Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among the BIMSTEC countries is at the final stage of formulation with trade being the core agenda when BIMSTEC was established, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) secretary general Tenzin Lekphell said in Kolkata. BIMSTEC is also creating an energy centre in Bangalore with focus on the potential of clean energy as well.

 

'Trade has been the core agenda since the time of establishment of BIMSTEC. Somehow it did not really give us the fruit which was expected during this course of time. Many experts have come together in the recent past, a lot of meetings took place, negotiations have been done and multilateral discussions took place among the seven member countries. Seven countries coming to consensus and doing negotiations takes time and it is a complex process. Everyone wants the FTA to happen in the region,' Tenzin told ET.

 

'FTA is at the final stages of completion. We are left with a few more details which need to be negotiated. During the 19th minstrel meeting recently, I have requested the trade ministers, trade & commerce secretaries to come together and then advise the working groups. A lot of work on different constituents of FTA has been done and it is actually entering in the final stages,' Tenzin told ET in an exclusive interaction.

 

Talking about the BIMSTEC Energy Centre coming up in Bangalore, Lekhphell said, 'This region has potential for clean energy, especially Bhutan and Nepal with huge potential of hydro-power. We have discussed the energy issue with renewed focus. A BIMSTEC Energy Centre is coming up in Bangalore and details about trading energy will come up with India as the lead country.'

 

Meanwhile, the BIMSTEC has also drafted the Maritime Transport Agreement which is likely to get approval in coming November from the member countries. 'We know the region has a huge potential in terms of waterways as there are so many rivers in the Bay of Bengal region,'Tenzin said, adding that the Maritime Agreement cooperation has been completed. 'In November this year, during the sixth BIMSTEC summit in Bankok, the Maritime Transport Agreement is likely to get the final approval from the seven member countries, after which it can be implemented,' Tenzin said.

 

'Covid made us realize that pandemic is an important agenda and before the pandemic we were focussing more on trade connectivity, energy but there was not much discussion on health. Now the region has realized that health is an important agenda and in future if a situation arises, the region can come together on the issue,' Lekhphell said.

 

The BIMSTEC conference in Kolkata on Saturday was held following the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, which was held earlier this month in New Delhi, a year after the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo. On Saturday, Minister of State (MOS)-Ministry of External Affairs Rajkumar Ranajan Singh inaugurated the two-day BIMSTEC conference marking its 25th Anniversary.

Production of honey has seen 6.56 per cent growth and the export 24.02 per cent growth during 2021-22, the Centre informed Rajya Sabha on Friday.

 

In a reply to a query on National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM), Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, said the production of honey in the country went up from 1,25,000 tonnes in 2020-21 to 1,33,200 tonnes in 2021-22, registering a growth of 6.56 per cent.

 

India’s honey export has gone up from 59,999 tonnes in 2020-21 to 74,413 tonnes in 2021-22, registering a growth of 24.02 per cent. The Minister said the increase in production has directly enhanced the income of farmers/beekeepers.

 

Stating that various efforts were taken to achieve the target of 1,60,000 tonnes of honey production, he said some of the measures include awareness programmes, trainings, seminars, workshops, development of nucleus stock centres, development of bee-breeders and custom hiring centres, and plantation of bee friendly flora.

 

Out of the total 100 honey FPOs (farmer producer organisations) allotted, 80 honey FPOs have been registered till date by different agencies under ‘formation of 10,000 FPOs’ scheme of the Government. This also helps in increasing the income of farmers, he said.

 

As on date, 20.64 lakh of bee colonies have been registered on ‘Madhukranti Portal’ by beekeepers, societies, firms, and companies, etc., he said.

 

To ensure the quality of honey, four regional honey testing labs and 31 mini-honey testing labs have been sanctioned under NBHM.

