Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya said that farmers should adopt organic farming by taking advantage of the agricultural welfare policies and programmes of the Central and respective State governments.

 

This will benefit and help them in becoming self-reliant, he advised. Dattatraya was interacting with a 15-member delegation of turmeric farmers producing organisation, Manoharabad, Nizamabad district in Hyderabad on Tuesday. He also felicitated them by presenting a shawl to each of them. The farmers' delegation also presented a memento to the Haryana Governor as a mark of respect.

 

The Haryana Governor said that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, many schemes are being implemented to promote organic farming in the country. Up to 90 per cent subsidy is being given under various schemes for turmeric production in the country.

 

He said that the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises is promoting entrepreneurship and agro-based industries where farmers are being given maximum subsidy on equipment, food production and storage facilities.

 

Turmeric Producing Farmers' Organisation president P Tirupati Reddy informed that turmeric is produced in about 100 villages in his area. These villages produce 30 per cent of the country's total turmeric output.

The Food Ministry is taking all precautions for the ensuing kharif marketing season to procure rice for the Central Pool after having been unable to procure even 50 per cent of wheat in the rabi marketing season this year. It is expecting the States to convey how much of rice it could procure during a meeting on August 30.

 

The meeting for this year’s rice procurement plan assumes significance amid an 8 per cent drop in acreage under paddy from a year ago and also the crop getting damaged due to floods in several parts of the country.

 

States’ food secretaries have been urged to come up with a realistic assessment as the Centre cannot afford to repeat what happened in the case of wheat due to stocks dropping in the Central Pool, an official source said. However, officials in some States said a lot depends on market price of paddy as farmers would prefer to sell in mandis if they get higher rates.

 

The minimum support price of paddy has been fixed at Rs.2,040/quintal for the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), up 5.15 per cent from last year’s Rs.1,940. The current all-India average mandi price is Rs.1,775(August 1-24), down from Rs.1,832/quintal in July, according to Agmarknet portal. On the other hand, rice prices (monthly average) have been stable in different regions between Rs.32 and Rs.47/kg in July and August, according to Consumer Affairs Ministry data.

 

Stocks with FCI

Rice stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI) have declined to 27.95 million tonnes (mt) as of August 1 from 29.1 mt a year ago. The stocks were 31.7 mt as of July 1. Unmilled paddy stocks have declined to 19.46 mt as of August 1 from 22.91 mt a year ago.

 

Stressing that there will be no problem in Punjab in rice procurement, a State government official said it is confident of achieving the target, which will be finalised soon. It will likely be almost at par with the previous year. Punjab contributed 12.55 mt (the same quantity as its target) of rice to the Central Pool in 2021-22 (October-September season), which is 21 per cent of total procurement of 59.13 mt, so far.

 

The official said when all other States had failed, it was Punjab which contributed 51 per cent of nearly 19 mt of wheat procured from across the country this year whereas the target was for 44.4 mt. The wheat procurement in Punjab was 9.65 mt against a target of 13.2 mt, whereas the purchase in Madhya Pradesh was 4.6 mt against 12.9 mt target.

 

Paddy sowing in the past week has improved with the addition of about 34 lh narrowing the deficit in its acreage. Overall, the acreage of paddy is down by 8 per cent at 343.70 lh as of August 18 from 374.63 lh a year ago whereas the sowing area was 12 per cent lower at 309.79 lh until August 12, data released by the Agriculture Ministry show. Earlier, the government had set this season’s target for paddy area at 413.13 lh, which is likely to be missed with all major producers reporting lower acreage.

India's merchandise exports are likely to be around USD 470-480 billion in the current fiscal against USD 420 billion in 2021-22, Commerce Secretary BVR Subrahmanyam said on Tuesday.

 

The secretary also said the trade deficit, which crossed USD 100 billion in the first four months of the current fiscal, is not going to cross a 'discomfort level'.

 

Talking to reporters, Subrahmanyam said the merchandise trade during 2022-23 will be USD 470-480 billion and the services sector is likely to contribute another 280 billion.

 

'We are pretty much on track,' he said, adding the exact target for the fiscal may be announced later.

