As part of the series of Budget webinars being conducted by the government, the Prime Minister on Friday talked about the country's agricultural sector, and the Centre's efforts to reduce dependence on imports of oil seeds and pulses.

 

'The government is working on mission mode to increase production of oil seeds and pulses to reduce import dependence,' said Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

Modi also talked of the Union Budget's focus on agri-tech and creating funding avenues for entrepreneurs in the agriculture sector.

 

'The number of agri-startups in India has increased from negligible in 2014 to over 3,000 now,' he added.

 

The Prime Minister also pointed to the co-op movement in the country, calling it a 'new revolution' taking place in the sector.

More Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, are showing interest in using the Rupee as a trading unit, potentially reducing dependence on the world's reserve currency for cross-border exchange of goods and services.

 

'The world can trade two ways - in one currency and the second option is to trade in other currencies. The second one is obviously less risky,'' said a central bank executive on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last July introduced Rupee payments for global trade, especially with Russia that was forced out of the global payments network following its invasion of Ukraine. It permitted the opening of vostro accounts by Indian banks to facilitate settlement of transactions in Rupee.

 

The move has made a circumspect start, but many banks have opened such accounts, prompting enquiries from other countries looking for an alternative to reduce risks. India's regulator backed National Payments Corp., which has evolved a strong payments railroad, is widening its presence and the government plans to exploit the advantage.

 

India and Singapore launched the cross-border linkage that used respective payment systems - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow - for transaction settlement.

 

'The linkage of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow is a new milestone in India-Singapore relations and its launch is a gift to the citizens of the two countries,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the launch earlier this week.

 

India is also pushing a central bank-backed digital currency.

 

'Our focus is to ensure that transactions are flawless,'' said the executive.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has specified a comprehensive group standard for millets. It has notified Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2023. The standards will be enforced on September 1, an official statement added.

 

So far, individual standards for only a few millets like jowar, ragi, bajra and Amaranth are prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.

 

'FSSAI has now framed a comprehensive group standard for 15 types of millets specifying 8 quality parameters i.e., maximum limits for moisture content, uric acid content, extraneous matter, other edible grains, defects, weevilled grains, and immature and shriveled grains, so as to ensure availability of good quality (standardized) millets in domestic and global markets,' the official statement added.

 

The group standard is applicable to barnyard millet, Amaranthus, Buckwheat, Finger Millet, Foxtail Millet, Pearl Millet, Fonio, Little Millet and Sorghum among others.

 

This comes at a time when the International Year of Millets 2023 provided an opportunity to increase global production, efficient processing and better use of crop rotation and promote millets as a major component of the food basket.

 

Millets are a group of small-grained cereal food crops that are highly tolerant to drought and other extreme weather conditions and require low chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. Most millet crops are native to India and provide most of the nutrients required for normal functioning of the human body, the statement added.

The Lulu Group will now be exporting fruits and vegetables from Uttar Pradesh across its hypermarkets. The group signed an MoU worth USD 500 million with the Uttar Pradesh government at the Gulf Food 2023 expo. The MoU was signed in the presence of UP’s Horticulture minister Dinesh Pratap Singh. 

 

According to official information, the MoU was signed by Yogesh Kumar, Special Secretary, Department of Horticulture and Food Processing UP and Director of Lulu Group Salim MA. As per the MoU, Lulu Group will purchase and export vegetables and fruits worth USD 500 million from all over Uttar Pradesh through its hypermarkets. This will directly benefit the farmers cultivating vegetables and fruits. 

 

Talking about the MoU, the state minister Dinesh Pratap Singh said that with this MoU, agricultural and horticultural products of the state will get a boost and it will be easier to export globally in large quantities. Through this MoU, the economic condition of the farmers will improve, especially those involved in horticulture. He said that the state government is also providing various types of financial assistance to the farmers through various schemes. 

 

Singh also informed that the Lulu Group currently has hypermarkets and shopping malls in 10 countries, with a good presence in India too. Apart from retail business, Lulu Group has operations in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Jammu & Kashmir, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala and is one of India's largest food processing and food exporting companies. It exports food and agri-products worth USD 1 billion (Rs 8,000 crore) from India to the Middle East every year.