 

PMFBY

To a separate query on the States with maximum number of beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), Tomar said 344.6 lakh of farmer applications were enrolled in Rajasthan during 2021-22. This was followed by Maharashtra at 99 lakh, Madhya Pradesh at 92.7 lakh, and Odisha at 81.6 lakh. The total number of farmer applications enrolled across the country stood at 831.8 lakh during 2021-22.

 

Agri start-ups

To another separate query on agri start-ups, Tomar said the number of start-ups in agri and allied sectors has gone up to more than 7,000 in 2022-23 from less than 50 before 2014-15. He attributed this to the support given by the Government in this regard.

 

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) is implementing ‘Innovation and Agri-Entrepreneurship Development’ programme under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) from 2018-19 with an objective to promote innovation and agri-entrepreneurship by providing financial support and nurturing an incubation ecosystem.

 

Five knowledge partners (KPs) and 24 RKVY Agribusiness Incubators (R-ABIs) have been appointed for incubation of start-ups and implementation of this programme across the country.

 

Egypt is looking to import at least 1.5 lakh tonnes (lt) of rice from India through the rupee trade route in view of the difficulties it is facing to make payments in dollars, trade sources said. 

 

'Egypt recently bought two ship loads of rice by paying in dollars. However, it faced tremendous difficulties in paying the money,' a source, who did not wish to be quoted, said. 

 

Cairo now requires another six ship loads of rice that could total over 1.5 lt and has sought to make the payment in Indian rupee, the source said. 

 

The development comes at a time when at least 19 countries, including the United Arab Emirates, Russia, Singapore, Germany, New Zealand and the UK, have agreed to trade in the rupee and give up the dollar as the cross-border transaction mode. 

 

Climate change may reduce wheat, rice yield sharply by 2050

However, Centre has formulated schemes to make agriculture more resilient, says NS Tomar

 

When contacted, BV Krishna Rao, President, The Rice Exporters Association (TREA), said exporters would be willing to take orders in the rupee route provided the Centre offers some concessions. 

 

Forward premium

This is because exporters get a forward premium of 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent while trading in the dollar. 'There are quite a few ways in which the government can compensate the traders for this,' he said. 

 

Rao, however, said the Centre should facilitate export transactions in the rupee in the long-term interest. 

 

Traditional relations

'The Centre should allow rice trade in Indian rupee to encourage Egypt which has had traditional commercial relations with India,' said a trade analyst from New Delhi. 

 

Not just Egypt but the entire North African countries are facing currency problems, particularly with regard to the dollar. Trade sources said Egypt had been taking several measures to tackle dollar shortage.

 

Cairo has begun trade dealings with Russia in local currencies and plans to rope in India and China in this. It expects to save at least $1.5 billion through such trading with India, China and Russia.

 

On the other hand, Egypt cannot get a more competitive rice exporter than India. According to the Thai Rice Exporters Association, Indian 5 per cent broken white rice is quoted at $432-36 a tonne compared against $448-52  and $477 quoted by Vietnam and Thailand, respectively. Pakistan is offering the rice at $453-57.

 

SEA estimates mustard production at record high 115.25 lakh tonnes

Remunerative prices in 2022 encouraged record plantings, while weather has been conducive

 

Barter with rock phosphate

In the case of 25 per cent broken white rice, India offers it at $417-21, while Vietnam and Pakistan quote at $428-32. Thailand sells it at $468.  

 

According to New Delhi-based trader Rajesh Paharia Jain, India can look at barter trade with Egypt by exporting rice and importing rock phosphate. 'We are a net importer of rock phosphate and Egypt has ample quantities of the commodity. It can help meet our fertilizer requirements,' he said. 

 

The trade analyst said exporters must think of cutting costs and look at process innovation in the short-term in the event of losing the forward premium they get while trading in dollars. 

 

Data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority show that Egypt has imported 76,858 tonnes of rice between April and January this fiscal. It is the highest since it imported 1.3 lt of rice in the 2018-19 fiscal. 

