A one-day Seminar on 'Export Opportunities for Agro and Agri Related Products from Telangana held at FTCCI on Friday. It was organized by FTCCI in partnership with the Telangana Government, TSTPC, APEDA, Indian Institute of Millet Research, Sahasra Crop Science, HARIOM, Dodla Dairy, Sudhakar Pipes, and others. About 300 people participated.

 

Singireddy Niranjan Reddy, Agriculture Minister, Govt of Telangana inaugurated the seminar. He said, 'Farmers of India are going to be protectors of the world in terms of food protection. We are not only self-secured but also in a position to export many products, especially some from Telangana'. Focus on Agri Products and Food Processing products, which have great potential for exports, he told his audience. Mr. Reddy told them to identify such export-worthy products.

 

Agricultural exports are expected to play a pivotal role in doubling the farmers’ income and linking agriculture production to the export market is a critical step. The State government has been striving to achieve all possible linkages to the export markets. Telangana has made significant progress in the agriculture sector by adopting innovative methods, increasing technology use, expanding irrigation facilities, and providing financial support to farmers. Accordingly, the scope for exports of agro and agri-related products from Telangana has widened considerably. The day-long seminar was organized in light of the background, said Anil Agarwal, President of FTCCI.

 

Dr. E Vishnu Vardhan Reddy, IFS, Special Secretary, Investment Promotion & NRI Affairs, and Jt MD of TSTPC graced as the guest of honor.

 

Dr. B Neeraja Prabhakar, Vice Chancellor of Sri Konda Laxman Telangana State Horticultural University; Anil Agarwal, President of FTCCI, S. Chandra Mohan, Chair, Agro and Food Processing Committee, Meela Jayadev, Sr VP and Suresh Kumar Singha, VP of FTCCI; Smt T. Sujatha, Dy CEO of FTCCI also graced.

The country’s newly announced Foreign Trade Policy (FTP 2023), which took effect from 1 April this year, is a testament to the forward thinking and realistic approach of Indian policymakers. Launched with the aim of achieving a goal of $2 trillion in exports by the end of this decade, it charts a path for international trade as a significant part of India’s journey towards becoming a $5 trillion economy. The new policy has touched upon various aspects of foreign trade on the basis of developments that have happened over the last eight years. Under the new policy, special emphasis has been given to cross-border trade in digital spheres of economic activity and promoting the ease of doing business, as well as trade facilitation, with needs of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector kept especially in mind.

 

This policy is expected to have a significant impact on the country’s MSMEs, which are set to benefit from several measures aimed at promoting exports. Within the scope of the new trade policy, e-commerce exporters now enjoy all the benefits offered to other exporters by the FTP. Reduction in fees, inclusion of duty credit scrips, duty exemptions and remission schemes are some of the key provisions under the policy. These would be beneficial to small sellers and MSMEs, as they are aimed at making it easier and affordable for them to engage and operate in overseas markets.

 

In addition to that, even as the FTP 2023 aims to promote the ease of doing business, it encourages states and districts to address markets abroad and increase their export operations. These steps also make the FTP more dynamic and decentralized, which should create a more conducive ecosystem for the MSME sector to grow and integrate with global value chains.

 

Dak Ghar Niryat Kendras, which are post offices designated to facilitate exports by MSMEs, have been operationalized to work in tandem with Foreign Post Offices under the FTP 2023. This effort will help simplify logistics, facilitate the MSME sector’s cross-border e-commerce thrust and aid small businesses as they aim to reach potential customers in international markets. To further expand e-commerce exports under the scope of the FTP, the government will be setting up the information technology infrastructure needed to streamline such exports.

 

At present, the MSME sector faces several challenges in terms of exporting products and penetrating foreign markets. Among these, to name a few, are a lack of awareness about demand patterns in specific foreign markets and low acquaintance with market insights and incentive schemes, apart from relatively weak technology adoption and lack of access to affordable trade finance schemes.

 

To address these challenges, the government intends to conduct special outreach and training programmes aimed at Indian MSME exporters.

 

Another key measure introduced under the new foreign trade policy is the setting up of special e-commerce export hubs. These designated hubs will help e-commerce exporters in tackling various logistical costs and challenges, such as custom clearances, processing of returned goods and even warehousing. These special facilities will also allow for various last-mile activities, such as repackaging, labelling and testing, which will in turn reduce logistical costs for Indian exporters.

 

To promote this cause further, plans to sort out the challenges of inventory held for exports could also be incorporated in the trade policy, as this would help mitigate turnaround delays, apart from reducing logistical and warehousing costs, both of which are critical for Indian competitiveness in markets abroad . It would go well with the policy’s broad thrust of creating a more conducive environment in general for MSMEs to engage in international trade and help them compete more effectively in global markets.

