India is making a rare appearance near the ranks of the world’s wheat-trade heavyweights this season.

 

The country is expected to ship a record 7 million tons in the 2021-22 year, the U.S. Department of Agriculture forecast on Wednesday. That’s more than double the prior season and will rank the nation as the world’s ninth-largest shipper. 

 

India is one of the world’s biggest producers of the grain, but typically sells little abroad. This season, surging prices across major shippers and export restrictions in Russia helped boost the appeal of its supply, with cargoes making inroads in nearby markets like Bangladesh. 

 

'India’s export pace continues to be robust, and its prices are competitive in Asian markets,' USDA said in its monthly world supply and demand report. 

External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar on Wednesday, 9 February met his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani. During the meeting, the two leaders discussed political, economic and security ties. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Jaishankar even praised Qatar for its interest in strengthening investment and trade.

 

S Jaishankar posted the pictures of his meeting with Qatar's Foreign Minister and tweeted, 'Held productive talks with DPM and FM of Qatar @MBA_AlThani_. Discussed our broad-based political, economic, digital and security partnership. Appreciate the interest in expanding investment and trade. Thank Qatari authorities for the support extended to the Indian community.' In another tweet, India's External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar further informed that he held talks with Thani on Afghanistan, including its international and regional issues. 

 

MEA Jaishankar holds 'fruitful discussion' with Qatar Foreign Minister 

 

Expressing his views on the meeting, Qatar Foreign Minister took to his official Twitter handle and said that he had a 'fruitful discussion' on ways to develop bilateral relations in various fields. Furthermore, they discussed regional development and exchanged views on a number of issues of common interest. Taking to his official Twitter handle, Dr S. Jaishankar informed that he unveiled the foundation stone of the new Embassy complex in Doha. He thanked his Qatari counterpart Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani for being present at the occasion. Jaishankar expressed confidence that the new building will meet the aspirations of Indian nationals in Qatar. 

India's exports of millets are expected to increase significantly in the coming years on account of rising demand in the global markets, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. Currently, India is the fifth largest exporter of millets in the world, it added.

 

In 2020-21, India exported millets worth $26.97 million against $28.5 million in 2019-20.

 

Major exporters of millets are the US, Russia, Ukraine, India, China, Netherlands, France, Poland and Argentina. Global exports of millets in 2020 stood at $466.284 million.

 

The top three importers of millets from India in 2020-21 were Nepal ($6.09 million), the UAE ($4.84 million) and Saudi Arabia ($3.84 million).

 

The other destinations included Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, UK, Yemen, Oman and Algeria.

 

'With demand for nutria-cereals rising steadily globally, the Department of Commerce expects millet exports to increase exponentially in the coming years as Indian exporters find new markets abroad,' it said.

 

The ministry is working towards facilitating shipments of millets by domestic exporters and helping them make inroads into new markets, it added.

 

India is the world leader in the production of millets with a share of around 41 per cent of total global production in 2020. India produces around 12 million tonnes of millets annually, according to data by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

 

The various kinds of millets include sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), little millet (kutki), small millet (samai), foxtail millet (kangni), proso millet (barri), barnyard millet (jhangora), kodo millet (kodra), two pseudo millets (buckwheat and kuttu), and Ameranthus (chulai), among others.

 

'To give impetus to the export of potential products as well as to remove the bottlenecks in the supply chain of nutria-cereals, APEDA has created the Nutri Cereals Export Promotion Forum which also included millet exports. It has also organized a sensitization programme for millet start-ups to familiarize them about export opportunities,' the ministry said.

Ministry has been organizing/sponsoring seminars, workshops, exhibitions, etc. for spreading awareness amongst stakeholders about the benefits available under various schemes of the Ministry with the aim to encourage investment in the sector.  In 2021, food processing summits were organized in Assam (Guwahati), Madhya Pradesh (Gwalior) and Meghalaya (Shillong). Hosting of such events has however been severely impacted due to the guidelines for strict adherence of COVID appropriate behaviour and the restrictions imposed by different States/UTs to curb spread of corona virus. Ministry has, however, been extensively utilizing social media and digital platforms for outreaching to the stakeholders.