 

Export curbs

The demand from Egypt, which is not among the top buyers from India, comes at a time when India’s rice exports are picking up on demand from South-East Asia and Gulf countries. 

 

During the April-January period of the current fiscal, non-basmati exports have increased to 14.56 mt valued at $5.16 billion compared with 14.01 mt valued at $5 billion in the year-ago period.

 

Rice exports have fared well despite the government imposing a 20 per cent duty on shipments of white and brown rice shipments besides banning fully broken rice consignments. 

 

India curbed rice exports since September 8, 2022, as its rice production in the kharif season was feared to have been hit by deficient rains in key growing regions in the country’s eastern parts. 

 

For the current crop year to June, the Ministry of Agriculture has estimated rice production at a record 130.84 million tonnes against 129.47 million tonnes in the last crop year.

The government has allowed export of multi-grain or fortified wheat flour ( atta) shipments under advance authorisation.

 

Subject to conditions

The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a latest notice amending the standard input output norms, said that exports of multigrain atta or fortified whole wheat atta are allowed subject to some conditions. It said the exported item shall contain at least 80 per cent of whole wheat flour and other ingredients being added such as soya flour, oat meal, fenugreek powder, vitamins will be domestically sourced.

 

The export of wheat and wheat products such as atta are currently prohibited to keep domestic prices under check, while the flour millers can import wheat for re-exports under the advance authorisation. The notice also said that the import entitlement under the advance authorisation for exports of multi grain atta or fortified whole wheat atta will be calculated in proportion to the percentage of whole wheat flour in the export item, that is for every 1 kg of whole wheat flour, import of 1.07 kg of wheat will be allowed.

 

The export description in the shipping bill will clearly indicate the percentage content of whole wheat flour and other ingredients being added, the notification said.

 

Trade sources said the DGFT’s latest move may benefit large exporters of wheat-based products.

 

Pramod Kumar S, President, Roller Flour Millers Federation of India, said the government should allow the export of chakki atta in consumer packs of 5 kg for the Indian diaspora globally as they are unable to get good atta in the world market. The export market for chakki atta is about 3-4 lakh tonnes.

 

The opening up of fortified atta exports could benefit the soya flour makers, said Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India.

Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation releases data on various parameters of manufacturing sector including number of registered units engaged in food processing through the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). As per the latest available ASI estimates, the number of units engaged in food processing sector increased from 40,579 in 2018-19 to 41,484 in 2019-20.

 

Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has been mandated for laying down science-based standards for articles of food and to regulate their manufacture, storage, distribution, sale and import and to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. FSSAI has specified the hygiene and quality standards for various food products including packaged food and non-perishable packaged food products produced by all food processing units in the country in their Regulations namely Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration of Food Businesses) Regulations, 2011; Food Safety and Standards (Health Supplements, Nutraceuticals, Food for Special Dietary Use, Food for Special Medical Purpose, Functional Food and Novel Food) Regulations, 2016; Food Safety and Standards (Organic Food) Regulations 2017; Food Safety and Standards (Packaging) Regulations, 2018, etc. The quality and hygiene standards prescribed in these Regulations are enforced by the Regional Directors of FSSAI along with Food Safety Commissioners of States/UTs.  In cases, where the samples are found to be non-conforming to the laid down provisions of FSS Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder, penal action is initiated against the defaulting Food Business Operators (FBOs) as per the provisions of FSS Act 2006, Rules and Regulations made thereunder.

 

Under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for food products being implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) since 2021-22, a component, with an outlay of Rs.800 Crore, for Millet Based Products was carved out in the current financial year to encourage the use of Millets in Ready to Cook/Ready to Eat (RTC/RTE) products and to incentivise these products for promoting their value addition and sales. A total of 30 applications (8 large entities and 22 SMEs) were approved under this segment. Under the PLI Scheme component for Millet Based Products, the packaged and branded RTC/RTE food products with more than 15% of millets by weight/volume in product composition, are eligible for claiming the incentives.

