The government plans to sharply increase its procurement of tur dal from a few metric tonnes to around 8-10 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) to keep prices of the commodity under control in a year when the acreage under the pulse has shrunk and production is expected to be low, said a senior official.

 

The all India retail price of tur dal jumped over 40% from Rs 112 per kg last year to Rs 158 per kg this year, according to government data.

 

Retail inflation in pulses as a category rose to 18.79% year-on-year in October mainly due to a sharp spike in prices of tur, chana and moong, against 6.61% food inflation in the same month. This is despite the government’s effort to increase the imports from African nations and Burma by scrapping the import duty on tur in March.

 

The procurement will happen through the Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) at market rates, which is much higher than the minimum support price (MSP), the official said, asking not to be identified.

 

The purchase will be done through the procuring agencies – National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) and National Cooperative Consumers’ Federation of India Limited (NCCF) – directly from the farmers and will begin right at the start of the season when the kharif crop starts coming to the market, the official said.

 

The production of tur is estimated at 34.21 LMT, which is slightly less than last year’s output, according to the first advance estimate released by the ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare in October.

 

'This will send a message to the farmers that there is a definite buyer in the market, encouraging them to plant more tur in the years to come,' the official said, adding that an increase in area will eventually help in reducing import dependence.

Due to heavy reliance on imports, countries like Mozambique and Burma are dictating terms, causing disruption in the supply of the dal, which is amongst the most consumed pulse in the country.

 

The acreage under tur shrunk during the kharif season, leading to production shortage which in turn pushed food inflation in the last few months. The area under tur dropped from 46.13 lakh hectares on September 29, 2022 to 43.87 lakh hectares on September 29, 2023, according to government’s data.

Exports of soyabean meal from India in the oil year 2022-23 that ended in September jumped more than double to 18.4 lakh tonne amid a pick up in demand from South East Asian countries, a trade body said in a release issued on Monday.

Bangladesh, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Kuwait, Iran and the United States of America were the major buyers of Indian origin soyabean meal in the 2022-23oil year.

 

The oil year runs from October to September.

The country had exported 6.44 lakh tonne soyabean meal in the 2021-22 season.

'Export of soyabean meal from India in the oil year 2022-23 stood at 18.4 lakh tonne, more than double from the last season’s export,' said DN Pathak, executive director, Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA).

 

Madhya Pradesh is a leading soyabean producing state contributing over 60 per cent to the national output.

Exports in the new oil year started on a higher note with 1 lakh tonne recorded in October, 2023, the note from the trade body showed. The country had exported 49,000 tonne soyabean meal in October last year.

An exporter from Indore, wishing not to be named said, 'We eye to lock good deals this season because the crop was good barring some quality issues reported in some pockets of the state due to untimely rainfall. Local exporters are trying to lock deals with Iran and other South East Asian countries'.

 

Myanmar exports to China increasingly difficult due to conflict

Myanmar traders are concerned about the conflict in northern Shan State, forcing them to rely on the Mongla gateway into China. The town is controlled by the NDAA, an ethnic armed group. Border crossings to China have been closed since the anti-junta offensive began. Traders now face a dangerous and lengthy journey to the border, in addition to higher taxes on goods. Border trade has almost entirely halted due to the military coup, with Thailand being the only significant trading partner.

Ukraine needs more air defences to protect grain exports

Ukraine's President Zelenskyy addressed the need for more air defences to protect grain export routes and regions bordering Russia at a food security summit in Kyiv. He highlighted the deficit of air defence, especially after Russia's recent drone attack. Zelenskyy mentioned agreements with foreign partners to supply vessels for convoy security. The European Commission pledged 50 million euros for infrastructure repairs in Ukraine's ports. Zelenskyy expressed hope in solving the air defence shortage through new supplies and increased production capacity. He also discussed the challenges caused by trucker protests at Ukraine's borders.

Russia lifts temporary ban on diesel exports

Russia lifts temporary ban on diesel exports, successful in bringing down rising fuel prices. The ban had roiled global markets. Removal of restrictions follows lifting of suspension on gasoline exports. Russian pump prices surge over the summer, contributing to rise in domestic inflation.

It is a good turnaround to witness in the millet ecosystem. The production of millets, which were hardly seen on the menus till two decades ago, has been fast overtaken by the demand for these 'nutri-cereals' or 'Shree Anna' as they are referred to of late. 'As of today, India requires 40 per cent more millets than what it produces now. There is a huge demand for the 'nutri-cereals' thanks to the increased awareness,' B Dayakar Rao, CEO of IIMR-Nutri Hub, said.