 

The details of projects approved under PMKSY for Entities (other than Institutions/Universities) owned by the States including those sanctioned during the last year are given in Annexure. No fresh EoI was issued for inviting applications after 31st March 2021.  

India EXIM Bank expects exports from Karnataka will strengthen by financial year 2025. Karnataka’s merchandise exports to touch $35.3 billion by FY 2025 from $16.6 billion in FY 2020. The state’s software and services exports are expected to reach $150 billion by 2024-25, up from $83.9 billion in 2019-20, as has been set by the Karnataka Government.

 

As per the study, merchandise exports from Karnataka in 2019-20 were valued at $16.6 billion, and registered an average annual growth rate of 4.8 per cent, during 2010-11 to 2019-20. Some of the major items exported by Karnataka include petroleum products, RMG cotton, iron and steel, electronic instruments, and electronic components. The State has a well-diversified export basket vis-à-vis the States such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu and has a huge potential. Karnataka has emerged as a technology, services, and knowledge hub of the country drawing a niche for itself. This largely gets explained by the plethora of job opportunities in the State, leading to migration of labour from across the country to Karnataka.

 

Over the last few decades, the State of Karnataka has been on the forefront of India’s economic growth, transitioning from a primarily agrarian state to emerge as the Silicon Valley of India. With a share of 8 per cent in 2018- 19, Karnataka was the fifth highest contributor to India’s GDP of Rs 140.9 trillion, after Maharashtra (14.5 per cent), Tamil Nadu (8.6 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (8.4 per cent) and Gujarat (8.1 per cent). Remarkably, the per capita income in Karnataka has not only risen, but has also exceeded the national average during the period 2011-12 to 2019-20, said the study ‘Strengthening Exports from Karnataka’.

 

lectronic and computer software, engineering goods, readymade garments, petrochemicals, gems and jewellery, agro and food processing products and chemicals, apart from its traditional exports of coffee, silk, spices and handicrafts.

 

The study highlights that Karnataka attracted FDI inflows worth $ 8.9 billion in 2019-20, which was 17.9 per cent of the total FDI inflows in India during the year, and Karnataka was the second highest recipient of FDI inflows in India next to Maharashtra which received FDI of $10.8 billion.

 

Along with these findings published in the study, India EXIM Bank also analysed the status of trade enabling infrastructure in Karnataka and recommended strategies for plugging the existing gaps, including development of ICDs, focusing on urban city planning, leveraging the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES),  and many more.

 

 

 

In view of increasing demand of organic agricultural product,  Government  has been promoting Organic farming as a chemical free farming   through dedicated schemes namely Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCDNER) since 2015-16. Both the schemes provide support to organic farmers from organic production to certification and marketing including post-harvest management like processing, packaging etc. The details of area and farmers brought under organic  farming  in various States including Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan under PKVY Scheme is given at Annexure-I.

 

Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP) has been introduced as a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) since 2020-21 for the promotion of traditional indigenous practices including Natural Farming (NF). The scheme mainly emphasizes on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of cow dung-urine formulations and plant based preparations. Until now, under natural farming an area of 4.09 lakh ha area has been covered and a total fund of Rs. 4980.99 lakh has been released in 8 States across the country.

 

Government has initiated programme to provide financial assistance to individual farmers with 8.0 or more hectare land @ 2700/ha for 3 years for Participatory Guarantee System (PGS) certification through Regional Council or National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) certification.

 

Organic Farming enhances soil fertility and crop productivity. The research studies under ICAR-All India Network Programme on Organic Farming indicate that comparable yield or slightly higher yield to that of conventional management can be obtained in kharif and summer crops in 2 to 3 years, while in rabi crops the yield stabilizes after 5 years.

 

The use of on-farm organic inputs and adoption of Integrated Organic Farming System (IOFS) model minimizes the use of external inputs to a great extent.