 

India's overall exports (merchandise and services) touched an all-time high of USD 669.65 billion in April-March 2021-22, jumping by 34.50 per cent over the same period last year.

 

On trade deficit, the secretary said it is likely to moderate in the coming months because of softening of prices of oil and other commodities in the global market.

 

'I think in totality we are not going to cross a discomfort level...We are looking at it very closely,' Subrahmanyam said.

 

The merchandise trade deficit in July 2022 was USD 31.02 billion, taking the gap between imports and exports to USD 100.01 billion in April-July 2022-23.

 

Meanwhile, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal released a dossier on the restructuring of the Department of Commerce with a view to making it 'future ready' and put in place an ecosystem to achieve the USD 2 trillion export target by 2030.

 

The Secretary further said there is a huge opportunity for India as many western countries are planning to shift their operations from China.

 

The shift from China is huge, he said, adding that many companies are looking to shift their manufacturing away from China and move to India.

 

Subrahmanyam said that Japanese clothing retailer Uniqlo wants to shift its plant to India from China and planning to invest USD 1 billion.

India's GDP growth in the first quarter of the current fiscal is expected to grow in double digits at 13% owing to a low base and robust recovery in the contact-intensive sectors following the widening vaccination coverage, as per an ICRA NSE -0.51 % report.

 

ICRA expects the sectoral growth in Q1 FY2023 to be driven by the services sector (+17-19 per cent; +5.5 per cent in Q4 FY2022), followed by the industry (+9-11 per cent; +1.3 per cent). GVA growth in agriculture, forestry and fishing is projected to decline to 1.0 per cent in Q1 FY2023 from 4.1 per cent in Q4 FY2022, on account of the adverse impact of the heat wave in several parts of the country, which supressed wheat output.

 

The gross value added (GVA) at basic price in Q1FY23 is projected at 12.6 per cent from 3.9 per cent earlier.

 

'The anticipated double-digit GDP expansion in Q1 FY2023 benefits from the low base of the second wave of Covid-19 in India in Q1 FY2022 as well as the robust recovery in the contact-intensive sectors following the widening vaccination coverage. In ICRA's assessment, there has been a shift in demand towards contact-intensive services from discretionary consumer goods for the mid-to-higher income groups. This, in conjunction with the emerging cautiousness in export demand, and the impact of high commodity prices on volumes as well as margins for the industrial sector, are likely to result in a relatively moderate industrial growth,' Aditi Nayar, Chief Economist, ICRA was quoted saying in a release.

 

Overall, ICRA expects the growth in GVA of trade, hotels, transport, communication and services related to broadcasting (THTCS) to record a base-effect driven expansion of 40-45 per cent in Q1 FY2023 (+5.3 per cent in Q4 FY2022), while trailing the pre-Covid level of Q1 FY2020 by a muted 2.5 per cent.

 

The recovery in travel-related services has been upbeat since the onset of FY2023, benefiting from pent-up demand related to corporate travel and increasing confidence for availing leisure services amid the decline in trajectory of Covid-19 infections. Moreover, within transportation, the railway and road sub-sectors are expected to post a healthy recovery in Q1 FY2023, as indicated by the healthy YoY growth in rail freight and GST e-way bills.

Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal today released the ‘Department of Commerce Restructuring Dossier’ at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi.

 

Releasing the report, Shri Goyal said restructuring of the entire department of commerce aims at preparing India to become a key global player in world trade. He further said the restructuring rests on 5 major pillars : Increasing India's share in global trade, assume leadership role in multilateral organisations, democratisation of trade, creating 100 Indian Brands as Global Champions, and setting up Economic Zones in India to strengthen the manufacturing base and attract greater investments to India.

 

The Minister mentioned that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi had launched Mission Karmayogi with the objective of skill development and upgradation of employees in Govt. departments and Ministries. It is in pursuance of this, Shri Goyal said, that restructuring of departments of commerce has been undertaken to meet the needs of the future. This will enable us to adopt international best practices and prepare ourselves for greater multilateral and bilateral engagement with other countries, he added.

