The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom along with Rt. Hon. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK Secretary of State for International Trade in New Delhi today. The FTA is expected to facilitate the target of doubling bilateral trade between India and United Kingdom by 2030, set by the Prime Ministers of both the nations, Shri Narendra Modi and Mr. Boris Johnson in May 2021.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that both India and UK are vibrant democracies, with a partnership built on our shared history and rich culture. The diverse Indian diaspora in UK, who act as a “Living Bridge”, adds further dynamism to the relations between the two countries, he added.

 

The Minister said that the FTA with UK is expected to provide certainty, predictability and transparency and will create a more liberal, facilitative and competitive services regime.

 

Shri Goyal said that the FTA negotiations with the UK is expected to increase our exports in Leather, Textile, Jewellery and processed Agri products. He added that India is also expected to register a quantum jump in the export of Marine Products through the recognition of 56 marine units of India.

 

The Minister said that the Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on Pharma could provide additional market access. There is also great potential for increasing exports in service sectors like IT/ITES, Nursing, education, healthcare, including AYUSH and audio-visual services. India would also be seeking special arrangements for movement of its people, he added.

 

The Minister assured that subsequent to the unveiling of FTA, the two nations would proactively and regularly engage with each other, for deliberating on the scope and coverage of the trade deal. Observing that UK was a major trade partner of India with substantial bilateral volume of trade in goods and services, Shri Goyal said that the cooperation extended across areas like tourism, tech, startups, education, climate change, etc. and that the two nations were looking forward to a mutually beneficial trade deal with balanced concessions and market access package in a wide range of sectors.

 

Calling for the enhancement of sectoral cooperation by addressing market access issues and removing trade restrictions, Shri Goyal said that it would help generate direct and indirect employment in both nations.

 

The Minister said that the India-UK FTA will also contribute in integrating value chains and help augment our mutual efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains. Reminding that the leaders of both nations had envisioned launching the FTA Negotiations in early 2022, Shri Goyal expressed his happiness at the successful conclusion of discussions in a timely manner to announce the launch of our FTA negotiations today.

 

The Minister also informed that it was also agreed to explore during the FTA negotiations, the possibility of an Interim Agreement to provide quick gains for benefitting businesses in both nations. Our endeavour is to deliver a comprehensive, balanced, fair and equitable FTA, to benefit our small, medium and micro-enterprises in both nations, he said.

Assam Government will set up an Agricultural Commission with experts and agricultural scientist to explore options for commercial agricultural production.

 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid foundation stone of College of Agroforestry & Biodiversity and Bengal Florican Conservation, Research & Ecotourism Site at Naba Dihira in Baksa district. He also inaugurated 107 numbers of Anganwadi Centres constructed from MGNREGA fund 2021-22 at the programme.

 

'State Government will set up an Agricultural Commission with experts and agricultural scientist to explore options for commercial agricultural production in Assam. It will give recommendations for increasing production and farmers’ earnings' the Chief Minister said in his speech.

 

Saying that Kokolabari Agri Farm has a historical background, he stated that BTR administration has been making efforts to develop the farm. He also informed about steps taken by the state government to increase the per capita income of Assam and its GDP while striving towards maximum utilisation of state’s resources.

 

He also said Assam is still importing food products from outside despite having conducive climate here for agriculture and allied sectors. Only rhetoric cannot take a race forward if there is no willingness to work hard and vigorous agricultural activities are imperative for achieving self-reliance, he asserted.

 

Informing that both State Government and BTR administration would take steps for setting up a national level institute at Kokolabari Agri Farm. Allotment of increased funds to Soil Conservation Department would also be made for taking up schemes for river erosion protection in the area and all other demands of local people would also be considered, he announced.

 

Later, the Chief Minister also held a meeting with local community members, NGOs and forest officials of Manas National Park. He also handed over certificates of appreciation to forest guards, foresters and those who have rendered exemplary service towards protection of MNP. State Government is also going to look at options to implement ecotourism and other livelihood schemes for the local communities, he said.