 

Speaking on the occasion Yusuf Ali, Chairman, Lulu Group said that they are very happy and excited to sign the MoU with the Government of UP and this will further boost the exports from India and also help the agriculture sector and farmers. 

 

'We will set up our own processing and packaging centre in Uttar Pradesh for value addition of vegetables and fruits for international markets. In the main agricultural produce imported from Uttar Pradesh, mangoes, seasonal vegetables and fruits will be bought from farmers at reasonable prices and sold through our hypermarkets,' said Ali. 

 

He informed that Lulu Group will organise a special UP Mango Festival in the month of June and July in the Middle East region to promote the mango products of Uttar Pradesh.

The Centre has amended the import policy for raw cashew nuts exempting export-oriented units and processing units operating from the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) from the minimum import price (MIP) norm. Reacting to this the industry opined that the policy amendment would be detrimental to the domestic players as it would open up imports from cheaper producers.

 

The Director-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), in a notification issued on Tuesday, said the MIP on cashew kernel brokens and whole nuts will not be applicable for imports by 100 per cent export-oriented units and units in the SEZs, subject to the condition that the imported cashew kernels are not sold in the domestic tariff area (DTA).

 

Cashew kernels and brokens imports are in the prohibited category list However, the imports are free if the cost, insurance and freight (CIF) value is above Rs.680 per kg for cashew kernel brokens and above Rs.720 per kg for cashew kernel whole. The MIP conditions, however, shall not be applicable for imports by 100 per cent EoUs and units in the SEZ. The SEZs and EoU units shall not be allowed to sell the imported cashew kernels in the domestic tariff area (DTA), the DGFT notification said.

 

Flooding of produce

P Sundaram, Chairman, Cashew Export Promotion Council of India (CEPCI), said the domestic market will be flooded with produce from competing countries which may finally lead to the closure of cashew processing units in the country. Already, the domestic industry is facing a subdued demand and the MIP notification will further hit the market, Sundaram said.

 

RK Bhoodes, former chairman CEPCI, said the decision would be detrimental to the domestic cashew industry as it paves the way for under-valued imports through SEZs.

 

'With the current notification, the MIP is again made not applicable to SEZ, which in other words makes import of broken kernels through SEZ and its subsequent sales in the Indian market made easy. SEZ units can now import kernels at much lower prices than the Indian prices and export it at relatively lower prices even after value-addition under the Indian label. A genuine exporter from India cannot compete with such SEZ exports,' he said.

 

Threat of ‘job work’

He pointed out that it was with great efforts that the industry could get MIP imposed on imports of cashew kernels, which almost curbed the unethical and under-valued import of kernels. Later, the sector could increase the MIP to Rs.720/680 for wholes/ brokens respectively.

 

There are widespread reports that SEZ units import large volumes of broken kernels a mix of high percentage brokens with less wholes and misdeclares them wholes kernels. The SEZ Act permits movement of such imported goods to domestic tariff area for job work. Under the guise of job work, the imported broken are moved out of SEZ and sold in the domestic market. In lieu of that wholes cashews brought from domestic markets are exported to fulfil export obligation, Bhoodes said.

 

If MIP is made applicable to SEZ units, they have to import at a price above Rs.720 per kg and should export with value addition of 20 per cent which is not practically possible. Now with no MIP, they can import broken at low prices and it enables them to export wholes at market prices. This will, in turn, increase mis-declared imports of broken kernels into the country. Initially when MIP was introduced in cashew kernels, SEZs and EOUs were covered, he said.

 

The export of cashew kernel in the first nine months of the current fiscal was down 37 per cent at 38,305 tonnes compared with 60,843 tonnes in the same period last year.

 

In rupee value terms, exports were down by 22 per cent at Rs.1,987 crore compared with Rs.2,537 crore in the year-ago period. Shipments were valued at $249 million for the April-December 2022-23, down 27 per cent over $341 million in the year-ago period.

The Himachal Pradesh Sub-tropical Horticulture Irrigation and Value Addition (SHIVA) project will improve economy of farmers in the lower regions of the state and educate them on the benefits of crop diversification.