 

This information was given by Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Notwithstanding the impact of Russia's war with Ukraine, the UK and India are heading towards an era of positive engagement in trade and business relations, with steps underway to promote mutual investments in both the nations, British Deputy High Commissioner in charge of Kerala and Karnataka Chandru Iyer said. Iyer who is also UK's Deputy Trade Commissioner for South Asia spoke in detail to PTI on Friday about the trade and investments between the UK and India and said there was potential to double the business by 2030.

 

He was in the state to take part in various official engagements, including a meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and also in connection with the port of call made by the British Royal Navy's frigate ship, HMS Lancaster, at Kochi.

 

Calling war a global phenomenon that affects all countries in more ways than one, the British Deputy High Commissioner hailed entrepreneurs for being enterprising and resilient in the face of adversity.

 

'If you look at the flow of business or the trade numbers between the UK and India for the period ending Q4 of last year, the number stood at 34 billion British pounds. For the same period ending the year before last, it was around 19 billion pounds. So it's been a big jump in trade and business,' Iyer said.

 

After meeting the Chief Minister two days ago and expressing interest in collaboration with the Kerala government in the education sector, Iyer met tech entrepreneurs from Thiruvananthapuram and its neighbouring regions. He also held business discussions in Kochi.

 

'The interest in UK is so high that people want to come there and set up their business and use that as their global headquarters... This means that countries are doing more business together. The aspirations have the potential to double the trade and investment numbers by 2030,' Iyer said.

 

Detailing plans to attract Indian investment in the UK, Iyer said his team was working across India to identify companies with potential and was holding discussions, understanding their aspirations and connecting them with the right people in the UK.

 

'We as a team are catalysts, we are enablers. All our services are free, comprehensive, confidential and bespoke,' he said.

 

Iyer, who has roots in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli, spent most of his life in Nagpur working in the private sector before shifting to the UK and landing the diplomatic job.

 

'I spent most of my life in Nagpur, which is a tier-two city. I am a believer in the potential of tier 2 and tier 3 cities. So one of my objectives is to do a lot of outreach visits to tier two and tier three cities as well. We have a lot of inquiries from Thrissur, Calicut and Kottayam. So the potential is there,' he said.

 

Talking about Indian students who opted for the UK for higher studies and were finding it difficult to land a part-time job, Iyer said employment was at an all time low in the UK but opportunities were coming up.

 

'We live in very uncertain times. Who would have expected the war or who would have expected the inflation or a Silicon Valley Bank going down? Eventualities do happen. When students go there, they need to be a bit more circumspect and also look out for how things pan out for them,' he said.

 

He said there was a huge demand for STEM professionals in the UK, and Indian students had a lot of opportunities in technical businesses and the banking sector as well.

 

When asked about the collaboration with the state government in the education sector, the British diplomat said he was keen to work with Kerala on student exchange and co-branded courses.

 

'British universities can come here and tie up with the digital university or Kerala university or CUSAT,' he said, adding that they were looking at engaging in collaborative activities in certain areas.

 

'We had a very good meeting with the officials about certain key areas like biomarine, AI and architecture. We will identify concerned British universities to connect them with the state government,' Iyer said.

 

He said his team was committed to the State and was planning to do a major event in Kerala before the year-end as part of the birthday celebrations of King Charles III.

Out of all 766 districts across 36 States/ UTs, One District One Product (ODOP) has been approved for 713 districts of 35 States/ UTs under Centrally Sponsored 'Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme' implemented by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). The State of West Bengal has agreed to participate in the scheme in January 2023. The ODOPs are approved by the Ministry on the recommendations of States/ UTs. The ODOP for the districts of West Bengal along with newly formed districts across 7 States/ UTs has not been recommended by the respective States/ UTs.