 

Under PKVY & MOVCDNER schemes farmers are provided financial assistance  of Rs 31000/ ha / 3 years  and Rs 32500/ ha/ 3years respectively for organic inputs such as seeds, bio-fertilisers, bio-pesticides, organic manure, compost/ vermi-compost, botanical extracts etc.  In addition to above, support is also provided for group/ Farmers Producers Organization (FPO) formation, training, certification, value addition and marketing of  organic produce.  Under BPKP, financial assistance of Rs. 12200/ha for 3 years is provided for cluster formation, capacity building and continuous handholding by trained personnel, certification and residue analysis.

Tanzania is set to begin exporting avocado to India, as the country seeks to strengthen bilateral trade ties and enable farmers to get higher returns for their produce.

 

Smallholder farmers in the northern Kilimanjaro region and from the southern highlands are set to benefit from the deal.

 

Traditionally, about 80 percent of the avocados grown in the East African country are consumed locally, but agricultural economists say exports will help develop the sector.

 

In 2003, India imposed an import embargo on avocados imported from Africa due to concerns that the fruits might be infested with dangerous pests.

 

However, India's health authorities have now allowed the entry of the highly nutritious fruit from Tanzania following lengthy negotiations, Agriculture Deputy Minister Anthony Mavunde said.

 

The country has been missing out on earning from avocado and the Indian market would open up Tanzania to earn more foreign exchange, he said.

 

Tanzania's current avocado export destinations include China, the USA, and South Africa, which only recently granted Tanzanian avocados access to its market.

 

Jacqueline Mkindi, the group CEO of the Tanzania Horticulture Association (TAHA), said, “Tanzanian stakeholders plus growers will immensely benefit from this opportunity as the overseas market will help improve their livelihoods by providing a reliable market for their produce.”

 

As a champion of horticulture in the country, TAHA played a central role in supporting the government to persuade the Indian government to open up its market to Tanzania.

India's exports grew by 28.51 per cent to USD 8.67 billion during February 1-7 on account of healthy growth in sectors such as petroleum, engineering and gems and jewellery, according to the preliminary data of the commerce ministry. The exports during the first week of this month rose by about 31 per cent.

 

According to the data, USD 8.67 billion per week is almost 20 per cent more than the weekly run rate of USD 7 billion clocked this year.

 

The country's exports rose by 23.69 per cent to USD 34.06 billion in January.

 

Cumulatively, exports during April-January 2021-22 rose by 46.53 per cent to USD 335.44 billion as against USD 228.9 billion in the same period last year.

Rice exporters are heaving a sigh of relief as the shortage of rail rakes is getting resolved slowly, but they are now up against the huge backlogs that built up due to the non-availability of the rakes. 

 

'The issue of rail rakes is much better now. But it has created a huge backlog in moving rice from Chhattisgarh to Andhra Pradesh. At least half a million tonnes (mt) conservatively could be pending,' said Nitin Gupta, Vice-President, Olam Agro India Ltd. 

 

'Things are a little bit better now but we now face problems of container availability,' said Vidya Sagar VR, Director, Bulk Logix.

 

'The availability of rail rakes has improved. The situation is better than what it was a week or a month ago,' said BV Krishna Rao, President, The Rice Exporters Association (TREA). 

 

Still bitter for sugar shippers

 

The shortage of rail rakes for exporters of agricultural products such as rice and sugar led to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) stepping in to find a solution. It followed up on the issue continuously with the Railway Ministry after the issue was brought to its notice. 

 

Sugar exporters say the problem of rakes shortage continues. 'Sugar mills in Maharashtra and Karnataka are facing the problem of railway wagons as sugar for export is mainly getting lifted from these States only,' said Praful Vithalani, President, All India Sugar Traders Association in a statement on Monday. 

 

High freight rates

 

'We are in constant touch with the Railway Ministry and others stakeholders. The situation is improving and we are hoping for the best,' said M Angamuthu, APEDA Chairman.

 

The shortage resulted in rice exports slowing down a tad, though TREA’s Rao is confident that shipments during the current fiscal will be 16-17 mt of non-basmati rice, besides four mt of basmati. 