On the 13th of January 2022, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the virtual flagging off of the first shipment of GI tagged 'Marayoor Jaggery' from Marayoor, Idukki, Kerala to Dubai, UAE.

 

Dr. M Angamuthu IAS, Chairman, APEDA flagged off the first consignment of Marayoor Jaggery to Dubai. He mentioned promoting Marayoor jaggery in all parts of the world as being a unique GI product that is chemical-free. He also thanked the Govt of Kerala & farmers of Marayoor Jaggery for all the support.

 

Plan to Promote Marayoor Jaggery:

 

T V Subhash IAS, Director of Agriculture, Govt of Kerala, Representatives from Fair Exports India Pvt Limited along with other officials of APEDA took part in the flag-off ceremony. He specified that a detailed action plan to promote exports from Kerala will be developed soon focusing on the airports & ports.

 

GI tagged Marayoor jaggery is exported from Marayoor, Idukki by Fair Exports India Pvt. Ltd to Dubai. Fair Exports India Pvt. Ltd. belonging to the Lulu Group International is a leading exporter registered under APEDA. This initiative to promote GI-tagged products from India is ultimately paving the way to achieve PM’s target of 400 billion USD of merchandise export by 2021-22.

Iranian state agency the Government Trading Corporation (GTC) is believed to have purchased around 240,000 tonnes of milling wheat in a tender which closed on Wednesday, European traders said on Thursday.

 

It was believed to have been bought in about four consignments of around or just over 60,000 tonnes.

 

The wheat was thought likely to be sourced from Russia and/or Germany.

 

Traders estimated purchase prices at between 360 euros to 364 euros ($412.96 to $417.54) a tonne c&f. But one trader said he believed two consignments were bought below 350 euros a tonne c&f.

 

Iran traditionally declines to buy wheat in U.S. dollars. The tender had sought shipment in February and March.

 

Iran needs to import around 8 million tonnes of wheat after its crop was damaged by the worst drought in 50 years, Reuters reported in October. But western sanctions on Iran continue to make payment difficult, traders said.

 

Iran was believed to have also purchased about 240,000 tonnes of wheat last week with about 740,000 tonnes also bought in December, traders said.

Karnataka is just months away from securing the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for a rare variety of lemon largely grown in the northern plains of the state, especially in the Indi taluk of Vijayapura district. Often referred to as 'Kagzi Lemon', this is the second lemon variety in India to get the label after Manipur's 'Kachai Lemon'.

 

After five years of efforts, the Karnataka State Lime Development Board (KSLDB), supported by scientists of the Horticulture University of Bagalkot, is awaiting the final clearance from the GI Registry of India in Chennai.

 

The cultivation of 'Kagzi Lemons', a distinctive variety of Central India, was started across Vijayapura as early as 1900. However, the ones cultivated in Indi are known for their unique texture and high acidic value.

 

Yashvantharaygouda V Patil, MLA of Indi, told DH that all necessary documents pertaining to the history and uniqueness of the crop had long been submitted. 'However, in the absence of follow-up action by the state government, the issue had taken a back seat. But now, scientists from Bagalkot have offered insights into the uniqueness of the fruit and relevant documents have been submitted for final clearance,' he said. 

 

Santosh Sappandi, Managing Director of the KSLDB, told DH that the GI registrar had raised asked questions in the past and an expert committee was appointed for clarifying doubts over the quality of the fruit. 'In the last few months, the Board has cleared more than 20 objections that were raised by the GI office in Chennai. They had sought information pertaining to the history, cultivation area, studies on the acidic values along with other technical details. We are expecting the GI tag for Indi lemons in a month or two,' Sappandi said.

 

Compared to other popular varieties, Kagzi Lemons of Indi have a thinner rind and have more juice, adding to the overall weight of the fruit. 'The ascorbic acid content is the highest in these varieties,' Sappandi said.

 

Karnataka has been the fourth-largest contributor of lemons at the all-India level while Vijayapura produces 60% of the state's lemons. Indi taluk alone contributes to 30%-40% of the lemon production in the district with over 15,000 farmers engaged in lemon cultivation.