 

GIS-ODOP digital map has been developed by the MoFPI. ODOP of 710 districts from 35 States and UTs have been indicated. Along with it, districts covering 216 Integrated Tribal Development Areas, 112 Aspirational districts and 35 districts with more than 40% SC population are indicated in the map.The ODOP-GIS is available at https://odop.mofpi.gov.in/odop/

 

MoFPI has approved 76 Incubation Centres across the country with an outlay of 205.95 crore under PMFME Scheme to provide support to existing / prospective entrepreneurs for capacity building, new / innovative product developments etc. across the value chain.

 

The generation of revenue has not been envisaged under PMFME Scheme.

 

The PMFME Scheme provides financial, technical and business support for setting up / upgradation of micro food processing enterprises in the country which inter-alia creates the scope for employment at local level including opportunities for youth. 

 

This information was given by Minister of State for Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha.

Free Trade Agreement (FTA) among the BIMSTEC countries is at the final stage of formulation with trade being the core agenda when BIMSTEC was established, Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) secretary general Tenzin Lekphell said in Kolkata. BIMSTEC is also creating an energy centre in Bangalore with focus on the potential of clean energy as well.

 

'Trade has been the core agenda since the time of establishment of BIMSTEC. Somehow it did not really give us the fruit which was expected during this course of time. Many experts have come together in the recent past, a lot of meetings took place, negotiations have been done and multilateral discussions took place among the seven member countries. Seven countries coming to consensus and doing negotiations takes time and it is a complex process. Everyone wants the FTA to happen in the region,' Tenzin told ET.

 

'FTA is at the final stages of completion. We are left with a few more details which need to be negotiated. During the 19th minstrel meeting recently, I have requested the trade ministers, trade & commerce secretaries to come together and then advise the working groups. A lot of work on different constituents of FTA has been done and it is actually entering in the final stages,' Tenzin told ET in an exclusive interaction.

 

Talking about the BIMSTEC Energy Centre coming up in Bangalore, Lekhphell said, 'This region has potential for clean energy, especially Bhutan and Nepal with huge potential of hydro-power. We have discussed the energy issue with renewed focus. A BIMSTEC Energy Centre is coming up in Bangalore and details about trading energy will come up with India as the lead country.'

 

Meanwhile, the BIMSTEC has also drafted the Maritime Transport Agreement which is likely to get approval in coming November from the member countries. 'We know the region has a huge potential in terms of waterways as there are so many rivers in the Bay of Bengal region,'Tenzin said, adding that the Maritime Agreement cooperation has been completed. 'In November this year, during the sixth BIMSTEC summit in Bankok, the Maritime Transport Agreement is likely to get the final approval from the seven member countries, after which it can be implemented,' Tenzin said.

 

'Covid made us realize that pandemic is an important agenda and before the pandemic we were focussing more on trade connectivity, energy but there was not much discussion on health. Now the region has realized that health is an important agenda and in future if a situation arises, the region can come together on the issue,' Lekhphell said.

 

The BIMSTEC conference in Kolkata on Saturday was held following the 19th BIMSTEC Ministerial Meeting, which was held earlier this month in New Delhi, a year after the Fifth BIMSTEC Summit held in Colombo. On Saturday, Minister of State (MOS)-Ministry of External Affairs Rajkumar Ranajan Singh inaugurated the two-day BIMSTEC conference marking its 25th Anniversary.

The Union Minister of State for Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ms. Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today informed that as per the 2nd Advance Estimates of Production of foodgrains for 2022-23 of Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, the production of total foodgrains is estimated to be 3235.54 Lakh Tonnes out of which the production of Millets is 159.09 Lakh Tonnes (4.92 per cent of total foodgrains production). State Governments have procured 6.07 Lakh Tonnes of millets during Kharif Marketing Season 2021-22 for distribution under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS)/Integrated Child Development Services(ICDS)/ Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman (PM POSHAN/Mid-Day Meal Scheme) etc. The data of production of millets during last five years, is attached below.