 

Shri Goyal said Restructuring exercise is a mammoth endeavour focused on ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ and an Aatmanirbhar Commerce Department. The 14 volumes of the report define the role of each section within the department and lays down the expected outcomes and key performance indicators. These manuals would enable all the relevant stakeholders to understand their role in the revamped department and help the organization perform effectively, he added.

 

The Minister said the focus on exports has been one of the most defining features of the government's efforts to make India a developed country by 2047, a vision articulated by PM Shri Narendra Modi, in his Independence Day address to the nation this year. He emphasised that Indian Trade and Commerce will not only be a strong element in India’s march to prosperity, towards becoming a developed nation when we turn 100 in 2047, but also play an extremely important role in serving the needs of the whole world.

 

Shri Goyal said we aspire to achieve 2 trillion dollars worth of exports by 2030. This will make us among the top nations in world trade and change the way the world sees us. Shri Goyal further said Prime Minister Modi has led from the front and energised the entire export ecosystem. It is due to the constant guidance and mentoring by PM that we not only met but also beat  export targets, he emphasised. The PM has urged all the missions across the world to focus on 3 Ts- Trade, Technology and Tourism. These are now an integral part of the duties of all the Missions, he added.

 

Shri Goyal noted some of the ideas that have emerged out of Restructuring exercise include a dedicated 'Trade Promotion Body' to drive formulation & execution of promotion strategy, Digitization of trade facilitation processes, Rehauling of the data & analytics ecosystem and capacity builSerg of Indian Trade Service to drive specialization & institutional memory.

To set up a future-ready administration geared towards the target of $2 trillion exports by 2030, the Department of Commerce has decided to set up a dedicated trade promotion body to drive overall promotion strategy, export targets, and execution as part of a restructuring exercise.

 

The trade promotion body will formulate and drive overall trade promotion strategy; create and drive India’s branding across focus markets and sectors; drive coordinated action across missions, states and export promotion councils; strategic initiatives, including advisory and buyer-seller meet; and develop digital platforms for exporters and buyers.

 

Based on a 14-volume ‘restructuring dossier’ by the Boston Consulting Group, the commerce department has already implemented some of the recommendations.

 

Business Standard first reported on August 7 that the commerce department has restructured the organisation separating multilateral and bilateral trade-negotiating divisions to allow greater focus on ongoing talks for free-trade deals.

 

Releasing the dossiers which are yet to be made public, Trade Minister Piyush Goyal said as part of the Karmayogi mission launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to reskill and reform Indian bureaucracy, various departments are being restructured.

 

'Commerce department is privileged to be first off the block. Our officers worked painstakingly to visualise and recreate what the Department of Commerce should look like to be able to meet the needs of the future and as an immediate task to take the $675 billion exports in 2021-22 to $2 trillion by 2030. If we can have a $2 trillion export by 2030, it will change the way India engages with the world,' he added.

 

In the revamped structure, Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) will be positioned as a nodal entity to carry out trade regulation and facilitation. An e-governance division is proposed in DGFT to ensure sharp focus on digitisation of internal and exporter-focused processes.

 

'The DGFT today is also engaged in trade promotion along with trade policy, data analytics, and dissemination of data. Its role will now be categorised in different buckets. DGFT will focus on trade logistics and infra strategy, regulation and compliance of trade policy, scheme implementation and monitoring, risk monitoring and e-governance,' said Goyal.

 

Under the new structure, Indian Trade Service (ITS) will house all expertise on trade matters in the Department of Commerce ecosystem with lateral entry of experts from the private sectors.

 

'The ITS which is a very reputed and valued service with several officers in DGFT can also infuse new talent, both through government recruitment and from the private sector, so that they can have multi-functional teams working in the Department of Commerce. This will lead to institutional memory being created so that as officers keep coming and going, long-term institutional memory is retained in the department and we will be able to engage with the world from a position of strength with significant lessons learnt from history,' said Goyal.

 

The commerce department plans to overhaul the data and analytics ecosystem via centralised data management and embedded analytics capabilities.

 

A Trade Intelligence & Analytics wing is proposed to be set up for in-house analytics and dissemination capabilities. Trade Watch Tower within the wing will proactively identify market risks and opportunities.