 

The new trade policy announced by the Union commerce ministry has also doubled the value limit for exports undertaken through courier services from ?5 lakh to ?10 lakh per consignment. Even though this raised cap is a relief for certain sets of Indian exporters, setting a value limit in itself for such exports acts as a limiting factor for businesses which export high-value goods. The overall impact of these measures, however, is expected to be significant, with the policy aiming to increase India’s goods and services exports to $2 trillion by 2030. This is a significant target and will require a nuanced approach, where both exporters and sellers will have to work together smoothly.

 

Given that the e-commerce model that is prevalent in the country is the platform-as-marketplace model, provisions such as simplified payment reconciliation procedures for e-commerce exporters, distinguishing sellers-on-record from exporters-on-record to reduce the compliance burden on small sellers, will help the cause of reaching the country’s export target.

 

The dynamic nature of the policy, which can be revised as we go along, offers a great deal of flexibility and adaptability, enabling Indian policymakers to respond effectively to market shifts and the needs of sellers.

 

In conclusion, the FTP 2023 will help build India as an export hub by enabling and empowering the MSME sector significantly. The policy is expected to provide a significant boost to India’s exports and help the country work towards becoming a developed economy within a quarter century, as envisioned for Amrit Kaal.

Indian non-basmati rice exporters hope to sustain the record-high shipments this fiscal as witnessed in the 2022–23 fiscal. In 2022-23 fiscal, shipments touched a new peak in volumes and value on the robust demand for the cereal.

 

Indian non-basmati rice exports, despite a levy of 20 per cent duty, a ban on broken rice and a decline in purchases by Asian buyers such as Bangladesh and China, touched a record 17.78 million tonnes valued at over $6.35 billion in 2022–23. In the previous year, non-basmati shipments were at 17.26 million tonnes valued at $6.12 billion. Overall, Indian rice exports in FY23 stood at over 22.28 million tonnes valued at over $11.13 billion.

 

African demand

The higher demand for Indian non-basmati rice from traditional buyers from African countries such as Benin, Cote D’Ivoire, and Senegal helped offset the decline in off-take from Asian customers such as Bangladesh, China, Nepal, and Vietnam.

 

Benin, with purchases exceeding 1.55 million tonnes, was the largest buyer of non-basmati rice , compared with 1.52 million tonnes a year ago. Cote d’Ivoire at 1.21 million tonnes (0.93 mt a year ago), Senegal at 1.33 mt (1.09 mt), and Togo at 0.94 million tonnes (0.67 mt) were among the large African buyers. China reduced its rice purchases to 1.5 mt (1.63 mt), while Bangladesh almost halved it to 0.84 mt (1.62 mt) whereas Nepal also reduced the offtake sharply at 0.76 mt (1.38 mt) and Vietnam at 0.64 mt (0.70 mt) during the year. India gained market share from Pakistan, which had a bad crop last year.

 

'We expect to maintain the same figures both in value and volumes this year as there is strong demand for Indian rice,' said BV Krishna Rao, President, The Rice Exporters Association, commenting on the export outlook. There is no other country that can replace India as a rice supplier, he said. India accounts for about 45 per cent of the global rice trade.

 

Despite the levy of a 20 per cent duty last year, the demand for Indian rice is intact. 'With shipments of 22 million tonnes in 2021–22, we clocked $10 billion, and last year we clocked over $11 billion with almost the same volumes. The higher value is because of the duty,' Rao said.

 

On potential concerns about El Nino in the upcoming kharif season, Rao said it is unlikely to have any impact on the supplies. Even last year, weak rains in eastern India, mainly in Bihar and parts of West Bengal, did influence output, but higher supplies from other States, including Telangana, offset the impact, he said.

Iranian NSA Ali Shamkhani has pitched for using national currencies for trade with India including in oil during his meeting National Security Advisor Ajit Doval in Tehran on Monday.

 

Shamkhani said using national currencies in bilateral trade between Iran with India would help the two countries achieve their joint economic objectives, officials said.

 

During the meeting, Shamkhani and Doval discussed economic, political, and security issues concerning Iran and India as well as the most important regional and international developments.

 

Stating that improved Iran-India ties are not against any other country, the Iranian NSA underlined that global and regional developments had created very good conditions to strengthen interactions between the two countries in the field of energy, transportation and transit, technology, and banking. India in the past used national currencies for oil trade with Iran and over the last year has introduced trade with number of countries in national currencies.

 

Welcoming the role played by India in regional and international developments, Shamkhani highlighted that Iran considers the active participation of New Delhi in political, economic, and security initiatives with the participation of the countries of Central Asia and the Persian Gulf region as necessary and helpful.

 

Doval, for his part, said that the deep influence of Iranian culture in the daily life of the Indians is a sign of deep ties between the two nations.