 

Dr Sanjeev Chauhan, Director of Research, Nauni University in Solan, said this while addressing a workshop of stakeholders at the College of Horticulture and Forestry at Neri near here today.

 

He said Asian Development Bank (ADB) had sanctioned a loan of Rs 1,292 crore to the state for the development of horticulture. Dr Som Dev Sharma, Dean, College of Horticulture and Forestry at Neri, emphasised on the need for the adoption of modern and scientific techniques in farming. He said farmers and scientists should come up with ways to improve quality and quantity of crops to improve the production. He added that awareness about government programmes was important to attract more farmers to the project.

 

Besides farmers, Dr RS Parmar, Deputy Director of Horticulture (DDH), Hamirpur; Dr Maya Sharma, DDH, Bilaspur; Dr SK Bakshi DDH Una; Dr VK Rana; Dr Rakesh Sharma; Dr SK Banyal; Dr AK Banyal; Dr Kumud Jarial; Dr Kamal Sharma; and Dr KS Pant attended the event.

More Asian countries, such as Indonesia and the United Arab Emirates, are showing interest in using the Rupee as a trading unit, potentially reducing dependence on the world's reserve currency for cross-border exchange of goods and services.

 

'The world can trade two ways - in one currency and the second option is to trade in other currencies. The second one is obviously less risky,'' said a central bank executive on the sidelines of the G20 meeting of finance ministers and central bankers.

 

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) last July introduced Rupee payments for global trade, especially with Russia that was forced out of the global payments network following its invasion of Ukraine. It permitted the opening of vostro accounts by Indian banks to facilitate settlement of transactions in Rupee.

 

The move has made a circumspect start, but many banks have opened such accounts, prompting enquiries from other countries looking for an alternative to reduce risks. India's regulator backed National Payments Corp., which has evolved a strong payments railroad, is widening its presence and the government plans to exploit the advantage.

 

India and Singapore launched the cross-border linkage that used respective payment systems - Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow - for transaction settlement.

 

'The linkage of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and PayNow is a new milestone in India-Singapore relations and its launch is a gift to the citizens of the two countries,' Prime Minister Narendra Modi said at the launch earlier this week.

 

India is also pushing a central bank-backed digital currency.

 

'Our focus is to ensure that transactions are flawless,'' said the executive.

Productivity of horticultural crops in the country has gone up by 38% in the last 15 years. This was revealed by Narendra Singh Tomar, Union minister for agriculture and farmers' welfare, on Wednesday.

 

Speaking at the virtual inauguration of the National Horticultural Fair-2023 at the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research at Hesaraghatta, on the outskirts of Bengaluru, Tomar said the horticultural sector not only helps double farmers' earnings, but also ensures the nation's nutritional security.

 

NHF-2023 is showcasing a special variety of chilli that is resistant to the leaf curl virus disease, a Carotene-rich marigold variety and new varieties of a rose for import substitution, apart from other horticultural innovations.

 

The four-day fair on the theme 'Innovative horticulture for self-reliance' is expected to be attended by thousands of farmers and horticulture enthusiasts from various parts of India.

 

The Union minister further said the rapid increase in production and availability of horticultural crops will bridge the gap between nutritional security vis-a-vis the global average.

 

'The Union budget has made special allocation for Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Programme aimed at boosting the availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops,' Tomar pointed out.

 

Dr AK Singh, deputy director-general of horticultural sciences, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), explained the recent IIHR initiatives such as the seed portal, centre of excellence for protected cultivation, vertical farming, sophisticated analytical instrument facilities and the Food Safety Referral Laboratory.

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has specified a comprehensive group standard for millets. It has notified Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2023. The standards will be enforced on September 1, an official statement added.

 

So far, individual standards for only a few millets like jowar, ragi, bajra and Amaranth are prescribed in the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) Regulations, 2011.

 

'FSSAI has now framed a comprehensive group standard for 15 types of millets specifying 8 quality parameters i.e., maximum limits for moisture content, uric acid content, extraneous matter, other edible grains, defects, weevilled grains, and immature and shriveled grains, so as to ensure availability of good quality (standardized) millets in domestic and global markets,' the official statement added.

