The government is looking at integrating 100 more interstate mandis with the Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM), to promote trade between the wholesale markets.

 

'We are focusing more on integrating interstate mandis now,' said a senior official.

 

The trade between interstate mandis on e-NAM increased to 3,929 quintals during April 2022 to January 2023 from just one quintal a year earlier. In the first 10 months of fiscal 2023, the value of interstate trade was Rs 1.87 crore, against the overall trade of Rs 61,257 crore on e-NAM.

 

As on November 30, 2022, as many as 1,260 mandis in 22 states and three union territories have been integrated with e-NAM platform, agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar had earlier told the Lok Sabha.

 

These states/UTs are: Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Nagaland, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir and Puducherry.

 

E-NAM, which was launched in April 2016, is being implemented by the Small Farmers Agribusiness Consortium, a central government agency, with the support of state governments.

 

Since its inception, the minister said, about Rs 649.87 crore had been released for the integration of mandis with the e-NAM platform, the minister had said.

 

Currently, the e-NAM platform is integrating existing physical wholesale mandis or markets of different states and UTs to facilitate online trading of agricultural commodities through transparent price discovery method to help farmers realise better remunerative prices for their produce, he said.

 

The purpose of e-NAM is to create a network of existing mandis on a common online market platform as 'One Nation, One Market' for agricultural commodities in India.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday underlined the importance of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union for boosting two-way trade and said he will personally get involved to see its early fruition. After holding wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Scholz said the finalisation of the FTA and the investment protection pacts will contribute significantly to expand India-Germany trade as well.

 

The German Chancellor said he and the Indian prime minister are committed to finalising the deal.

 

'We want to further deepen trade relations between the European Union and India and this is why we speak strongly for the free trade agreement. It is an important topic and I will get personally involved to ensure that this does not drag on,' he said.

 

Scholz said over 1,800 German companies are operating in India and have provided thousands of jobs.

 

'India has so much talent to offer and we want to benefit from that cooperation. We want to recruit and attract that talent in Germany. The development of IT and software is booming in India,' Scholz said.

 

He also said Germany wants deepening of trade relations between India and Europe.

 

In his media statement, Modi said Germany is also an important source of investment in India along with being its largest trading partner in Europe.

 

'Today, due to 'Make in India' and 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat' campaign, new opportunities are opening up in all sectors in India. The interest shown by Germany in these opportunities is very encouraging for us,' Modi said.

 

Separately, Modi and Scholz interacted with top executives from Indian and German companies to discuss ways to deepen economic ties.

 

The focus areas for mutual cooperation include digital transformation, financial technology, IT and telecom.

 

'Held productive talks with Chancellor @OlafScholz. Our talks focussed on ways to boost India-Germany cooperation and further augment trade ties. We also agreed to deepen ties in renewable energy, green hydrogen and biofuels. Security cooperation was also discussed,' Modi tweeted.

 

'Chancellor @OlafScholz and I met top CEOs to discuss ways to strengthen economic relations between our nations. Sectors like digital transformation, FinTech, IT and Telecom featured prominently in the meeting,' he said.

 

India and Germany also unveiled a vision document to enhance cooperation in areas of innovation and technology.

 

It said India and Germany recognise the close ties that have been nurtured through the decades, reaffirmed in 2022 by the India-German Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP), and acknowledge the positive and proactive roles of the governments, institutions, academia and industry on both sides.

 

After his talks with Modi, the German Chancellor also visited Rajghat and paid his respects to Mahatma Gandhi by laying a wreath.

10 years ago, around this time, your columnist accompanied the Shaurya Chakra Awardee Col DPK Pillay, at his insistence, to the remote and beautiful district of Tamenglong of Manipur to study the potential of Citrus Reticulata Blanco Mandarin — a unique sub-tropical fruit which grows in abundance in this district of 4,400 square kilometres lying between 24°30’N and 25°27’N latitudes and of 93°10’E and 94°54’E longitudes at a height of 1,290 metres above the MSL. Tamenglong is bounded by Nagaland in the North, Churachandpur and Senapati districts in the South and East, and the state of Assam in the West.

