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 same. Speaking to the packed hall immediately after the inauguration 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. Indian exports have become essential food needs of many countries. We know California almonds are good. The way their products are branded, they are perceived as the best in the world and one must definitely try them. They have become a symbol of prestige. Our Telangana Groundnuts are eight times more nutritious and better than theirs. People in the Netherlands can not dream of their day without groundnut butter. We must focus more on producing groundnuts and exporting the same. Even educational institutions must focus on offering courses on groundnut research.

 

Ground nuts are one example. And we have many such products which are export worthy, he said.

 

A lady from Gujarat exports groundnut butter and related products. Now she exports to many countries. But the raw material (groundnuts) sourced is from Telangana. Her name is Sonia. The groundnuts grown in Telangana have less aflatoxin. Groundnuts are one example and there are many others, maybe mangoes, Millets and what have you. New Zealand with just 45 lakh population exports many products to neighboring countries, he told them.

 

The per capita meat consumption in Telangana is much higher than the national average. Our villages’ rivers produce more fish. The surplus quantity can be exported, Mr Reddy told.

 

Speaking further Mr Reddy added that today’s degrees need to be relevant to current societal needs. He told the youth to be job creators rather than job seekers.

 

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.

 

Telangana is a state that is rich in agricultural resources and has a long history of being a major contributor to India’s agricultural economy. Telangana’s government rightly prioritized expanding irrigation projects in the State to bring more and more land under irrigation. It is heartening to note that there is a 117% rise in irrigated areas in Telangana since 2014, due to the planned investments in new irrigation projects and revitalization of existing irrigation systems, said Mr. Anil Agarwal.

 

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 day-long seminar had several sessions such as Government Schemes for Export Promotions and Finance Schemes for Exporters. A panel discussion on Infrastructure and Logistics challenges for exports was held. It was moderated by Thumma Reddy Shanmukha, Co-chair of the Agro and FP Committee of FTCCI. Other sessions on Export Opportunities for Botanical Products; Export Opportunities for Millet & Millet Based Products, Agriculture/Horticulture Products, and Spice Products; Agriculture Infrastructure fund schemes held

Farmers engaged in mushroom cultivation in Jammu and Kashmir are upbeat over the government announcement to introduce one of the costliest mushrooms 'Shiitake' for commercial farming in the Union Territory.  The agriculture department will launch commercial farming Shiitake in September after successful field trials of the cultivation of this Japanese-origin variety. 'We are happy. I have heard it (Shiitake mushroom) is being launched in September (for commercial farming). We will go for it,' Mushroom farmer Rahul Sharma told PTI. Sharma, who owns a 4,000-bag unit in the border belt of Marh, said that it is grown in states like Haryana, but it is good news that it will be grown in Jammu for the first time.

 

'Its cost and market value is very good. Farmers would be largely benefited. For Jammu and Kashmir, it will be good to cultivate Shiitake mushroom, as you can grow anywhere due to suitable climate,' he added. Like him, Arvind Kumar, who has been into mushroom farming for the last 15 years, said they were waiting for the success of its trials in Jammu and Kashmir. 'We welcome commercial farming of Shiitake mushrooms. We will adopt it as soon as the government introduces it', he said. The cultivation trials were carried out successfully for spawn production and cultivation of Shiitake mushrooms in a spawn production laboratory in Jammu as well as in fields. It was done on sawdust of broad leaves in polypropylene bags as per the guidelines of the Directorate of Mushroom Research (ICAR), Solan. 

 

'As the trials and standardisation of all the parameters were successful, the cultivation technique of Shiitake mushroom will be transferred to the farmer level in September. This initiative will provide farmers with an opportunity for round-the-year cultivation of mushrooms with enhanced returns,' KK Sharma, Director of the Department of Agriculture, told PTI. All trials turned out to be a success with the growth of fruiting bodies first and full growing up of mushrooms, he added. Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes), which is native to Japan, is a type of edible fungus and contains a chemical called lentinan, which some medical professionals use to boost the immune system. It will be considered a move to bring an economic boom in the farming sector with regard to mushroom cultivation in J&K. 'The fresh mushroom sells for Rs 1,500 per kilo in the market. If we dry it, it is sold at Rs 15,000 per kilo in the market. With the introduction of the Shiitake mushroom, over 2,500 mushroom farmers will benefit directly from its cultivation,' Sharma said.