 

The group standard is applicable to barnyard millet, Amaranthus, Buckwheat, Finger Millet, Foxtail Millet, Pearl Millet, Fonio, Little Millet and Sorghum among others.

 

This comes at a time when the International Year of Millets 2023 provided an opportunity to increase global production, efficient processing and better use of crop rotation and promote millets as a major component of the food basket.

 

Millets are a group of small-grained cereal food crops that are highly tolerant to drought and other extreme weather conditions and require low chemical inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. Most millet crops are native to India and provide most of the nutrients required for normal functioning of the human body, the statement added.

Indian rice continues to get good enquiries from the global market with European nations and Egypt joining the list of nations looking for the cereal from the sub-continent, traders say. 

 

Reports from Cairo said Egypt’s General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) floated a global tender to import 25,000 tonnes of white rice and three of the four bidders offered Indian rice.

 

'European nations have emerged as new buyers of Indian parboiled rice. Enquiries are coming in from countries such as France,' said VR Vidya Sagar, Director, Bulk Logix. 

 

Rise despite export tax

The demand for Indian rice is despite its offer prices ruling firm and Thailand cutting its rates by over $40 a tonne in the past month. Exports continue to be good despite the Indian government imposing a 20 per cent duty on shipments of white rice. 

 

'We are seeing demand re-emerging for Indian rice after witnessing a slump in the past three months. Demand is for both white (raw) and parboiled (boiled) rice,' said BV Krishna Rao, President, The Rice Exporters Association of India (TREA). 

 

'The Indian kharif rice crop is good. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) is set to meet its procurement target this year. Our exports of non-basmati rice should be able to top 18 million tonnes (mt) easily this year,' said New Delhi-based exporter Rajesh Paharia Jain.

 

Pak, Thailand gain

Despite the Indian government imposing a duty on exports of white rice and banning shipments of fully broken rice, rice exports, including Basmati, were estimated to have been 21.9 mt in 2022. 

 

Pakistan and Thailand, whose exports jumped 22 per cent in 2022 to 7.69 mt from 6.3 mt in 2021, gained from the Indian curbs on rice shipments imposed from September 8. 

 

Islamabad gained more from shipping rice, including broken rice to China. Earlier this week, the Thai Rice Exporters Association fixed an export target of 7.5 mt for 2023 despite the rise in exports.

 

Last week, the Ministry of Agriculture estimated rice production at a record high of 130.83 mt despite kharif production being projected lower by nearly 3 mt.  On the other hand, the Food Corporation of India has procured 47 mt of wheat against the government’s target of 52.1 mt.

 

'Rice production has been made up by Telangana,' said Bulk Logix’s Sagar. 

 

Still competitive

'Rice prices have stabilised of late, but there could be a further rise in prices as there is a supply shortage. Currently, prices have stabilised as Thailand’s new crop has entered the market and it has cut prices,' said a New Delhi-based trade analyst.

 

Despite Thailand cutting prices by nearly 10 per cent over the past month, Indian rice is still competitive, said Jain.  'We will still be the number 1 exporter despite curbs on shipments. We are seeing demand from African nations, but the movement of white rice is less,' said Sagar.

 

'The Centre is also gaining from exports as it gets the duty on shipments,' said Rao, adding that despite cutting prices, Thailand did not pose any problem to Indian rice.

 

M Madan Prakash, President, Agri Commodities Exporters Association, said supply was slow to ports, especially on the western coast. 'There are issues with Customs in sending feed quality,' he said. 

 

Rao said Thailand was willing to lower its parboiled rice price to $460, while Sagar said Indian parboiled is quoted at $390-410 a tonne.

 

According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority, non-basmati exports in the first nine months of the current fiscal were 13.17 mt valued at $4.66 billion compared with 12.59 mt valued at $4.51 billion a year ago. 

 

Rice prices have increased in the global market on projections of the lower crop in India, Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. On the other hand, Indonesia and the Philippines have begun buying significant volume in the market.