 

Doval added that the recent agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to normalize their diplomatic ties would have profound regional effects on changing relations in the international system.

 

Emphasizing the need for cooperation between Iran and India to boost stability in Afghanistan, the Indian NSA said the two countries should work together to combat terrorism.

 

He said India considers Chabahar port, in southeastern Iran, as a gateway for increased cooperation between Iran and India. The two also discussed about boosting International North South Transport Corridor.

The Indian government’s rice procurement reached 49.98 million tonnes (mt) as of April 30 during the ongoing marketing season from October 1. But it is a tad below 50.03 mt reported in the year-ago period. This may help the Government to provide additional allocation in rations shops, if needed even if wheat procurement falls below its target.

 

Rice procurement from the kharif season during October-April was 49.41 mt against 49,73 mt reported a year ago. The rabi crop, harvested from April, has begun arriving in some States and the Government has purchased 0.57 mt since April 1 against 0.3 mt a year ago. The maximum 0.23 mt purchase of the rabi crop is from Tamil Nadu, followed by 0..18 lt in Andhra Pradesh.

 

The government has set a target of 62.17 mt of rice procurement during 2022-23 season (October-September) which includes 51.56 mt from the kharif season and 10.62 mt in the rabi season. Overall, rice procurement in 2021-22 was 57.59 mt.

 

Wheat procurement

On the other hand, though wheat procurement has surged 38.3 per cent to 22.29 mt in the first month of the procurement period (April-June), only 4.4 per cent of the targetted 5.45 mt has been purchased from all States excluding top three Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh.

 

.The government has to ensure the deficit in other States is covered, as only 4.4 per cent of the targetted 5.45 mt has bee purchased, so far, if the overall target is to be achieved.

 

While the kharif season’s procurement concluded in all states for rice in March, it continues in West Bengal till this month-end and till June 30 in Assam. Kharif harvesting started early in West Bengal in 2022 because of which the procurement showed an increase. However, it is stuck at 2.07 mt as of April 30, the same as it was until March 31 and there may not be any significant improvement in the State.

 

According to official data for 2022-23 season, the rice procurement was 11.43 mt in October, 10.44 mt in November, 13.72 mt in December, 8.14 mt in January, 4.1 mt in February, 1.39 mt in March and 0.76 mt in April.

 

The Food Corporation of India (FCI) had 24.86 mt of rice and 27.64 mt paddy (over 18.5 mt in terms of rice) as of April 1 in the Central Pool stock. According to APEDA’s crop survey, the country had 9 mt of Basmati rice production during 2022-23 and the Agriculture ministry pegged the total rice output (both Basmati and non-Basmati) at 130.88 mt.

Egypt's state grains buyer, the General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC), said on Tuesday it bought 655,000 tonnes of wheat in an international tender for shipment June 10-30 and July 1-20, 2023.

 

The purchase comprised 420,000 tonnes for shipment June 10-30 and 235,000 tonnes for shipment July 1-20, GASC added.

 

Most traders estimated the bulk of the purchase was sold at an FOB price of $260 per tonne, while some cargoes were believed to have been sold at $250 per tonne.

 

Origins likely to have been purchased include Russian and Romanian cargoes, traders added.

Madhya Pradesh has taken a big jump in the world of GI tag as it received GI tag for nine things or products in simultaneous manner. This is also for the first time that state received so many GI tags in one go. Now state is having total 19 GI tags for different things.

 

' Sundarja' mango of Rewa, Sharbati wheat, Morena Gazak,  Gond painting of Dindori, carpet of Gwalior, Batik print of Ujjain, stone craft of Bhedaghat (Jabalpur), Balaghat’s Waraseoni Saree, wrought iron craft of Dindori.

 

The Sundarja mango is found in abundance in Govindgarh town of Rewa district.  The Sundarja mango grown in the Govindgarh Orchard is light white in colour while the Sundarja mango produced in Kuthiala Fruit Research Centre in Rewa is light green. The Sundarja mango has a wide popularity and even a stamp has been issued in the name of it.  This mango is called pride of the Vindya and it is fibre free fruit.

 

The Gazak of Morena is known all over the India due to its delicious taste. It has acquired a phenomenal fame. Sharbati wheat has crossed the boundaries to become to earn fame in foreign countries as well.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has amended labeling and display rules for pre-packaged foods.

 

It has asked the Food Business Operators (FBOs) to substitute 'Best Before Date' on the packages with 'Expiry Date' or 'Use By Date'.

 

The 'Best Before Date' can be displayed as additional or optional information on the label, stated an official release from the state government on Monday.

 

Foods with less than three months of shelf life need to display production details in the 'date-month-year' format.

