A total of 17 projects for food processing have been approved by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries under various sub-schemes of Pradhan Mantri Kisan Smpada Yojana (PMKSY) in 2021-22 having processing capacity of 3.6428 Lakh MT/annum and preservation capacity of 2.2149 Lakh MT/annum.

 

The 17 projects sanctioned in 2021-22 have employment capacity of 11,137.

 

This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme implemented from 2014-15 for holistic development of horticulture in the country, covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashewand  cocoa. All States/UTs are covered under MIDH.

 

Under MIDH, financial & technical assistance is provided to States/UTs for following major interventions/activities:

 

Setting up of nurseries, tissue culture units for production of quality seed and planting material.

Area expansion i.e. Establishment of new orchards and gardens for fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

Rejuvenation of unproductive, old, and senile orchards.

Protected cultivation, i.e. poly-house, green-house, etc, to improve the productivity & grow off season high value vegetables and flowers.

Organic farming and certification.

Creation of water resources structures and watershed management.

Bee-keeping for pollination.

Horticulture Mechanization.

Creation of Post Harvest Management and Marketing infrastructure.

Training of farmers.

 

Mission is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme being implemented through State Governments, where the subsidy is shared between the Central Government and State Governments in the ratio of 60:40 in all the states other than North Eastern and Himalayan states, where the pattern of assistance is shared in the ratio of 90:10.  Hence, the active support of State Governments is paramount for the success of Mission. Under the Mission, funds are released to the State Horticulture Missions (SHMs) through State Finance Department/ Treasury. Many SHMs have told about considerable delay in receipt of funds released under the Scheme from the State Finance Department/ State Treasury.

 

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

India's oilmeals export jumped over two-fold in June to 4,31,840 tonnes on record shipment of rapeseed meal, according to industry data. The exports stood at 2,03,868 tonnes in the same month last year, according to Solvent Extractors' Association (SEA) of India.

 

'Export of oilmeals for the month of June 2022 provisionally reported at 431,840 tonnes, compared to 203,868 tonnes in June 2021,' the association said in a statement.

 

SEA highlighted that there was record export of rapeseed meal last month at 3,08,549 tonnes on increased domestic output as well as processing.

 

In June 2022, the exports of soyabean meal stood at 32,194 tonnes, groundnut meal 707 tonnes, rice bran extraction 64,025 tonnes and castor seed meal 26,365 tonnes.

 

As per the SEA data, the overall export of oilmeals during April-June 2022 rose 39 per cent to 10,21,265 tonnes as compared to 7,35,892 tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

In the first three months of the current fiscal year (2022-23), SEA said export of rapeseed meal has increased to 7,06,904 tonnes compared to 3,84,807 tonnes.

 

At present, SEA said that India is the most competitive supplier of rapeseed meal to South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand and other far east countries.

 

In the case of soybean meal, the association pointed out that India is still outpriced in the international market.

 

Among major importers, SEA said that, during April-June 2022, South Korea imported 3,38,800 tonnes of oilmeals, as compared to 2,52,063 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

 

Vietnam imported 184,423 tonnes during April-June 2022, as against 1,14,934 tonnes in the year-ago period.

 

India's exports to Thailand rose 75 per cent to 1,34,801 tonnes from 77,003 tonnes, while shipments to Bangladesh grew 38 per cent to 125,440 tonnes from 90,589 tonnes.

 

The country's export to Taiwan rose 69 per cent in April-June 2022 to 40,369 tonnes from 23,944 tonnes in the corresponding period of the previous year.

India has categorically stated that no variety of Genetically Modified (GM) rice has been approved for commercial cultivation in India, and it has not exported any GM rice, Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture, said in a written reply in Lok Sabha on Tuesday while replying to a query on whether GM rice was discovered in a consignment exported to EU in 2021.

 

In his answer, he said a border rejection notification no. 2021.3259 dated June 21 2021 was received for allegedly unauthorised GM rice flour. 'The matter was examined. There was no GMO variety grown in India and there is no possibility of cross contamination even during inland transit. The consignment was tested by the inspection agency having international recognition and issued non-GMO certificate after due testing and verification before the shipment,' he said, adding, 'No variety of GM rice has been approved for commercial cultivation in India.'

 

The Indian government had stated in October 2021 that it will register its concern with France and the European Union over being unjustly identified as the point of origin of 500 tonnes of genetically modified broken rice converted into rice flour by a French company, Westhove, setting aside the fact that the country does not produce any commercial variety of GM rice.

 

In a statement, the Commerce Ministry had contended that the contamination could have happened at a later stage while the imported broken rice was being processed in the EU and may also be a conspiracy to malign the image of India as a reliable supplier of quality rice.

 

New rice strain

To another query on whether the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) is developing a drought and salinity-tolerant rice strain, the Minister replied in the affirmative.

 

Asked whether the development is being done through a new gene editing technology, he said this work is done through CRISPR-Cas9 mediated genome editing technology.

