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Fungicide traces may hit basmati exports to US

Indian basmati exporters may face a tough time after traces of fungicide residue were detected by the US authorities and their shipments detained. In the past three months, over 150 containers carrying some 3,000 tonnes of basmati rice have been detained at various ports after traces of tricyclazole were found, a senior official with a major rice exporter said. As a result, buyers from the US are hesitant to sign new .....

2.   

India's milk production pegged at 121.7 mn tonnes in 2011: FAO

India's milk production is expected to rise by 4 percent to 121.7 million tonnes in 2011 on the back of rising domestic consumption, United Nation's body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said in a report. The country produced about 116 million tonnes of milk in 2010, FAO data said. Rising domestic demand for milk and dairy products is stimulating growth in the country as India is largely absent from the international .....

3.   

Draft Food Security Bill likely to go to Cabinet by Dec 10: KV Thomas

Food Minister K V Thomas today said the draft Food Security Bill is expected to go to Cabinet by December 10 to pave the way for its introduction in the ongoing Winter Session of Parliament. "We have asked the government departments to send their comments on the draft Food Security Bill by December 1. After this, it is expected to go to the Union Cabinet by December 10," Thomas, whose ministry is piloting the .....

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Foodgrain productivity up 8% at 1,921 kg/hectare in 2010-11

Foodgrain productivity rose by 8 per cent to 1,921 kg per hectare in 2010-11 crop year, Parliament was informed today. India's foodgrain productivity stood at 1,798 kg per hectare in the 2009-10 crop year (July-June), Minister of State for Agriculture Harish Rawat told the Rajya Sabha in a written reply. The productivity of foodgrains has increased from 1,715 kg per hectare in .....