the most-favoured-nation (MFN) status for Pakistan in February 2019. It imposed a 200 per cent tariff on all imports from Pakistan after the Pulwama terror attack.

 

However, it didn’t ban either exports to or imports from Pakistan.

 

Nisha Taneja, professor at Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), said that going ahead, the trade between India and Pakistan should not be limited to the flood disaster. There should be an effort to expand the list further.

 

'The decision provides a window to expand the positive list of items for trade from Pakistan’s side. Pakistan earlier had allowed the import of items, such as pharmaceuticals and related raw materials from India. It is expanding the list of items that can be imported from India' Taneja said.

 

Despite the tensions between the two nations, Pakistan’s import from India has been rising since the beginning of the current financial year. During the first three months of FY23, Pakistan imported goods worth $204.83 million from India, up 73 per cent year-on-year, according to commerce and industry ministry data.

 

Sugar and pharmaceutical products were key imports. Apart from that Pakistan imported tea, spices, fruits and vegetables, and textiles, among others.

 

There were negligible imports by India from Pakistan (only to the tune of $17 million during the April-June quarter).

 

Total trade between the two countries stood at $2.6 billion in FY19 before disruptions. It plunged to $831 million, $329 million, and $516 million in FY20, FY21, and FY22, respectively.

Darjeeling tea producers have urged the government to impose anti-dumping duty on tea originating from Nepal, claiming that several traders are selling the cheaper Nepalese variety to unsuspecting consumers as genuine Darjeeling tea, which is slowing the recovery of their business.

 

Planters of Darjeeling tea allege that several tea importers are passing on Nepalese tea as Darjeeling tea at much lower prices, causing huge losses to the tea estates in West Bengal's Darjeeling district. Some are also allegedly selling blends of the two teas as the world-famous Darjeeling variety.

 

Darjeeling tea is India's geographical indication-tagged product. It is also alleged that some local traders are exporting Nepal tea as Darjeeling tea, driving down prices of the premium authentic Darjeeling tea in the global market.

 

 

'We have made a representation to the commerce minister to immediately take up the issue of Nepal tea and impose an anti-dumping duty to protect Darjeeling tea trade,' Sandeep Mukherjee, principal advisor to the Darjeeling Tea Association, told ET.

 

Tea originating from Nepal can be freely imported in India under the free trade agreement between the two countries.

 

According to traders, while Darjeeling tea costs Rs 340-400 per kg at the auctions, the orthodox variety of Nepalese tea is available for less than half that price.

 

The problem has slowed the recovery of the Darjeeling tea industry from the crisis of 2017, when the tea gardens were shut for months due to political agitation. 'The four-month-long closure of the gardens in 2017 due to agitation in the hills had impacted the Darjeeling tea industry in a massive way. We are still bearing the brunt of that closure,' said Anshuman Kanoria, chairman of Indian Tea Exporters Association. 'Non-availability of Darjeeling tea during that period paved the way for Nepal teas in the Indian market, and subsequently to the global markets.'

 

He said it is difficult for tea drinkers to differentiate between Darjeeling tea and Nepal tea.

 

Kanoria said that although the first flush and second flush of Darjeeling teas have found buyers this year, it has become difficult for the trade to find buyers for the rains or monsoon teas.

 

Monsoon teas account for nearly 60% of Darjeeling's production, which dwindled to 6.7 million kg last year from 11 million kg a decade ago. 'Nepal tea is destroying the Darjeeling tea industry and it is high time that the government took some steps right away. Otherwise, the survival of the Darjeeling tea industry will be difficult,' Kanoria said.

Bangladesh is finalising deals with Vietnam and India to import a total of 330,000 tonnes of rice as it races to replenish reserves and cool domestic prices, two officials with direct knowledge of the matter said on Monday.

 

Soaring prices of the staple grain for the country's 165 million people pose a problem for the government, which plans to expand cut-price rice sales to help people hard-hit by high costs.

 

The south Asian country will buy 100,000 tonnes of parboiled rice from an Indian public sector firm and 200,000 tonnes of parboiled rice and 30,000 tonnes of white rice from Vietnam, the government officials said.

 

The price for the parboiled rice from Vietnam will be $521 a tonne and white rice $494 a tonne, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because the deals have not been made public.

 

The price for rice from neighbouring India will be $443.50 per tonne via seaports and $428.50 per tonne via railways, the officials said. All the prices included freight, insurance and unloading costs, they said.

 

'Preparations are underway to sign the deals soon,' one of the officials said, adding the rice would be delivered within two to three months after the signing.

 

The Bangladesh government is also holding talks with Myanmar to import rice, the officials said, putting aside a rift over the Rohingya refugee crisis.

 

Bangladesh this week slashed import duty on rice to 15% from 25%, cutting it for the second time since July in a bid to boost private imports.

 

Its private rice import plan, however, faces a setback with only 36,000 tonnes bought since July, after the government allowed private traders to import nearly 1 million tonnes of the staple grain after slashing duty to 25.0% from 62.5%.

 

The government will begin selling rice at a cheaper rate for 5 million poor families and expand such sales from September, in an effort to rein in surging domestic prices, which saw yet another uptick after it hiked domestic oil prices early this month.

 

Bangladesh, traditionally the world's third-biggest rice producer with around 35 million tonnes annually, uses almost all its production to feed its people. It still often requires imports to cope with shortages caused by floods or droughts.