 

At a time when the world is looking at India for the export of millets, the country needs to find a way to expand the area to non-traditional areas to increase productionto meet the demand from domestic and international markets. 

 

Output-offtake disconnect

Addressing the fifth edition of the International Nutri Cereal Convention, which began here on Monday, he said the country produced about 20 million tonnes. 'But the demand is so huge that we need to find non-traditional areas to grow millets,' he said.

 

'There had been a disconnect between production and consumption. Now that the country can achieve some connection through sustained efforts, the demand has gone up,' he said.

 

Citing reports of the National Institute of Nutrition (NIN), he said the institute was pitching for the replacement of at least 30 per cent of the cereals with nutri-cereals on the regular menu of the citizens.

 

Focus on high-yielding varieties

The two-day convention, which attracted about 850 delegates from India and abroad, will deliberate on various aspects of the ecosystem and come out with a Hyderabad Declaration to take the millet movement well beyond 2023.

 

Delivering her keynote address, C Tara Satyavathi, Director of IIMR, spoke about the technologies to increase productivity and production of millets. 'There has been a significant improvement in varieties and hybrids. As many as 262 varietal technologies have been released so far. We need to focus on releasing high-yielding varieties,' she said.

 

DJ Yadava, Additional Director General (Seeds) of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, (ICAR), said there had been a tremendous improvement in yield and availability of varieties. 'For the nine varieties of millets, we have over 220 different varieties. The availability of seeds too has gone up significantly over the years. From about 4.5 lakh tonnes(lt) a year till a few years ago, we have reached a capacity of 8 lt now. We can ramp up the production as the demand for millets goes up,' he said.

 

Suresh Kumar Chaudhari, Deputy Director General (ICAR-National Resource Management), however, called for a focussed approach rather than promoting all millets in all areas. 'We need to map the hotspots and promote the relevant millets,' he said.

International Nutri Cereal Conference 5.0 was inaugurated on 27th November 2023 at HICC, Hyderabad and welcomed by Dr.B DayakarRao, CEO, Nutrihub, ICAR- IIMR. Dr. Tara satyavati, Director, ICAR- IIMR have given initial remarks about IYoM 2023 and INCC and highlighted activities was carried out by ICAR-IIMR in production, processing, value addition and marketing of millets and also emphasized on role of Nutrihub in promotion of millets startups throughout India.

 

The inaugural session was attended by distinguished guests from FAO, ICRISAT, ICAR, IIMR and WFP India. Shri. Takayuki Hagiwara, FAO representative in India have attended as a Chief Guest for INCC 5.0.

 

APEDA has built up a stall in the exhibition pavilion and displayed various types of millets and value added products of APEDA registered startups and exporters. Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA inaugurated the APEDA stall.

 

In the event, ICAR-IIMR appreciated APEDA’s initiatives in promotion of global Millets ( Shree Anna) in the International market and awarded APEDA and felicitated Dr Tarun Bajaj, Director with Life Time Achievement award in the 5th INCC, Hyderabad.

 

The two day international conference will have various technical sessions and panel discussions on the global Millets (Shree Anna).

 

In the technical session of APEDA on Mainstreaming Millet Exports, Sri. Man Prakash Vijay, DGM,  Co-chaired the session and deliberated on Promotion of Indian Millets and shared opportunities in export of millets and  answered the queries raised by exporters during the interaction.

The commerce ministry is working to address issues related to non-tariff barriers and market access for domestic products in sub-Saharan African countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana and Gulf nations to boost India's exports, an official said.

The official said meetings have been held with Indian missions of the sub-Saharan African countries with which India has significant bilateral trade.

 

The major trading partners of India in that region in 2022-23 were South Africa (total trade USD 18.9 billion, exports USD 8.5 billion); Nigeria (USD 11.85 billion, exports USD 5.15 billion); Togo (USD 6.6 billion, exports USD 6 billion), and Tanzania (USD 6.5 billion, exports USD 3.93 billion).

 

The other countries were Mozambique (USD 5 billion, exports USD 2.5 billion); Angola (USD 4.22 billion, exports USD 621 million); and Kenya (USD 3.4 billion, exports USD 3.2 billion).

'A virtual meeting with Indian Mission of top 10 countries (bilateral trade-wise) in sub-Saharan African region was held in September to discuss the overall economic and commercial relations with those countries, export performance and non-tariff barriers which are acting as impediments to bilateral trade and enhance exports,' the official said.

A similar meeting was also held with Indian Missions in GCC countries. GCC is a union of six countries in the Gulf region -- Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, and Bahrain. The council is the largest trading bloc of India.