 

The Colonel, who is hero worshipped by the local community for having risked his own life to save two young children who were seriously injured in a crossfire between the army and the extremist groups, was keen that in my capacity as the Mission Director of National Horticulture Mission (now Mission for the Integrated Development of Horticulture), I should study first-hand the potential of this crop in the economic transformation of the region. The initial discussions held there have not only led to organic certification by APEDA, but also a GI tag for this commodity, and made it a part of an integrated value chain. While APEDA started the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) in 2016, and has covered over 400-hectare acres since then, the Mission for Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) of Directorate of Horticulture applied for the GI tag in 2017 and received it on August 31, 2020. This is, in many ways, a fulfilment of a commitment made to the farmers’ of Tamenglong who had received us with abundant enthusiasm and cheer. I must confess here that when I first undertook the journey with Colonel Pillay, the district was known more for roadblocks and encounters, rather than for this mandarin tree with long, willowy branches and the luscious oranges, which are not only delicious to eat, but also used in salads, desserts and main dishes. The current value chain includes wine, juices, candy, jam, jelly, marmalade, canning, extraction of essential oils, pectin and much more.

 

Manipur is considered to be one of the most verdant states for citrus genetic diversity since it is adjoined to Myanmar where maximum landraces of citrus have been found. Manipur also has a proliferation of different strains of rough lemon and semi-wild species (Citrus macroptera) but the focus is on the mandarin oranges of Tamenglong district, which account for more than 80 per cent of the total orange production of the state. The soil and the climate of this hill district is quite favourable for orange growing, and almost 40 per cent of the total landmass is under orange cultivation. No wonder, it is called the 'Orange Bowl' of the state.

 

The fruit consists of three layers:

 

* The outer yellow/orange peel is with oil glands which exude the essential oils, producing the typical orange odour;

 

* The whitish thread like mesocarp;

 

* The endocarp consists of 10-14 segments filled with juice sacs (vesicles).

 

It is distinguished from other citrus species by the relatively loose skin of the fruits and the relative ease with which the segments can be separated. Most varieties of Mandarin are self-pollinated, but some of the hybrids require cross pollination. Typically, a heavy crop is followed by a lighter crop in the next season. Generally, citrus trees start bearing fruits from the third year of planting, although economic yields start from the fifth year and the trees may take eight to ten years to achieve full productivity.

 

However, there are issues and challenges which the farmers are facing, especially from the menace of ‘bamboo flowering’ which appears cyclically, as well as from climate change and aberrant weather conditions. Both the ICAR and the state horticulture department are trying to address these issues, and also taking note of observations of local farmers, some of whom are suggesting that oranges seem to grow better in the soil which has some layers of rock beneath the topsoil. Others feel that grazing of cows in their farms helps clear up the growth of other bushes and herbs; and that orange trees thrive better in such an environment. Farmers are also trying to ensure that birds are encouraged to nest in the foliage as they feed on worms, thereby minimising the damage and risk to the trees.

 

From 2001, a state-level Orange Festival has been held annually to promote tourism and provide an opportunity to orange farmers to display their produce before potential buyers besides offering an opportunity for both the growers and fruit processing industries to establish value chains. The credit for launching this initiative goes to the Manipur Small Farmers’ Agri-Business Consortium under the kind aegis of Central SFAC.

 

As things stand, thanks to the road network, and the much-improved security situation, Mandarin oranges are now the key economic growth driver, and the main source of income for the farmers of the district. Since the fruits are harvested mainly in the winter season, the farmers celebrate Christmas and New Year with good cheer, and also save adequate funds for children’s admission in the next academic year. As per current market indications, a full-grown good tree can yield up to 5,000 fruits, and with a pack of ten oranges being sold at the farm gate for about a hundred rupees, many farmers have become lakhpatis in the course of the last decade!

USD 523.8 million worth of onions was exported from April to December 2022.

 

Government has not restricted or prohibited the export of onion. The extant export policy of onions is ‘Free’. Only the export of onion seed is ‘Restricted’ and that too is permitted under Authorisation from DGFT.

 

DGFT vide Notification No. 50 dt. 28.12.2020 amended export policy of Onion (of all varieties) in cut, sliced or broken in powder form and Bangalore Rose onions and Krishnapuram onions excluding cut, sliced or broken in powder form from 'prohibited' to 'free'.  

 

Month wise export data for 2022

Month wise (2022)	Value wise (in USD Million)	% increase in exports from 2021 to 2022
Apr	48.0	13.74
May	31.9	13.20
Jun	36.0	-25.19
Jul	50.1	19.74
Aug	49.0	-5.21
Sep	50.7	7.56
Oct	40.8	17.33
Nov	45.9	71.39
Dec	52.1	49.76
Total	523.8	16.3

India and the UK have agreed to make further progress on the ongoing negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) and also to swiftly organise the next bilateral Economic and Financial Dialogue soon, the British government said on Saturday. At the conclusion of UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt's India visit for the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting, held under India's 2023 Presidency, the UK's Treasury department said the finance minister held talks with Indian counterpart Nirmala Sitharaman with a focus on deepening bilateral economic and financial ties.