 

'Our Indian missions abroad will play an increasingly active role for market intelligence, research, and handholding Indian exporters and business persons,' added Goyal.

The 10th Convocation of the Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), Izzatnagar (Bareilly) was held today with the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar as the chief guest. Speaking on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that the Government of India, under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, is working with full dedication to transform and move the country forward.

 

Shri Tomar said that on the occasion of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, everyone has to fulfill their old resolutions and simultaneously start working on new resolutions. By the time India completes 100 years (Amrit Kaal) of the country's independence, India should establish as the best nation in the world. For this, institutions and students, all should join hands and contribute towards the nation.

 

Congratulating those who received degrees at the convocation, Shri Tomar said that educational institutions play an important role in the development of youth and students feel proud by getting excellent education.

 

Describing the relationship between the Nature and animals as unbreakable, Shri Tomar said that along with humans, it is our duty to take care of livestock and birds and to take care of their health. Animals have immense importance, so we address animals as livestock. The total livestock population in India is 535.78 million and poultry population is 851.18 million, almost the same as our population. The livestock wealth of the country is quite rich, not only in numerical but also in terms of genetic diversity.

 

Shri Tomar said that the agriculture sector can only be complete with other allied sectors including animal husbandry, beekeeping and fisheries. Along with agriculture, for the growth of the country, one has to work responsibly in allied sectors including animal husbandry. To improve the breed of animals, keep them healthy, this is the need of the hour. People are also affected when the disease occurs in milch animals. Keeping in view the importance of animal husbandry sector, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has made a provision of a special package of Rs.15000 crore in the form of Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Fund under the AatmaNirbhar Bharat (Self-Reliant India) campaign. Shri Tomar informed that recently indigenous vaccine (Lumpi-Pro Vac-Ind / Lumpi-ProVacInd) has been launched to protect animals from lumpy skin disease.

 

On the occasion, Shri Tomar presented the degrees and awards in the presence of Union Minister of State for Agriculture, Shri Kailash Choudhary, former Union Minister and Bareilly MP Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, ICAR Deputy Director General (Animal Science) Dr. Bhupendra Nath Tripathi, IVRI Director Dr. Triveni Dutt and other dignitaries.

 

During the ceremony, three technologies developed by the IVRI were released. Dr. Mahendra Pal Yadav, Dr. Kamal Mall Bujarbarua and Dr. Anil Kumar Srivastava have been awarded the degree of Vigyan-Varidhi (Honorary) of Indian Veterinary Research Institute (Deemed to be University).

 

Shri Tomar also inaugurated the Swami Vivekananda Auditorium at the IVRI complex.

After wheat, rice prices are firming up on reports of supply concerns with the all India average retail price of the grain ruling higher by 6.31 per cent at Rs 37.7 per kg compared to the year-ago period, according to an official data.

 

The All India average retail price of wheat has risen by over 22 per cent to Rs 31.04 per kg as of August 22 compared to Rs 25.41 per kg in the year-ago period, according to the data maintained by the Consumer Affairs Ministry.

 

The average retail price of wheat flour (atta) has increased by over 17 per cent to Rs 35.17 per kg as against Rs 30.04 per kg in the year-ago period, the data showed.

 

The rising trend in the retail price of rice is due to reports of likely drop in the country's production in view of 8.25 per cent lag in paddy sowing till last week in the ongoing kharif (summer) season.

 

Considering the current lag in the paddy coverage, experts said the country's total rice production is likely to be lower than the set target of 112 million tonne for 2022-23 kharif season (July-June).

 

Still, the increase in the retail prices of rice is not higher than in the case of wheat yet as the Centre has a huge stock of 396 lakh tonne and can use that to intervene, in case of a sharp rise, they said.

 

In case of wheat, its prices in both wholesale and retail markets have come under pressure due to a nearly 3 per cent drop in the domestic output to 106.84 million tonnes in the 2021-22 crop year.

 

Wheat production is estimated to have declined due to a heatwave that resulted in shrivelled grains in the northern states of Punjab and Haryana.