 

He said the research work is carried out with the approval of Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC) constituted by Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, as per Rules 1989 under Environment (protection) Act 1986.

 

To a query on the time by which the new variety will be available in the market, Tomar said: 'Genome edited lines is expected to be available for field evaluation by kharif 2024 and for general cultivation during 2026, after two years of field testing.'

 

Foodgrains produciton

To a separate query on the estimated foodgrains production in the country, he quoted the third advance estimates and said the estimated production of coarse cereals, pulses, and oilseeds during 2021-22 was more than the average production of last five years (2016-17 to 2020-21).

India's economy is set to reach the targets set during the tabling of the Economic Survey, according to the Finance Ministry. The calculations are based on high-frequency indicators for the first quarter of this fiscal.

 

Tabled in January 2022, the Economic Survey projected the real GDP during 2022-23 to grow at 8.0-8.5%.

 

'Since then, sustained growth momentum has been observed in several High Frequency Indicators (HFIs), indicating that the projected growth path is on course in the first quarter of FY 2022-23,' Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

 

These projections are in line with the IMF's April 2022 projections, which puts India's real GDP growth at 8.2% in 2022-23.

 

To keep growth on track, the government has taken multiple measures, according to Chaudhary.

 

Measures include a cut in excise duty on petrol and diesel and special excise duty/cess on the export of petrol, diesel and aviation turbine fuel.

 

In addition, Chaudhary said that the RBI's move to hike the repo rate by 50 bps in June was aimed to rein in inflation and will help in keeping indicators on the right path.

Union Minister for Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textile Shri Piyush Goyal has emphasized upon the need for a trade and investment agreement between India and Africa. Addressing the Special Ministerial Session at the 17th CII Exim Bank Conclave on India-Africa Growth Partnership today, Shri Goyal said that going forward, the economic outlook, in the long run, is going to be promising for both India and Africa, because this is where the markets and opportunities are present.

 

The Minister said that this conclave will certainly have a huge impact on our engagements, both bilaterally and also strengthen investment interest. 'Every single engagement today demonstrates the immense possibilities between India & Africa. We will be able to offer new technologies that we are working in India that will help expand trade, commerce, business, investment & opportunities for Africa's youth,' the minister said.

 

Shri Goyal said that we believe that the destiny of nearly 3 billion people is in our hands as India and Africa offer future opportunities that are unparalleled. 'India has a decisive leadership today. India's development partnership with Africa will be on terms that will be comfortable to Africa that will liberate its potential and not constrain its future. We want Africa to grow and prosper', he said.

 

The Minister said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has stated our government’s commitment to the economic resurgence of Africa. He said India’s experience with digital revolution to support Africa's growth, extend education, health, spread digital literacy and quality infrastructure could be harnessed. Shri Goyal said India’s Startups and our digital innovations like UPI, ONDC etc. can benefit Africa immensely.

 

The Minister said that India is pursuing deeper engagement with several developed countries and that India recently concluded a Comprehensive Economic Partnership (CEPA) with UAE, and Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement with Australia. We are at an advanced stage of discussion with UK and are looking for an enhanced partnership with Canada, EU, Israel and other nations.

 

Concluding his address, Shri Goyal said that as India enters the Amrit Kaal, it cares not only for the prosperity of its own citizens but for every citizen of the world.

As awareness and the demand for plant-based meat alternatives picks up, the Agricultural Produce Exports Development Authority (APEDA) has set up a committee to form regulations and standards for manufacturing of vegan products to tap the export market.

 

VK Vidyarthi, General Manager, APEDA, said a committee comprising of scientists, exporters and experts among others has been set up, which is likely to submit its report by the end of the year.

 

'We have to ensure supply of good quality vegan products in the international market. It has been seen that still many countries have not been able to distinguish what are the ingredients permitted and what not. In this regard, APEDA has formed a committee of scientists, exporters to form regulation, standards, for vegan products. We have to align these standards with the importing countries’ requirements,' Vidyarthi added.

 

APEDA, which has conducted several meetings in this regard will shortly hold meetings with European countries, Canada and the US to come out with procedure for drafting the standards, he said. Further, to strengthen the agri-supply chain for vegan products, there’s a need to introduce good manufacturing practices, good hygiene practices and good agricultural practices, along with deployment of technologies such as barcoding and traceability among others, Vidyarthi said.

 

Uptick in demand

Post-Covid, the demand for plant-based meat alternatives has picked up in the overseas markets as consumers have turned health conscious. 'There is a big demand in the international market for vegan and plant-based meat protein products in the United States, Europe, Japan, Korea and Australia among other countries. India has a great potential for vegan or plant-based protein products as we have good availability of raw materials in the country, which are used as enzymes, additives and colours for vegan products,' Vidyarthi said. The exports of such vegan products are in very small quantities but they have the potential to make it big.

 

Varun Deshpande, Managing Director, The Good Food Institute, said the harmonisation of regulations for vegan and plant-based products for exports is necessary to make the sector competitive in the international market. 'We think it is a fantastic development and we are working together with the committee in developing the standards,' he said.

