1.   

India: Stricter pesticide controls for exports to Saudi Arabia

Concerned about the possibility of over exposure to pesticide for produce being shipped to Saudi Arabia, the government is requiring growers to strictly adhere to quality norms prescribed by the European Union. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) says the Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has received complaints from the Saudi authorities over pesticide content in okra and pepper of late.

2.   

The newly appointed French Ambassador to India François Richier is confident about Indo-French trade and investment relations. Excerpts from an interview : What are the implications of a change in Government in France on Indo-French trade and investment relations? The new French President François Hollande confirmed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, during the G20 Summit in Mexico last May, that the strategic partnership between our two countries would continue to be the mainframe of our relations.

3.   

Organic farming is here to stay

Organic farming has thrived in India since ancient times, with the Indian cow – “Kamadhenu”, providing the natural fertilisers and other inputs. In the decades post-independence however, the soaring population increased dependency on food imports. A self reliance policy propagated in the Third Five-Year Plan (1961-66) heralded a thrust on domestic farm production and our scientists rose to the occasion by introducing high-yielding varieties which were heavily dependent on chemical fertilisers and pesticides.

4.   

Cutting down transaction costs may boost exports

Last week, the commerce ministry reported that exports had fallen by 14.6% in July as compared to last year. Anand Sharma, the commerce minister who had a meeting with representatives from industry and export promotion councils (EPC), expressed serious concern and said that the Government would bring down transaction costs so that things would take a turn for the better in the third quarter of this fiscal year.