 

'At a meeting with Indian Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, both sides agreed to make further progress on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and deepen bilateral economic and financial ties,' the Treasury department said in a statement.

 

'They agreed to make swift progress on setting up the next UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue,' it said.

 

Hunt, on his first international visit as UK Chancellor, also met with business leaders in Bengaluru and visited the offices of tech multinational Wipro which employs over 4,000 people in the UK.

 

'Meeting fellow Finance Ministers face to face is an excellent opportunity to make real progress on the key global economic issues of our time,' said Hunt.

 

'I first visited India 38 years ago, and it's been fascinating to see how much the country has changed in this time - there are positive lessons to be learnt from their successful rapid development.

 

'It's been great to hear from Indian technology business leaders here in Bengaluru how they are pushing the country's economy forward, and I look forward to further collaboration between India and the UK as we continue to trade and create jobs - delivering on the government's plan to grow the economy,' he said.

 

The Chancellor, alongside Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey, attended a meeting of G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors on Thursday. They were joined virtually by Ukrainian Finance Minister Serhiy Marchenko.

 

'Their statement sent a strong message of condemnation for Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, announced an increase of financial support for the Ukrainian government to a total of USD 39 billion in 2023 and committed to continue supporting vulnerable countries hardest hit by the economic impact of the war,' the Treasury said.

 

On Friday, the UK announced a fresh wave of internationally coordinated sanctions and trade measures, to 'further restrict Russia's capability to wage war in Ukraine both now and in the future'.

 

At the first G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting under the Indian Presidency, Hunt condemned 'Russia's brutal acts' in the strongest terms, emphasising that securing peace was the most important action for global growth.

 

According to the UK government, the senior Cabinet minister also underscored the need for bilateral official creditors and private sector to urgently help address low and middle-income country debt vulnerabilities in developing countries.

 

The minister emphasised the importance of multilateral development banks boosting lending from their existing balance sheets and called on the G20 to fulfil its pledge to channel USD 100 billion of IMF Special Drawing Rights in support of developing countries.

 

'The Indian Presidency issued a Chair's statement at the end of the meeting which highlighted, among other things, the continued need to fight inflation, and the importance of supply-side policies, especially those that increase labour supply, boost growth and alleviate price pressures.

 

'There was also G20 consensus, including China, on the need for swift resolution of existing debt restructuring cases and to work on the impacts of food and energy insecurity on the global economy,' the Treasury said.

 

While in Bengaluru, the UK Chancellor is also said to have had 'productive bilateral meetings' with US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, French Minister of Economy and Finance Bruno Le Maire and Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). He also met with Australian Treasurer Jim Chalmers.

 

While speaking at the meetings, the Chancellor is said to have set out the UK government's intention to protect the most vulnerable from cost-of-living pressures, whilst maintaining fiscal sustainability with debt falling and not adding to inflationary pressure.

 

He added that the upcoming Spring Budget of the Rishi Sunak-led government on March 15 will 'drive economic growth, focusing on skills, business and infrastructure investment and research and innovation, as well as reviewing regulations of the UK's key growth industries'.

As the United Kingdom faces a shortage of vegetables and fruits due to disruption in supplies from traditional suppliers such as Spain and Morocco due to bad weather, the Indian exporters see an opportunity to ship more fresh produce to the European Union.

 

Trade sources said there is a shortage of vegetables and fruits in the UK, especially tomatoes, capsicum, cucumber, coriander, bitter gourd, chilli and banana among other produce. It is reported that supermarkets such as TESCO and ASDA among others are limiting the sale of some fruits and vegetables.

 

'It is definitely an opportunity for Indian exporters,' said Sunil Awari, Senior Vice-President, International Business at Namdhari Seeds Pvt Ltd, a large exporter of babycorn and chilli peppers to Europe.

 

Shipping unviable

While demand for the vegetables have picked up in UK, the vegetables such as tomatoes and capsicum, lettuce are not exported from India. These products are locally grown or sourced from neighbouring countries and that’s why India does not compete with them commercially as it is not viable to ship the low value produce. However, India can avail the opportunity for increasing the exports to UK, experts said.

 

'Definitely this is a window of opportunity and we will explore it to strengthen it. UK and Europe is important export destination for Indian Agricultural and Food Products.' said M Angamuthu, Chairman, Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA).

 

Angamuthu said APEDA will facilitate and promote Indian horticultural and processed food products in a big way. 'We will also promote Indian GI and millets products,' he said.