 

Meanwhile, industry body Roller Flour Millers' Federation has raised concerns regarding unavailability of wheat and the drastic rise in price in the last few days.

 

As per the agriculture ministry's data, paddy has been sown in 343.70 lakh hectare till August 18 of this kharif season when compared with 374.63 lakh hectare in the year-ago period.

 

Less area was reported in Jharkhand, West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and few other states due to shortfall in monsoon rainfall.

 

Paddy is the main kharif crop, sowing of which begins with the onset of southwest monsoon in June. Over 80 per cent of the country's total rice production comes from the kharif season.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) aims to reduce inflation to its medium-term target of 4 per cent in the next two years and its rate actions will be data-dependent, said Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday.

 

Consumer Price Index (CPI)-based inflation — the central bank’s monetary policy anchor — was at 6.71 per cent in July, marking the first time in four months that the price gauge dropped below 7 per cent.

 

'We would like to bring down inflation over a time cycle of about two years or so… By and large, I think we are moving closer to 4 per cent in a steady manner without much growth sacrifice,' Das said in an interview to a television (TV) channel.

 

The RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is mandated to keep CPI inflation at 4 per cent, with a variation of 2 per cent on either side.

 

The MPC has raised the policy repo rate by a total of 140 basis points (bps) since May 4 and it is currently at 5.4 per cent.

 

According to the RBI’s assessments, inflation has peaked and is expected to moderate, said Das.

 

In the minutes of the MPC’s August 3-5 meeting released last week, external members Ashima Goyal and Jayanth Varma said that the rate-setting panel’s actions should be driven by incoming data.

 

Tuesday’s TV interview marked the first time in several months that Das himself said that the future trajectory of interest rates would be data-driven.

 

Since the first rate hike on May 4, the MPC has tweaked the phrasing of its stance. It was accommodative while focusing on the withdrawal of accommodation. The stance was changed to one that is focused on the withdrawal of accommodation.

 

'I will not be able to give forward guidance about our future rate actions. In May, we increased the rates by 40 bps, then 50 (bps) and then 50 (bps) — in three instalments we have done it,' said Das.

 

'The incoming data and the way the situation unfolds, as I described, the inflation-growth dynamic, how it plays out, that will determine our future action,' he said.

 

Das said the government bond yield curve indicated that inflation was coming down. After touching an over-three-year high of 7.62 per cent on June 16, yield on the 10-year benchmark government bond has eased significantly, settling at 7.28 per cent on Tuesday.

 

'If you look at the 10-year government security (G-sec), the 10-year G-sec before we started the May meeting of the MPC when we started the current rate hike cycle by 40 bps, just before that it was around 7.1-7.12 per cent. Today, it’s around 7.28 per cent,' said Das.

 

Apart from anchoring inflation expectations, bond yields were driven by easing prices of crude oil and other commodities, as well as fluctuations in the US currency.

 

Current account deficit

 

The RBI governor said that India’s current account deficit (CAD) would be within manageable levels and financed in a 'reasonably comfortable' manner.

 

Economists expect India’s CAD to rise to around 3 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) this fiscal year, from 1.2 per cent of GDP in the previous fiscal year.

 

Das cited the recent decline in crude oil factors as a key factor that would help contain CAD.

 

'But (on) crude oil prices now, there are many experts internationally who are taking a position that the crude oil price will be below $100 per barrel. This was not in the realm of anybody’s thinking a few months ago,' he said.

 

'There are institutions which are projecting $95 per barrel. We have assumed $105 as the average price for the current year,' he said.

 

Another reason for optimism on CAD was an expected pick-up in petroleum product exports, given that a recent export tax had been adjusted, said Das.

 

While saying that he hoped that the debate about whether the RBI was 'behind the curve' was over, Das warned against any complacency on the part of the central bank, pointing out that inflation was currently well above the comfort zone.

 

Banks, fintech, crypto

 

Speaking on the gap between credit and deposit growth, Das said, 'If banks have to achieve a credit growth of 13-15 per cent, they have resources by way of increasing deposit rates.'