 

In India, the market for the plant-based protein alternatives segment is in the nascent stages, although the awareness is catching up. While companies such as GoodDot, Blue Tribe and Shaka Harry have been selling the plant-based meat alternatives, the segment has of late attracted the interest of large players such as Tata Consumer Goods and ITC among others.

 

Vidyarthi further said that APEDA will soon take up promotion of vegan products by showcasing them overseas through international exhibitions, road shows and food festivals besides organising buyer-seller meets in the country.

Exporters of wheat flour ( atta) will need a quality certification from the Export Inspection Council or one of the four identified Export Inspection Agencies, in addition to approval from the inter-ministerial committe for export of wheat, before shipping, the government has said.

 

To get the required NOC (no objection certificate) from the inter-ministerial committee (IMC), all exporters will be required to submit their request in the specified format filled through DGFT’s online module, a trade notice issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Monday pointed out.

 

The Centre had amended the  export policy on wheat flour earlier this month mandating export be subject to the recommendation of the IMC on the export of wheat from July 12.

 

While the government had underlined wheat flour export remained free as the objective of the notification was to ensure quality, sources said that with wheat export ban in place since May 13 2022, it was also important to maintain a vigil on export of wheat flour.

 

Clarification on other wheat-based products

The amended export policy for wheat flour, however, does not apply to maida or semolina ( suji) the export of which remains free without any conditions, the DGFT’s latest notice clarified. 

 

Per the trade notice, exporters need to submit the purchase order copy of invoice and documentary evidence in case the firm is ISO 22000 compliant.

 

A processing fee of Rs.1000 is to be paid at the time of online submission.

 

'Online filed complete applications in the desired format received for export of wheat flour ( atta) shall be considered by the IMC on export of wheat in its weekly meeting every Thursday. Accordingly, all such applications received till Monday, would be for the weekly meeting on Thursday, the same week,' the notice stated.

 

On the basis of recommendations of the IMC, further decision would be taken and necessary communication will be issued to the applicant as well as the relevant Customs authority, it added.

 

The approval of IMC for export of wheat flour will be valid for three months.

 

Export of all the shipments approved by IMC shall be allowed only after a quality certificate is issued by the Export Inspection Council, the official export certification body of India, or its Export Inspection Agencies at Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata, as per the requirements to be notified separately by EIC, the trade notice specified. 

 

'The Quality Certificate issued by EIC to the applicants recommended by IMC will be mandatory for export of wheat flour ( atta) and the same will have to be produced before the Custom Authorities for export clearance,' the notice said.

The government has authorized 47 companies to import 73,000 tons of rice to stabilize food prices in the local market.

 

The firms have been asked to bring 60,000 tons of non-basmati boiled rice and 13,000 tons of non-boiled atap by August 25, according to a notice issued by the Food Ministry on July 13.

 

The government allowed firms for the third time this month to import the essential staple food amid volatility in the global market.

 

Earlier in the month, the government allowed 230 firms to import 655,000 tons of rice in two phases.

 

It has so far allowed local firms to import 728,000 tons of rice in the ongoing financial year.

 

The companies who got the fresh permission were asked to open letters of credit (LCs) by July 31.

 

If they fail to comply, the import permissions would be cancelled, it said.

 

The importers have also been asked to inform district food offices about how much rice is imported, sold and stored.

 

Traders will have to sell the rice in the same bag that would be used to import the grain, according to the food ministry.

 

The National Board of Revenue cut the duty on rice that will be imported in a period between June 22 and October 31 to 25.75% from 62.5% to facilitate the purchase of the cereal from international markets.

 

In order to avail the tax waiver, importers will have to take permission from the food ministry for every shipment, according to the NBR.

 

Coarse rice is being sold for between Tk48 and Tk52 per kg in the kitchen markets in Dhaka on Saturday.

 

The prices of coarse rice remained unchanged in the past one month, according to the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh.

Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), the country's ’s grains buyer, announced on July 17 a tender for an unspecified amount of wheat from the United States, Canada, Australia, Argentina, and Brazil.

 

With shipments from Ukraine – traditionally one of Egypt’s largest wheat suppliers – severely limited because of its war with Russia, Egypt has been aggressively looking to other sources to satisfy its wheat needs. 

 

In recent weeks, GASC has contracted 1.28 million tonnes of wheat from France, Romania, Russia and Bulgaria, which are scheduled to be shipped to Egypt from July through October. It also has inked trade deals with India, which would have been an unlikely source for imports in years past.

 

Egyptian officials have indicated that the country needs to import at least 5 million tonnes of wheat in the 2022-23 marketing year.

 

Egypt also is aiming to increase domestic wheat production. According to the US Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS), Egypt is projected to produce 9.8 million tonnes in 2022-23, which is 800,000 tonnes more than last year’s record total.

 

Egypt, the world’s leading wheat importer and among the leaders in wheat consumption per capita, currently has enough wheat stocks to last six months, according to government officials.