 

Their farming will be diversified, apart from growing three mushroom varieties - Button, Dingri and Milky mushrooms. The fourth, Shiitake mushroom, will be introduced. It will diversify cropping as well as the farming system. It will benefit economically to all, even small mushroom growers, he noted. Terming it a big immunity booster, he also said that it has anti-carcinogenic properties, used in the treatment of cancer. Aiming to support small-scale farmers, the J&K government is going to implement a full-fledged project at a cost of Rs 42 crore in the next three years for the promotion of round-the-year mushroom cultivation for sustainable and profitable crops. 'The project will be implemented at a cost of around Rs 42 crore over the next three years by the Agriculture Production Department in J&K, which will increase the production of mushrooms by 3.5 times and accordingly, the employment will be generated by 3 times,' Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Production Department (APD), Atal Dulloo said.

Wheat procurement has surged 38.3 per cent to 22.29 million tonnes (mt) in the first month of the procurement period (April-June), from 16.12 mt a year-ago, according to the latest official data. The procurement target has been fixed at 34.15 mt for the current season.

 

Out of 28.7 mt targetted from three States — 13.2 mt in Punjab, 8 mt in MP and 7.5 mt in Haryana -- nearly 77 per cent has been achieved, so far. 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.

 

Prices decline

According to official data, mandi prices have declined to as low as Rs.1,680/quintal in Madhya Pradesh and to Rs.1,900/quintal in Rajasthan during the ongoing procurement season, which started on April 1. Farmers in Uttar Pradesh are receiving Rs.2,125/quintal, same as the minimum support price (MSP). On the other hand, the maximum mandi rate in MP on April 30 was reportedly Rs.2,720/quintal, in Rajasthan Rs.2,580/quintal, and in UP Rs.2,210/quintal.

 

Punjab has shown a 20.2 per cent increase in purchases at 10.65 mt as of April 30, from the year-ago level of 8.86 mt. Haryana has reported a 57.6 per cent jump at 5.83 mt from 3.7 mt a year ago, and in Madhya Pradesh wheat purchase is up by 63.5 per cent at 5.56 mt, from 3.4 mt.

 

Procurement in Uttar Pradesh, the largest wheat-producer, reported a 8 per cent dip at 0.13 mt from 0.14 mt, official data show. But Rajasthan has contributed 0.1 mt to the Central Pool stock so far, against only 749 tonnes year-ago.

 

Wheat procurement in the country dropped to a 15-year low of 18.79 mt in the 2022-23, prompting the government to ban export last year and it still continues.

A total of 1.77 million tons of rice worth $2.13 billion were imported to Iran from five countries in the fiscal 2022-23, registering a 101% and a 194% rise in terms of weight and value respectively compared with the year before, according to the Islamic Republic of Iran’s Customs Administration.

 

The imports stood at 885,000 tons worth $726 million in the fiscal 2021-22, IRIB News reported.

 

The UAE, Pakistan, Thailand, Turkey and India were the top five rice exporters to Iran during the year that ended on March 20, 2023.

 

India exported 885,000 tons worth $1.16 billion to top the list of rice exporters to Iran during the period and accounted for 54.34% of Iran’s total rice imports.

The commerce ministry has asked export promotion councils to work on export targets for current fiscal year and chalk out a detailed road map to achieve that. According to exporters, issues related to the country's outbound shipments were discussed during a meeting chaired by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on April 24.

 

India's goods and services exports together touched an all-time high of USD 770 billion last fiscal year.While merchandise exports touched USD 447 billion, services exports are estimated at about USD 322 billion.

 

'The ministry has asked us to work on new exports target for this fiscal and explain ways to achieve,' an exporter said.

 

He said it was emphasised that states and Indian missions abroad be involved in achieving the new target.

 

There was also a discussion on organising a major buyer-seller meet to showcase India's prowess in exports.

 

Latin America and African countries hold huge potential to boost exports.