South Korea is looking at concluding negotiations with India in 2022 to upgrade the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) without going in for an early harvest package, South Korean trade minister Yeo Han-koo said on Wednesday.

 

A day after holding talks in New Delhi with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal, Yeo said in an interview that South Korea and India have great potential to forge stronger partnerships for the post-pandemic era in key areas such as supply chains, emerging technologies, the climate crisis, digital, vaccines, and public health.

 

Goyal and Yeo agreed during their talks to expand trade by upgrading CEPA, which was finalised in 2009 and came into effect a year later, and by resolving industry-specific issues to achieve $50 billion in bilateral trade by 2030. Two-way trade crossed the $20 billion mark for three consecutive years since 2017 before being impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

 

Noting that South Korea is eyeing the completion of negotiations for upgrading CEPA within 2022, Yeo said: 'I think CEPA unleashed great potential [but] despite all this potential, I think CEPA could be sort of the framework to build on and then expand. CEPA took effect in 2010, which was forever ago, and now the world is completely changed.'

 

He added, 'We need an upgrade to jump-start our bilateral cooperation. We launched these upgrade negotiations in 2016, but I think the progress has been sort of on and off. I think what we agreed on between the two ministers is that we really need to renew this momentum and then bring new spirit into this process, so that in 2022, we could really conclude a more upgraded and better CEPA.'

 

Though the Indian side raised the issue of an early harvest package that was decided in 2018, Yeo said there was 'some misunderstanding on both sides' on this issue.

 

'I think we cleared that misunderstanding [on Tuesday]. I think what I understand is that India took it as, okay, we agreed on the early harvest package, and [it came] into effect right away, and then the rest of the negotiations will continue. But at that time, what Korea thought we got into was that, okay, this is an early harvest package that we agreed on and this is sort of a first stage, but [it has] not [taken] effect,' he said.

 

'In our system, the ratification process in the National Assembly is quite stringent and very, very intensive. We’ve never done [things] just partially, you know, partially concluded [an] early harvest [package], and then ratify it in the National Assembly and then continue on with the rest of it. We never did it, our system doesn’t allow that,' he added.

 

Yeo said the global trading environment is going through a big paradigm change, with the traditional scope of trade policy expanding to cope with issues such as supply chains, emerging technologies and digital. 'In this sense, I think Korea and India have great potential to forge stronger partnerships in this rapidly changing era, for example, in supply chains,' he said.

 

The world was dependent on global supply chains developed decades ago, and now 'we realise that disruptions or even small and unexpected hiccups along the value chain can really have serious implications for global trading', he said. 'Korea has its New Southern Policy, which puts Asean and India at the centre of our diplomatic, economic and industrial cooperation...We value India as an important partner for complementing our supply chains. And in this sense, the CEPA could really bolster supply chains, this connectivity and cooperation,' he added.

 

Yeo acknowledged that complaints from both Indian and South Korean businesses related to issues such as barriers to market access figured in his talks with Goyal. 'I think in any healthy relationship, especially this trade relationship worth $20 billion, it’s natural that we have some sort of irritants, small or big on both sides. I think what matters is not those irritants, but how to bring this to attention and how to resolve them in a transparent, mutually trusted manner,' he said.

 

'We had a very intensive discussion on what Indian companies have issues with and also what Korean companies have issues with. I’m more confident that both authorities can keep the communication channels open and find a reasonable, win-win solution for those issues,' Yeo said.

 

It is understood that Goyal, during the talks, raised problems being faced by Indian firms to get market access in South Korea for commodities such as steel, bovine meat and agricultural products due to stringent regulations and practical barriers.

India's 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $367-$375 per tonne, a peak since the week of June 24 last year, up from last week's $359-$363.

 

'Mills are mainly focusing on milling white rice. Parboiled supplies are very limited, and that's why prices are moving higher,' said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

 

Prices are also firming because of an appreciation in the rupee, he said, which trims traders' margins from overseas sales.

 

Thailand's 5% broken rice prices rose to their highest since mid-July 2021 at $404-$405 per tonne from $390-$402 last week.