Indian Business and Professionals Council (IBPC Qatar) in collaboration with the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA INDIA), under the initiative of the Embassy of India in Qatar, organised a virtual India–Qatar B2B Meeting (VBSM) between exporters and importers of agriculture on millets and value-added millet products recently.  

 

Charge D’Affairs, Embassy of India to Qatar H E Angeline Premalatha was the Chief Guest. The Meet saw active participation of 100 plus companies from Indo-Qatar business entrepreneurs, joining over the web to forge new business partnerships. While actual numbers are still being worked out, organisers stated that several new business deals were struck during the two-hour Meet.

 

Addressing the gathering, Angeline said that India is the largest producer of millets in the world with an annual production of around 10 million tons. This year 2023 has been declared the International Year of Millets by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). India and Qatar have strong bilateral relations and the experts of the two sides take this VBSM based on Millets & Value-Added Millet Productions to newer heights on the occasion of the International Year of Millets. It is humbling to witness the Indian business community taking a step forward toward the promotion and sale of millet products, which have since seen a dramatic increase due to the promotional efforts by Indian businesses.

 

She urged all delegates to take advantage of the meet and explore opportunities for collaboration, cooperation, and establishing new partnerships. She assured the embassy’s full support to Indian and Qatari business houses looking to expand bilateral economic ties between the two nations.

 

Vats stated that APEDA is working with 205 countries, exporting more than 1000 product ranges, and boasts good receptivity to every market, including The Americas, Asia and Europe. Especially this year mainly concentrate on the Millets & Value-Added Millet Products. Speaking on the occasion, IBPC President Jaffer Us Sadiq recounted efforts made by IBPC to enhance bilateral trade and economic ties between the two countries. As part of the International Year of Millets IBPC take the initiative to the Indian business community with much fervor, enthusiasm, and patriotism by promoting Millets and its products at their shops. 

 

IBPC Qatar is dedicated to increasing awareness and widespread use of millets in Qatar through school awareness programs. The sale of millets has not only improved the health of the community but also provided a boost to the local economy. 

 

Dr. Saswati Bose, General Manager APEDA, in her opening remarks, informed how APEDA was endeavoring to ensure Indian food product manufacturers, particularly small and medium-sized ones, reach global markets, and are able to offer their products & solutions to global users.

 

 Dr. Saswati thanked officials of the Indian Embassy and IBPC for their support and cooperation in organizing the Meet. 

 

The event featured the release of the e-catalog done by Smt. Angeline Premalatha , Charge D’Affairs: Embassy of India to Qatar, Jaffer Us Sadiq, President of IBPC and U K Vats General Manager. 

 

The virtual networking session took place with a brief presentation on millets and millet products in India.  The session included introductions by importers from Qatar and Indian exporters, coordinated by IBPC and APEDA, respectively. The networking and Q&A session were also taking place. 

 

IBPC VP Abdul Sathar, who organized this VBSM, expressed IBPC’s gratitude to all the dignitaries, participants, stakeholders, and partners for their support in making the event successful.

Farmers are seen bringing in more area under pulses in the summer season sowing even as the total acreages under all crops for the season, so far, is marginally lower than the previous year.

 

As per the Agriculture Ministry’s latest data, summer crops have been sown so far in about 65.29 lakh hectares as compared to 66.02 lakh hectares in the same period last year. Area under pulses and Shree Anna-cum-coarse cereals have seen an increase, while the acreages under paddy and oilseeds are lower than the same period last year.

 

Area under pulses is up at 17.57 lakh hectares as compared to 16.23 lakh hectares in the same period last year. Among pulses, farmers have preferred to plant more area under green gram at 14.27 lakh hectares (12.83 lakh hectares in same period last year), while acreages under black gram or urad is marginally lower at 3.08 lakh hectares (3.12 lakh hectares).

 

Among coarse cereals, the acreage under maize is marginally higher at 6.30 lakh hectares (6.24 lakh hectares), while bajra has seen an increase at 4.29 lakh hectares (3.59 lakh hectares). Overall acreages under coarse cereals are higher at 10.86 lakh hectares (10.19 lakh hectares).

 

Oilseeds

However, the area under oilseeds is lower at 9.40 lakh hectares(10.46 lakh hectares). While the acreages under groundnut has declined to 4.50 lakh hectares(5.27 lakh hectares), the area under sesamum has increased marginally to 4.36 lakh hectares(4.26 lakh hectares).

 

Meanwhile, the country as a whole has received 8 per cent more rainfall in the pre-monsoon season from March 1 till May 1 as per the IMD data. South Peninsula has received 32 per cent more precipitation while central India has received 167 per cent more. East and north-east India have witnessed a deficit of 24 per cent, while north-west India the rainfall has been 2 per cent lower than normal.