1.   

Rice helps agri exports crest to 60K cr.

Spurred by an upsurge in exports of Basmati and the resumption of non-Basmati rice shipments after a three-year ban, agricultural exports are set to touch a record Rs 60,000 crore in 2011-12. Pointing to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority's (Apeda) provisional figures, which show that exports have gone past Rs 53,000 crore during April-December 2011, a senior Apeda official said he expects overall exports in 2011-12 to go past Rs 60,000 crore if the trend persists.

2.   

Global Fruit and Vegetable Juices Market to Reach 72.29 Billion Liters by 2017: Global Industry Analysts, Inc.

GIA announces the release of a comprehensive global report on Fruit and Vegetable Juices market. The global market for fruit and vegetable juices is forecast to reach 72.29 billion liters by the year 2017, primarily driven by the rising preference among customers for healthy drinks. Growth in the fruit and vegetable juices market is also expected to stem from the rising demand for organic, superfruit, and 100% natural fruit juices.

3.   

EU puts off organic poultry feed rules till 2014

The European Union have postponed the introduction of a 100% organic diet for monogastric animals for two years. This means that organic producers can continue to use 5% of non-organic protein feeds currently not available in organic form until the end of 2014. The European Commission first planned to end the derogation for non-organic feed by 1 January 2012. However this was be delayed for an unspecified time in December, as there were fears that this would leave poultry producers short of raw ingredients to provide the nutritional requirements for their birds.

4.   

China May Become Top Corn Importer by 2014, Displacing Japan

China may displace Japan as the world’s largest corn importer as early as 2014, as demand for meat and feed grains expands along with its middle class, the U.S. Grains Council said.“It could be a matter of two to three years,” Thomas Dorr, president of the council, said in an interview. “China has more than 4 million tons booked and delivered already.” Japan bought 15.3 million metric tons last year, according to the country’s agriculture ministry.