 

Bangkok-based traders said an uptick in demand among exporters who had to fulfil orders made before the New Year's holidays raised prices slightly.

 

Thailand exported 5.39 million tonnes of rice between January and November 2021, up 2.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to the country's commerce ministry.

 

Vietnam's 5% broken rice was offered at $395-$405 per tonne, widening from a range of $395-$400 a week ago.

 

'Sales are slow, and local traders have scaled down their purchases from farmers,' a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

 

Government customs data released on Thursday showed Vietnam's rice exports in 2021 fell 0.2% to 6.24 million tonnes.

 

Exports in December fell 13.4% from November to 490,219 tonnes.

 

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, domestic rice prices went up again this week despite good crops and huge imports, traders said.

 

Bangladesh, the world's third-biggest rice producer, imported nearly 1.36 million tonnes in the previous year that ended in June.

Karnataka is considering expanding its pioneering Rashtriya e-Market Services (ReMS) platform to sell agriculture and horticulture products of Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs), a senior official said on Wednesday.

 

The ReMS electronic trading platform will connect markets with FPOs allowing the farmers’ collectives to sell their produce in bulk. 

 

'As a pilot sale, 37 lots of 4,661 quintals with a total trade value of Rs 1.41 crore of the FPOs have been traded on the platform,' ReMS managing director Manoj Rajan said, adding that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will soon chair a meeting to discuss the expansion of the platform to cover more FPOs. 

 

Karnataka has 700 FPOs with an average membership of 350-400 shareholders. 

 

Speaking at the State Credit Seminar organised by NABARD, Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Development Commissioner Vandita Sharma said FPOs help increase agricultural income in the long run. 'The pilot had 4,661 quintals. This isn’t enough. The sale of FPO produce should be brought to the ReMS portal. This will provide ease of doing business to the farming community,' she said. 

 

Sharma pointed out that Karnataka was the first state to start auctions in APMCs using the ReMS. 'The National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) came later,' she said.  Rajan said FPO produce like groundnut, maize, paddy, tur, ragi, jaggery, Bengal gram, green gram and soybean will get a market through ReMS. 

 

'The electronic trading platform provides transparent, secured and comprehensive trading features for conducting online trading for FPOs,' he explained. 'FPOs update details of lots available for sale, and buyers participate remotely by offering their bids. The platform supports online settlement and payments to bank accounts of FPOs/farmers.' 

 

The platform has 44,000 traders registered across 160 markets in the state. 'These traders have access to these FPOs enabling them to get fair returns on their farm produce through a transparent price discovery mechanism,' Rajan said.  

Fresh fruit importers in the country are increasing their warehousing and cold storage facilities due to a surge in Covid cases. The demand for imported fruits has increased in the country due to the surge in Covid cases and fresh fruit importers are taking no chance to keep the supply chain smooth.

 

Talking to ET, Tarun Arora, director of finance and operations at IG International, a leading fresh fruit importer, said, ' In the globalized economy, warehousing and logistics are crucial aspects and play a strategic role in business growth.'

 

'IG International is the largest importer of fresh fruit in India. Cold storages form the lifeline of our business, as fresh fruits are highly perishable. One of the greatest successes of IG has been building a robust distribution network of fresh fruit in India so that fruit growers anywhere in the world and consumers in India can benefit from one joined-up marketplace. Our strategically located cold storages are our greatest enabler in keeping intact our supply chain,' he said.

 

Post pandemic, there has been a surge in demand for imported fruits for their immunity-enhancing and nutritional properties. Although over the years, other factors like healthy lifestyle choices, rising incomes, and increased affordability have also contributed significantly to the rising demand.

 

'At IG, we responded to this growing volumetric rise by continuously developing and investing in strategic infrastructure to supplement our supply chain management..IG’s investment in cold storage facilities involves decisions that are long-term in their implications and sustainable in nature. By adding 6,40,000 cubic feet of cold space recently in Delhi to our existing warehousing, we look forward to enhancing our reach and penetration throughout India to meet the growing aspiration of our customers,' Arora added.