A Workshop on Development of Enterprises and Services Hub (DESH) Bill, 2022 was organized by Department of Commerce today in Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi under the Chairmanship of Shri BVR Subrahmanyam, IAS, Commerce Secretary to have discussion on the DESH Bill with stakeholders from various segments.  

 

The workshop was organised in partnership with Export Promotion Council for EOUs and SEZs (EPCES) and was attended by approx 200 participants representing various segments including SEZ Units, Developers and Government functionaries of many State Governments as well as Central Government Departments as well as prominent industry associations.  Various aspects of the Bill was discussed and views on the same from stakeholders were shared.

 

After the inaugural keynote address by the Commerce Secretary wherein he noted that the draft DESH Bill was borne out of the learnings from the operations of SEZ law over more than a decade as well as from feedback from the stakeholders. This was followed by a presentation providing a brief overview on the draft DESH Bill. The presentation highlighted the salient features of the new law including the broad-basing of objectives, strengthened single window mechanism, a robust and dynamic regulatory structure, revamped fiscal framework as well as avenues for alternate dispute resolution measures. 

 

Thereafter, four interactive brainstorming sessions across groups of Industry, Developers, Academics / Professionals and Government stakeholders were organized wherein concerns and suggestions in respect of draft DESH Bill, 2022 flagged by stakeholders have been noted by the officials of Department of Commerce.

 

The stakeholders expressed wide appreciation of the proposed framework of DESH Bill and acknowledged that the draft law addresses most of the long pending requirements of the stakeholders including integration with domestic market as well as measures to ease compliance and simplification of procedures. The stakeholders also made several suggestions to further improve on the draft law including the rules to be framed thereunder.

 

Thereafter, the Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce provided a summary of the discussions during the interactive sessions which was followed by concluding remarks by the Commerce Secretary. The meeting ended with vote of thanks to all stakeholders.

The Bangladesh government has cut the import duty on rice further to 5 per cent while liberalising shipments of the cereal into the country in its efforts to build the foodgrain’s inventory.

 

In a notification issued during the weekend, the Sheikh Hasina Wazed government amended its Customs Act, 1969, to allow imports of the cereal - parboiled rice except aromatic and white rice except aromatic- by more private traders.  

 

 

Curbing inflation

The decision to liberalise rice imports and cut its Customs duty is expected to help Bangladesh’s private sector to build ample stocks over the next couple of months. 

 

The Sheikh Hasina Wazed government’s move is also aimed at curbing food inflation. Rice prices have surged by over 10 per cent resulting in Dhaka raising its foodgrain import target by almost double to 1.2 million tonnes. The Wazed government is looking to accumulate rice stocks as its inventory to a worrisome 18 lakh tonnes. 

 

The import duty on rice has been lowered from 25 per cent, which had earlier been reduced on June 24 from 62.5 per cent. Then, the Bangladesh government banned exports of all types of rice to meet domestic demand.

 

Indian paddy acreage 6% lower

In a related development, an Indian public sector has backed off from a reported “deal” to export one lakh tonnes of parboiled rice to Bangladesh on a government-to-government (G2G) basis. This is significant in the wake of the area under paddy being 6 per cent lower in India during the current kharif sowing season.

 

Last week, trade sources said the public sector had reportedly entered into a deal to export rice at $422 a tonne cost and freight (C&F)  liner out, which includes all expenses, including loading and unloading that a vessel might incur while shipping the consignment. 

 

However, Dhaka’s deal with a South-East Asian firm to import 2.3 lakh tonnes at $522 a tonne C&F liner out on G2G basis is reportedly in place. 

 

Grim food situation

Bangladesh’s move to liberalise rice imports comes on the heels of at least 1.4 lakh tonnes of the cereal being imported from India in recent weeks. The shipments, via road and sea, at an average of $464 a tonne have pushed up domestic rice prices. 

 

Dhaka plans to import 6.5 lakh tonnes of rice this year, the US Department of Agriculture said. Bangladesh is facing a grim food situation as its Aush, Aman and Boro crops have been affected by the weather this year. Bangladesh produces 37.5 million tonnes of rice annually with the Aman crop making up nearly 40 per cent of it. 

 

Even if 10 per cent of the Aman crop is impacted due to a prolonged dry period - similar to what is being witnessed in West Bengal this year, it could result in a huge loss in rice production for Dhaka.

 

Indian rice prices up 

The Wazed government also failed to procure ample stocks during April-June this year from India as it imported a meagre 4,413 tonnes. Last fiscal, Dhaka imported 1.62 million tonnes of rice from India. 

 

According to the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the all-India daily average price of rice is currently Rs. 37.81 a kg, up 4.5 per cent a month ago and 10.65 per cent a year ago. As per the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agmark portal, the national weight average modal price (the rate at which most trades take place) is Rs. 3,286 a quintal compared with Rs. 2,841 a month ago. 

 

In the global market, Indian 5 per cent broken white rice is quoted $343-347 a tonne, while Pakistan is offering the cereal at $363-67. Thailand’s 5 per cent broken is ruling at $431 and Vietnam’s at $393-7.

 

Crucial Food Ministry meet

India’s 5 per cent broken parboiled rice is quoted at $368-72, Thailand at $439 and Pakistan’s at $398-402. Rice prices have eased a tad in the global market in view of the dollar strengthening against other currencies. 

 

In India, a crucial meeting called by the Food Ministry to decide the rice procurement target for the kharif marketing season starting October 1 will be held on Tuesday. The meeting will likely consider regulating rice imports and ways to contain food inflation.