 

India’s exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to the European Union in quantitative terms were up by 15.46 per cent at 23,671 tonnes during April-December 2022-23 compared with 20,501 tonnes in the same period a year ago. In value terms, the exports of fresh fruits and vegetables to EU were higher by 11 per cent at $35.15 million over $31.5 million a year ago.

 

The growth in shipments was largely on account of higher exports of fresh grapes. Shipments of fresh vegetables during the period were marginally down at 2,388 tonnes over 2,434 tonnes a year ago.

 

Namdhari’s Awari said due to high inflation, people in Europe are trying to cut down on exotic foodstuff. Due to the proximity to Europe, the African suppliers from countries such as Kenya, Ghana and Gambia are better placed than the Indian counterparts to take advantage of the current situation.

 

The FSSAI has issued a direction for keeping in abeyance the compliance of quality parameters related to ‘Alcoholic Acidity’ and ‘Total Dietary Fiber’ in bajra flour (pearl millet flour), jowar flour (sorghum flour), multigrain flour (atta) and mixed millet flour.

 

'As data submitted by stakeholders is under examination, the date of enforcement of provision (alcoholic acidity and total dietary fibre) in the direction dated 27.07.2022 is further extended for a period of 6 months till 30.06.2023,' reads the direction issued by FSSAI.

 

The FSSAI has notified regulations prescribing standards for bajra flour (pearl millet flour), jowar flour (sorghum flour), multigrain flour (atta), mixed millet flour in 2021 and food businesses were required to comply with the amendment regulations.

 

However, the compliance with the standard related to ‘alcoholic acidity; for bajra flour (pearl millet flour), jowar flour (sorghum flour), multigrain flour (atta), mixed millet flour and ‘total dietary fibre’ for mixed millet flour were kept in abeyance till December 2022 after the request made by the stakeholders.

 

Also, the FSSAI had later revised the max limit of moisture content in mixed millet flour to 13% in July 2022 and was  operationalised with immediate effect. The same has been re-operationalised from January 27, 2023.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Saturday that he and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi were committed to sealing a free trade deal between India and the European Union (EU).

 

'It's an important topic and I'll get personally involved,' Scholz said after his meeting with Modi in New Delhi.

 

The EU and India revived negotiations to forge a free trade agreement last year with the aim of completing talks by the end of 2023.

 

For the EU, a free trade agreement with India would fit its strategy of increasing engagement with the Indo-Pacific region, where the bloc is targeting bilateral deals to take advantage of expected higher economic growth. The deal could also act as a counterbalance to China's growing influence in the region.

 

Scholz met Modi a day after the first anniversary of Russia's invasion of Ukraine. His visit along with a large business delegation highlighted Delhi's growing importance to Western powers seeking backing for their opposition to Moscow's war.

 

'The war has been going on a full year now. It's a horrible war with much destruction... It is a big catastrophe,' he said.

 

'The world is suffering from this aggression... but we will do everything we can so that the world remains a good place,' he said adding that cooperation between India and Germany was 'very, very important'.

 

Modi has been seeking to steer an ongoing Group of 20 meeting away from discussion of the war in Ukraine. His government has not openly criticised Moscow for the invasion and instead called for dialogue and diplomacy to end the war.

 

India has also sharply raised its purchases of oil from Russia, its biggest supplier of defence hardware, although prices have fallen.

 

Modi said India and Germany were committed to realising their untapped potential in sectors such as security and defence cooperation.

 

Scholz is also set to push hard for a $5.2 billion deal to sell India six conventional submarines, though this latest attempt by a Western military manufacturing power to wean New Delhi away from its dependence on Russia for military hardware is not expected to yield an immediate result.

 

Germany's pivot to India is particularly stark, given that close economic ties to China, the main buyer of German machine tools, and Russia, its key energy supplier, have played in German prosperity over the past 15 years.

 

While one of the stated goals of the lightning trip is to improve economic ties, officials are mindful of the need to press what will soon be the world's most populous country into opposing Russia's invasion, even if a severing of India's economic ties with Moscow is not on the table.

 

'I’m convinced that our countries are closely linked, that we have common views, especially when it has to do with democracy,' said Scholz.

 

Many in the Global South see Western complaints about the invasion as hypocrisy, given their long history of military interventions around the world, and fear disrupted supply chains and inflation will cause hunger and famine.

 

Scholz last met Modi at a June summit of the Group of Seven industrial powers, to which he invited the Indian leader as part of outreach efforts that have become more urgent as concerns grow that China may step up its political support for Russia.