 

Exports of non-basmati rice increased to 12.53 mt valued at $4.48 billion during the April-December period of the current fiscal compared with 8.25 mt valued at $3.07 billion during the same period a year ago. 

 

'The container problem continues to affect exports. We have come to accept high freight rates as part of our challenges. Now with crude prices rising, freight rates are likely to rule firm,' said Rao. 

 

Container availability issue

'The container availability is now an issue. With volumes building up, ocean freight is heading higher,' said Bulk Logix’s Sagar. For example, a ship with 7,000 20-foot equivalent unit containers collects $175,000 as the daily charge between the Far East and Europe.

 

'It will take time for the backlog to clear, but the situation is expected to become normal soon,' said Olam India’s Gupta.

 

Competitive offerings 

 

Though breakbulk ships can be an option, there are some drawbacks to it, he said. 

 

'It takes one month to fill up a ship with 50,00 tonnes capacity. Then, it will be between one month and 45 days before the consignment is delivered. It has to call at different ports and it could take up to 90 days for delivery. Breakbulk rates are also increasing,' Sagar said. 

 

India’s rice exports have increased sharply since 2020-21 fiscal as neighbouring countries have found it more competitive. In addition, India gained from the drought that affected rice production in Thailand.

 

According to the International Grains Council, India’s 25 per cent broken white rice was quoted at $345 a tonne last weekend, while Thailand’s five per cent broken ruled at $414 and Vietnam’s five per cent broken at $388 a tonne. 

 

Rice prices are down 13 per cent year-on-year for Indian exporters, while for Vietnam and Thailand they are lower by nearly 25 per cent. 

 

A surge in corn prices resulted in China turning to India for broken rice. New Delhi faced no competition in the broken rice segment as the commodity was priced at around $300 a tonne.

 

Record output

 

Record rice production of 118.87 mt in 2019-20 and 122.27 mt last season (July-June) have helped the record shipments. During the current season, kharif rice production has been estimated by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare at a new high of 107.04 mt. 

 

Record inventories with the Food Corporation of India also encouraged exports. As on April 1, 2020, FCI had 32.23 mt of rice, and 34.50 mt of paddy which is equal to 23.11 mt of rice. In April last year, the stocks dropped to 29.11 mt of rice and 31.06 mt of paddy (20.8 mt rice). As on January 1, FCI had 22.15 mt of rice and 47.36 mt of paddy (31.72 mt of rice). 

 

The stocks are against a mandatory requirement for the FCI to have 5.61 mt of operational stock and a strategic reserve of 3 mt of rice as on January 1. 

Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)/Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE) has developed a clear roadmap for next 10 years harnessing the power of science and innovation for securing food and nutritional security of our people, farmers’ prosperity and to enhance natural resource base to promote inclusive growth and sustainable development of Indian agriculture sector. The focused areas of research and development include;  Genetic enhancement of plants/animals/fish for higher productivity under increased intensity of biotic and abiotic stresses, productivity enhancement through sustainable intensification, and mechanization of agriculture and food system, enhancing value, safety and income through food processing, development of energy efficient technologies and farming practices, education and human-resource development & developing and promoting innovations in technology transfer systems.

 

To ensure that the newer technologies like improved variety seeds of crops, new breeds/ strains of livestock and fish and the improved production and protection technologies reach the farmers and end users in shortest possible time, technology demonstrations at the farmers’ fields in close coordination with the concerned Central and state Government Departments and agencies are carried out. For this purpose, a network of 729 Krishi Vigyan Kendras has been created at district level in the country. Technology transfer also happens throughsystems using knowledge platforms like Portals, Mobile Apps and Web based communication networks. The capacity building of farmers, farmers groups and community – based Organisations like Farmers Producer Organisations, Self Help Groups etc. for acquiring knowledge and advisory for capacity building is also given focused attention. The rapid developments in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) are used as facilitator for faster dissemination of information and technologies developed by the National Agricultural Research System.

 

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