 

Besides Delhi and Mumbai, the company’s other cold chain facilities are located in Panvel, Bangalore, Chennai, Ganaur, Chandigarh, Jaipur, and Amravati. IG International further plans to expand pan India in collaboration with JM Baxi,the integrated Infrastructure and shipping company, with similar cold chain terminals.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution today asked Industry Bodies to prepay MSMEs to safeguard their viability and to boost employment and growth. He was interacting with the leaders of major Industry bodies virtually from New Delhi today.

 

Shri Piyush Goyal was speaking at a meeting with heads of top Business and Industry Associations of country today to seek their suggestions and inputs to ensure continuation of fast rebound of economic activities and high growth rates being achieved.

 

He congratulated Indian Industry for bouncing back after taking a hit due to the pandemic and for the resilience displayed while grappling with the pandemic, especially in the field of exports.

 

The Minister said that the growth in services exports, inspite of travel and tourism restrictions was truly commendable and said that we must aim to reach $ 250 billion services exports. He added that Indian professionals had demonstrated great success in working from home and therefore the nation had succeeded in meeting every single one of its international commitments, even during the pandemic, earning it the title of being a trusted partner to the world.

 

Highlighting the progress made in FTA negotiations, Shri Goyal said that the Government was striving to conclude several Early Harvest Agreements so that their benefits could reach industry soon. He said that an FTA with UAE was nearing conclusion, negotiations were at an advanced stage with Australia and that discussions with Israel were ongoing.

 

Referring to the relaunch of market access negotiations with Korea, Shri Goyal said that a comprehensive fast track dialogue had been initiated to address concerns arising out of the previous agreement.

 

The Minister said that there was an imminent need for upgradation of testing facilities and labs to improve to quality and called upon Indian Industry to extend its support in this regard. He also asks the industry to lend guidance for transformational exports growth beyond $ 400 billion.

 

Shri Goyal told industry leaders to be proactive in giving inputs to the government, especially in arenas like FTA negotiations. Industry should become more demanding, he added.

 

He urged Industry to use Single Window for business processes and approvals to the maximum extent possible and asked them to give suggestions and inputs for further decriminalization of rules and reduction of compliance burdens wherever feasible.

 

The Minister also asked industry to invest more and place greater emphasis upon Research and Development activities as a business and growth strategy.

 

Underscoring Government’s commitment towards infrastructure development and capital expenditure, Shri Goyal said that the Centre would always support businesses activities. He also asked industry to use initiatives like the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan and India Industrial Land Bank to the best possible extent to expand and grow. The Minister observed that by and large economic, activities had not being impacted by the current Covid surge.

 

Industry representatives present in the VC included Shri Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, CII; Shri Subhrakant Panda, Senior Vice President & Shri Sanjiv Mehta, President, FICCI; Shri Vineet Agarwal, President & Shri Deepak Sood, Secretary General, ASSOCHAM; Shri Pradeep Multani, President & Shri Saurabh Sanyal, Secretary General, PHDCCI; Shri Pradeep Sureka, President & Dr Rajeev Singh, Director General, Indian Chamber of Commerce; Shri Juzar Khorakiwala, President & Shri Ajit Mangrulkar, Director General, Indian Merchant Chamber; Shri Gopi Koteeswaran, of the Southern India Chamber of Commerce & Industry; Shri Lalit Beriwala, Senior Vice President, Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Shri Vijay Kalantri, President, All India Association of Industries; Shri Rasesh Doshi, Vice President, Federation of Associations of Maharashtra; Shri Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT); Shri Rakesh Chhabra, Vice President & Shri Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General, Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises; Shri Baldevbhai Prajapati, All India President, Laghu Udyog Bharati; Shri Ashish Aggarwal, Vice President & Head of Public Policy, NASSCOM; Shri Ravi Raghavan, President, Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers' Association; Shri Vinod Aggarwal, Vice President & Shri Rajesh Menon, Director General, Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM); Shri Sunjay J. Kapur, President, Auto Component Manufacturer Association (ACMA); Shri Vipul Ray, President, Indian Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (IEEMA) and Dr Viranchi Shah, National President, Indian Drug Manufactures' Association.