 

According to the latest RBI data, credit growth was 14.5 per cent as of July 29. However, deposits grew at 9.1 per cent during the same period.

 

Commenting on greater scrutiny by the RBI on the financial technology (fintech) sector, Das said, 'We are supportive of innovation in fintech, but at the same time we have to evaluate what kind of risk build-up is happening and whether they are getting addressed.'

 

In its effort to mitigate concerns arising from credit delivery through digital lending methods, the RBI, earlier this month, came out with guidelines aimed at firming up the regulatory framework over such activities, wherein it has categorically specified that lending business can only be carried out by entities regulated by it or other such competent authorities under the law.

 

On whether charges should be levied on Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions, the GOVERNOR said, 'We have come out with a discussion paper. Our idea was to get stakeholder comments. So let the comments come, we will examine them and move forward.'

 

Last week, in a discussion paper, the RBI sought feedback from stakeholders on the possibility of imposing a 'tiered' charge on payments made through UPI, based on different amount bands.

 

Following this discussion paper, the government denied any intention of levying charges on UPI transactions.

 

The finance ministry said the concerns of service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means.

 

Reiterating his stance on cryptocurrencies, Das said, 'I am happy that we sounded those warning signals and anecdotally we are aware that many people did not invest or pulled out of crypto, thanks to the caution and concerns that the RBI expressed.'

 

'Cryptocurrencies can create a lot of financial instability in terms of the ability of the central bank to determine monetary policy. It will also have an adverse impact on our exchange rate, capital flows, and banking sector stability. It can potentially be used for money laundering and illicit transfer of money.'

The recent hike in retail milk price by Rs 2 per litre will limit the slide in profitability of the organised dairy sector to 50 basis points (bps) on-year this fiscal, despite a higher than anticipated rise in procurement prices, and transport and packaging costs, said CRISIL NSE 0.49 % Ratings on Tuesday.

 

Despite lower profitability, comfortable balance sheets and better working capital management will keep the credit profiles of players stable. A CRISIL Ratings analysis of 40 rated dairies that account for 60% of the organised segment revenue indicates as much.

 

Anand Kulkarni, Director, CRISIL Ratings said 'Milk procurement prices have shot up 8-10% in the past six months because of lower-than-expected milk collection — on account of cattle diseases in some of the major milk-producing states — and high prices of cattle feed. Additionally, the surge in crude price has translated into a significant increase in transport and packaging costs. This necessitated a second price hike in the past six months. We don’t anticipate any more price hikes as an expected improvement in milk collection and softening input prices will support profitability in the second half of the fiscal.'

 

Disruptions in artificial insemination, cattle breeding and vaccination schedules had affected supply last year. These issues are expected to be ironed out this year, resulting in better milk supply during the flush season (refers to the peak period of raw milk supply, which is generally from December to mid-March every year). The drivers of demand remain strong. While demand for liquid milk continues to be robust, that for value-added products (VAP; accounting for 28% of organised sector revenue1 ) such as ghee, butter, cheese, curd, ice cream has been growing at a healthy pace.

 

As the VAP segment is comparatively price inelastic, profitability is typically better, at 7-9%. Also, the HoReCa (hotel, restaurant and café) segment has made strong recovery in a post-pandemic world, which will prop up revenue growth for the dairy industry. Volume growth, along with an increase in average realisations by 6-6.5% this fiscal, following the hikes in retail milk prices will translate to 13-14% higher revenue for organised dairy players. Working capital position should also improve as strong domestic demand for VAP and liquid milk will limit exports of skimmed milk powder (SMP) and prune inventory, given that SMP inventory accounts for 70-75% of the working capital requirement of dairies.

 

Saina S Kathawala, Associate Director, CRISIL Ratings said 'Despite the decline in profitability to ~4.7% this fiscal, interest coverage2 of players will remain adequate at 7.3-7.4 times, compared with 7.7 times last fiscal. Leverage should remain comfortable with total outside liabilities to tangible net worth ratio expected at 2.5-2.6 times, compared with 2.7 times last fiscal.' All said, improvement in supply-side variables is an important monitorable and a healthy increase in milk collection remains critical for stability in retail milk prices