 

Apparel Export Promotion Council Chairman Narendra Goenka, who participated in the April 24 meeting, said though there are global economic uncertainties, the sector is likely to grow by 5-10 per cent this fiscal.

 

The country's merchandise exports are likely to cross USD 500 billion this fiscal due to healthy demand for domestic goods in key global markets, including the US, and benefits from trade pacts, according to exporters.

 

'Together with goods and services, we are targeting exports of USD 900 billion this fiscal,' FIEO Director General Ajay Sahai said.

 

Free trade agreements with the UAE and Australia would provide a huge platform to boost exports in those markets.

 

Ludhiana-based engineering exporter and Hand Tools Association President SC Ralhan said there are healthy signs of economic growth in the US, which accounts for about 18 per cent of India's total outbound shipments.

 

Mumbai-based exporter and Chairman of Technocraft Industries Sharda Kumar Saraf too said that this fiscal would be better than last year for India's exports.

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Mr. Narendra Singh Tomar, along with Mr. Rajbir Singh, Managing Director, NAFED, commemorated the launch of the first of its kind ‘Millets Experience Centre (MEC)’ at Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi last week.

 

NAFED in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) established the Millets Experience Centre with an aim to raise awareness on Millets and encourage their adoption among the general public.

 

Acting upon India’s proposal supported by 72 countries, the United Nations General Assembly declared the year 2023 as the International Year of Millets (IYM 2023). The declaration positioned India at the forefront of the celebrations and the Government of India has been working on ‘mission mode’ to champion millets as a crop good for farmers, the environment, and consumers.

 

The ministry-led initiative of establishing a consumer-oriented ‘Millets Experience Centre’ would not only promote the dietary benefits of the ancient grain but also popularize millets or Shree Anna as a nutritional powerhouse fit for cooking a variety of dishes like Millets dosa, Millets pasta, etc. In addition to a unique dining experience, customers can also purchase a variety of ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products from local millet start-ups at the MEC.

 

In his inaugural address, Mr. Tomar praised India’s dynamic celebration of IYM 2023, led by Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi. The setting up of the MEC is a step in becoming a ‘Global Hub’ for Millets, he added. Situated in the heart of Delhi, Dilli Haat is a national & cultural hub for visitors from all around the world, the MEC will further help the global outreach of the local millets and provide visitors a chance to witness India’s ‘Millet Movement’, he said.

 

Mr. Tomar also highlighted that the year-long celebrations for millets (Shree Anna) will entail myriad activities aimed at creating awareness around the environmental, health, and economic benefits of millet farming.

 

Mr. Manoj Ahuja, Secretary of the Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, also highlighted the government-led initiatives for mainstreaming millets. Speaking about the collaboration of NAFED and MoA&FW, he said that ventures like the Millets Experience Centre would help widen the horizon for consumers who are actively looking for healthier alternatives and bring visibility to India’s robust millet-based start-up community. He also added that more such Millet Experience Centres are likely to open across Delhi and other states very soon through partnerships with retail chains, hotels, and the F&B industry.

 

Mr. Rajbir Singh, Managing Director, NAFED, praised the joint efforts by the MoA&FW and NAFED for the initiatives being undertaken for the promotion of Millets (Shree Anna) and execution of IYM-2023. He said that the Millets Experience Centre (Shree Anna) is a unique concept that will help in the recognition of the immense potential of millets (Shree Anna) as a versatile and healthy grain.

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.

Commerce secretary Sunil Barthwal on Monday said that India’s exports to the UAE are expected to reach $50 billion by 2026-27 from $31.3 billion in 2022-23. The two sides signed a trade pact on May 1, 2022 and India’s utilisation of the agreement is the second highest among all its free trade agreements (FTA).

 

In the first year of coming into effect of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), 54,144 certificates of origin were issued between May 2022-March 2023 only next to 1.49 lakh under the India-Asean FTA.

 

'We are hoping that we would be able to reach $50 billion exports by 2026-27,' Barthwal said, adding that trade between the two countries has gone beyond normal growth for both exports and imports and labour-intensive sectors have seen significant growth.

 

India’s exports to the UAE in 2022-23 rose by 11.8% to $31.3 billion, while imports grew by 18.8% to $53.2 billion in the last fiscal.