 

While China is one of Germany's most important trading partners, the invasion brought home to many in Germany's business community the lack of diversification in the supply chains on which they rely, lending new urgency to efforts to boost exposure to a huge potential market.

 

Scholz said the investments of the 1,800 German companies already in India should be increased.

 

Despite the interest, regulation and trade barriers make India a tough market for German companies to crack.

 

The two leaders also discussed climate change and members of the business delegation signed agreements in wind, solar energy and green hydrogen sector.

Union commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said a free trade agreement with the European Union (EU) will take longer as negotiations with the 27-country bloc will be prolonged. Active negotiations for the FTAs (free trade agreements) are ongoing with two-three countries and the EU, Goyal said speaking at the Technotex event organised by Ficci.

 

He said there will soon be some 'good news', the pact with the EU may take longer.

 

'EU will take a longer time, because there are 27 countries which have to come on the same page,' the minister said.

 

Last year, India signed FTAs with Australia and UAE. Reports had suggested that the country is in talks with other countries including the UK, Israel and Canada. Goyal said the government is mulling to come out with a production linked incentive scheme for the finished goods sector.

 

He said the government has received applications for only Rs.250 crore for research and development purposes in textiles, despite allocating Rs.1,400 crore fund for the same under the technical textiles research mission, and urged the industry to up its efforts.

In a move to harness export potential of millets to the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCCs), the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) that works under the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lulu Hypermarket LLC on February 21, 2023.

 

APEDA aims to promote millet products and value-added products around the world in association with Lulu Group, which is an international retail hypermarket chain that operates stores and shopping malls across Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, India and Far East.

 

As per the agreement, the Lulu Group will facilitate promotional activities for millet products and enable the country to display millets and its value added products, ready to eat products in international retail chains by sourcing it from Farmer Producer Organizations, Farmer Producer Companies, women entrepreneurs and startups.

 

APEDA will facilitate manufactures to send various samples of millet products to Lulu Hypermarkets, which will be showcased at its various stores. APEDA, in association with Lulu Group, will also provide assistance in labeling of the products in accordance with the requirement of different importing countries.

 

As a part of its series of events for the promotion of International Year of Millets (IYoM) 2023, APEDA is organizing export promotion activities for millets in 16 International Trade Fairs, including Gulfood 2023.

 

India has exported millets worth USD 46.05 million during April-November 2022-23 and the UAE being the major importing country of Indian millets. Signing of MoU will facilitate APEDA’s strategy to promote the export of millets and its value-added products in West Asian countries to achieve the overall set target of USD 100 million for export of millets and its value-added products by 2025.

 

The MoU was signed between Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director APEDA and Mr. Salim VI, the Chief Operating Officer of LuLu Group in presence of APEDA Chairman Dr M Angamuthu, Consul General of India Dr Aman Puri and Mr. M.A. Yusuff Ali, the Chairman & Managing Director of Luu Group.

 

Speaking on the occasion, APEDA Chairman M Angamuthu said, 'It’s a Mission and Vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi to promote Millets in the international market. The APEDA team is ready to provide all required help to exporters, millet producers, women FPOs, etc to promote Indian millets across the globe.'

 

Stressing on coordinating with buyers, sellers, producers, to take forward the export of millets and value added products of millets, Angamuthu said, 'It’s a good opportunity to boost our exports as India has very distinctive traditional varieties of millets which are loved by health-conscious people. The export of millets will help in increasing the income of farmers.'

 

APEDA has also planned to organize millet promotional activities in South Africa, Japan, South Korea, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, Sydney, Germany, United Kingdom and United States of America by facilitating participation of different stakeholders from India in some of the significant food shows, Buyer Seller Meets and Road Shows.

 

As part of the promotion of Indian millets, APEDA has planned to showcase millets and its value added product at various global platforms such as Foodex, Seoul Food & Hotel Show, Saudi Agro Food, Fine Food Show in Sydney (Australia), Belgium’s Food & Beverages Show, Germany’s BioFach and Anuga Food Fair, San Francisco’s Winter Fancy Food Show, etc.

 

It is estimated that the millets market is set to grow from its current market value of more than USD 9 billion to over USD 12 billion by 2025.

 

The government is also mobilizing start-ups for export promotion of value-added products in the Ready to Eat (RTE) and Ready to Serve (RTS) category such as noodles, pasta, breakfast cereals mix, biscuits, cookies, snacks, sweets, etc.

 

As per the DGCIS data, India registered a growth of 8.02% in the export of millets in the financial year 2021-22 as the export of millets was 159,332.16 metric tonne against 147,501.08 metric tonne during the same period last year.