 

Under the National Food Security Act, 2013, the term 'foodgrains' is defined as rice, wheat or coarse grains or any combination thereof conforming to such quality norms as may be determined, by order, by the Central Government from time to time. There is no specific provision for Millets under the Act. However, to improve the level of nutrition among the beneficiaries covered under the NFSA, all the States/UTs have been requested to procure millets and distribute for NFSA beneficiaries as per local consumption preferences and as per the guidelines issued by Government from time to time.

 

Recognizing the nutritional value of millets and the fact that consumption of millets can significantly improve key nutrition parameters among children and women in rural and urban areas the Government of India has created a sub-mission under the National Food Security Mission to encourage millet cultivation and its inclusion in Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). Now, Millets are already a part of the TPDS. The procurement, storage, and distribution of coarse grains by States/UTs is done under Decentralized Procurement (DCP) system.

 

Production of Millets during last five years

S. No.	Year	Production
1	2017-18	164.36
2	2018-19	137.11
3	2019-20	172.6
4	2020-21	180.2
5	2021-22	159.9

The Government has approved the export of 3.5 lakh tonnes (lt) of broken rice to Gambia and Senegal as a special consideration as shipments of this variety were banned on September 8, 2022.

 

According to a communication sent by the Finance Ministry (seen by businessline) to Chief Commissioners of Customs in Ahmedabad, Chennai, Vizag, Nagpur, and Mumbai, the Commerce Ministry has allowed export of 1 lakh tonnes of broken rice to Gambia and 2.5 lakh tonnes to Senegal.

 

In addition, the Ministry has allowed shipments of 9,990 tonnes of broken rice to Djibouti, Ethiopia. The shipment will be done by Chennai-based Ruby Overseas.

 

In the case of Gambia, of the total quantity approved for exports, the Centre has cleared requests to export broken rice from Royal Mirage Consultant (5,000 tonnes), Sarala Food Pvt Ltd (12,500 tonnes), and Laxmi Group of Industries Pvt Ltd (2,000 tonnes).

 

Trade irked

For Senegal, the Ministry has cleared 1,12,500 tonnes of the total 2.5 lakh tonnes with Sarala Foods, Sri Chitra Exports, Manasa Quality Enterprises Ltd, Pattabhi Agro Foods Pvt Ltd, and CLRK Industries Pvt Ltd getting to ship out 22,500 tonnes each. 

 

A section of the trade is irked over the permission for exports of broken rice, wondering why the Centre was permitting the shipments to these countries when it is not allowed to other destinations. 

 

'What is the obligation the Government has towards the countries? Why relax a blanket ban imposed on food security grounds?' a Delhi-based trader asked.

 

However, a trade analyst said exports to Gambia, Senegal, and Djibouti have been approved by the Commerce Ministry following a request from the Ministry of External Affairs.

 

Permits for strategic reasons

'The exports are being allowed for strategic reasons and since the External Affairs Ministry is involved,' the analyst, who did not wish to be identified, said.

 

Pointing out to the Centre’s notifications while banning wheat exports and curbing rice shipments, the analyst said India is clear that it will meet the food needs of 'vulnerable countries'. 

 

'The External Affairs Ministry would have taken various reasons into consideration before approaching the Commerce Ministry,' he said. 

 

The Centre banned exports of broken rice and imposed 20 per cent duty on shipments of white and brown rice after the kharif paddy production was affected by deficient monsoon in key rice-growing regions in the eastern parts. 

 

In the kharif season, rice production was estimated lower at 108.07 million tonnes (mt) in 2022 compared with 111 mt in 2021. But rabi output has made up for the loss with the Ministry of Agriculture estimating it at 22.76 mt against 18.47 mt a year ago.

 

For the current crop year to June, the Ministry of Agriculture has estimated rice production at a record 130.84 million tonnes against 129.47 million tonnes in the last crop year.