 

Non-oil imports rose 4.1% in FY23.

 

Iron and steel exports to the UAE dropped 36% on-year in FY23.

 

India’s exports of essential oils, automobiles, mineral oils, electrical equipment, cereals, perfumery and cosmetic preparations were the biggest gainers in the pact.

 

Imports of aircraft, spacecraft, and parts rose a whopping 4,859% on-year to $1.93 billion in FY23.

 

'UAE is a transit hub and the increase is part of the normal most favoured nation (tariffs),' said an official.

 

Gold imports declined in FY23 due to non-utilisation of the full quota of tariff available under the CEPA.

 

'With the DGFT opening a fresh window of gold tariff rate quota, the gold imports from UAE should go up,' he said.

 

India announced that it will open a fresh window for the import of 140 MT of gold in FY24 at concessional duty from the UAE through an import quota system.

 

Sources said that the meeting of the joint working group will be held in June to discuss the exchange of data between customs of India and the UAE, and also review the trade data under the CEPA.

On Saturday, Ramesh Chand, a Niti Aayog member said that India can emerge as a global power in the selected three or four agricultural yields if the government seeks modernization and motivates corporates to invest in agriculture.

 

While ensuring food security and taking part in the panel session on ‘Can India be the food bowl for the World at the Food Conclave here, he spoke that to become a global leader, India could look at rice, milk, and sugar as commodities.

 

Also, he said that our share in global exports is 2 to 2.5 per cent but India’s agriculture production is just 6 to 7 per cent of the total global output. The Rule of thumb is that we can be a world power if we are among the top 5.

 

For some years, India was relishing a 50 per cent share in rice which was huge enough. Chand also said that we account for 24 per cent of the global milk production and 18 per cent of the sugar output.

 

Lesser Yield

 

One of the Niti Aayog members said that although, India’s per hectare and per animal yield is lower but, we can accelerate the production and export. There is a scope to expand the production in the states itself. Production of milk in Assam is 1.5 kg per animal against the 11 to 12 kg in other states. To accelerate production, we need to identify such commodities as well. We need to become an efficient producer on the milk front and not be afraid of imports as anyone scared of imports can never improve. All we need to do is to tap the potential via nature and government policies and in 10 to 15 years we can become a global power.

 

Amounting UPI

 

The Niti Aayog member said that India should have a look into the matter with precision and science-based farming, besides producing one or more arable areas.

 

India’s ‘agristack’ programme has the capability to amount to the success of UPI and its ecosystem while it was being formed, said S Sivakumar, CEO of ITC. Also, he said that we can go in for climate risk and market proximity to decide on the crops with a competitive advantage to make their way in the global market.

 

Quality Examination

 

India is a resilient country in agriculture production, said Sanjay Sancheti, Country head and Executive Director, Olam Agro India.

 

Additionally, he said that no one thought that India can generate 130 million tonnes of rice. With the government’s support, advanced technology, and climate resilient characteristics, India can do better. Although, India will have to look at the quality of exports and not volume.

 

Thailand and Vietnam, on the other hand, were selling their yield at a premium with growers shifting to other crops from rice.

The new regional office of agricultural and processed food products export development authority (APEDA), a premier body of export promotion of fresh vegetables and fruits under the ministry of commerce and industry, Government of India, was inaugurated at Pt Deen Dayal Upadhyay Trade Facilitation Centre, Varanasi on Friday.

 

To make the activities convenient in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand, APEDA has opened its new office at the trade facilitation centre in Varanasi, said Dr CB Singh, regional in-charge of APEDA UP Bihar.

 

The new regional office was inaugurated by Farmer producer organisation (FPO) exporters in the presence of Dr M Angamuthu, chairman and other senior officials of APEDA.

 

APEDA has offices in almost all agro-potential states of India and has been providing services to the agri-export community through its head office in New Delhi and 15 Regional offices pan India.

 

On the occasion, Dr M Angamuthu emphasised the efforts of FPOs and thanked them for their contribution to taking Purvanchal towards an agri-export hub.

 

The new APEDA office has amenities supporting international meetings, conferences, and other activities, etc for FPOs.