1.   

Guar emerges rising star in commodities trade

Guarseed and guargum have really been rocking in the commodities market since the beginning of the year. Guarseed has gained nearly 65 per cent, while guar gum, a derivative of the seed, has nearly doubled. After being quoted at Rs 2,360 a quintal at the beginning of the year, guarseed on Wednesday closed at a record Rs 3,900, a gain of 62 per cent since January 1. In fact, over the last few weeks, guarseed prices have been recording new highs every day.

2.   

Bangladesh keen to import rice from India

Bangladesh is keen to import rice from India after it recently lifted the longstanding ban on the export of the commodity, officials said here. The ban on export of rice was imposed by India in April 2008 during the 2008 global economic meltdown. The Indian government decided to allow export of up to one million tonnes of non-basmati rice to countries including Bangladesh, the Daily Star reported.

3.   

Govt plans 30 food parks

The Centre plans to set up 30 food parks in various states with the aim of helping small and medium industries in the sector to grow, a senior official of the Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP) said. The parks proposed to be set up by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries will help 20,000 small and medium industries engaged in the manufacture and processing of food products every year, IIP Director N C Saha said here.

4.   

India, Australia to hold 1st round of FTA talk in end-July

Australia and India are all set to hold the first preliminary round of Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations in India by the end of this month, according to Australian High Commissioner to India Peter Varghese. "Negotiators are currently doing consultations with the industry, stakeholders and then they will meet at the end of this month in India," Varghese said.