 

The bilateral trade in 2022-23 with these countries stood at USD 52.76 billion with Saudi Arabia; USD 84.8 billion with the UAE; USD 18.77 billion with Qatar; USD 13.8 billion with Kuwait; and USD 12.4 billion with Oman.

The ministry has asked exporters to focus on potential key sectors such as food, electronics and engineering, and major markets to boost exports.

It has suggested focus on organising fairs and exhibitions at global scale.

India's merchandise exports rose 6.21 per cent to USD 33.57 billion in October this year, even as the trade deficit touched a record high of USD 31.46 billion during the month.

 

Imports increased 12.3 per cent to USD 65.03 billion during the month due to a jump in gold imports.

Cumulatively, exports during the April-October period this fiscal contracted 7 per cent to USD 244.89 billion, while imports fell 8.95 per cent to USD 391.96 billion.

The trade deficit during the seven-month period was USD 147.07 billion against USD 167.14 billion in the corresponding period last year.

Think-tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) in its report, released in August, has said India needs to act in a fast-track manner for removal of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) being faced by domestic exporters in different countries to achieve one trillion dollar outbound shipment target for goods by 2030.

 

Key Indian exports that face high barriers include ceramic tiles in Egypt; and microbiological regents in Saudi Arabia, the report added.

Most Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) are domestic rules created by countries with an aim to protect human, animal or plant health and environment.

NTM may be technical measures like regulations, standards, testing, certification, pre-shipment inspection or non-technical measures like quotas, import licensing, subsidies, government procurement restrictions.

When NTMs become arbitrary, beyond scientific justification, they create hurdles for trade and are called NTBs.

Indian High Commissioner to Malaysia, BN Reddy, announced ambitious plans for India-Malaysia bilateral trade, aiming to reach USD 25 billion in the next three years. Currently standing at USD 20 billion, the trade relationship is poised for growth, with a focus on economic sustainability.

In an interaction with ANI, the Indian envoy emphasised the significance of economic ties, saying, 'In any relationship, the real sustenance comes from economic and trade relations.' He highlighted India's import of various commodities from Malaysia, including palm oil, crude oil, and LNG.

 

'The bilateral trade between India and Malaysia, currently at 20 billion dollars, will increase to 25 billion dollars in the next three years,' Reddy said, adding, 'But we do import quite a lot of commodities from Malaysia, including palm oil, crude oil, and LNG.'

 

Reflecting on the 65 years of diplomatic relations, Reddy mentioned the ongoing efforts to realise the enhanced strategic partnership established during Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 2015 visit to Malaysia. He stressed the comprehensive nature of the relationship, covering the entire spectrum.

'We are in the process of now realising the enhanced strategic partnership that was established during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, where it was decided that our engagement with Malaysia would be taken to newer heights, wherein covering the entire spectrum of the relationship,' Reddy added.

With Malaysia hosting the second-largest Indian-origin community, the Indian envoy noted the diverse linguistic and cultural ties that provide a natural bridge for deeper engagement.

 

'Put it in a nutshell, Malaysia has the second largest population of Indian-origin community. I would say there is a mini-India here even though Tamil speakers are the largest, but you also have the Malayalam, Telugu, Punjabi, Gujarati, and Odiya speaking populations, which provides a natural bridge for us to engage with Malaysia more deeply,' he also said.

Recent high-level meetings, including the Joint Commission meeting and Defence Secretary-level talks, have facilitated a comprehensive review of the relationship.

'We had the joint commission meeting held in Delhi earlier this month led by External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar, with the Malaysian Foreign Minister in Delhi. Prior to that, we had the Defence secretary-level talks in Delhi to review the entire defence corporation and we had the visit of Raksha Mantri. Ever since the new Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim took office in November last year we've already had eight ministers and deputy ministers from Malaysia visit India. And we had two of our ministers come here. Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh coming into Malaysia end of this week,' he further said.

 

Reddy highlighted key areas for potential collaboration, such as renewable energy and the semiconductor sector. Malaysian company Petron has already invested billions of dollars in the renewable energy sector in India. Plans for a Malaysia-India Digital Council and an Annual Energy Dialogue further underscore the commitment to expanding collaboration.

'In the last six months, Malaysian company Petron has announced close to four and a half billion US dollars in the renewable energy sector in India,' Reddy said, adding, 'We're going to start another thing called Annual Energy Dialogue. Given the significant emphasis of both countries and having already close to USD 4 billion bilateral trade in fossil fuels, particularly oil and gas, we want to expand it to renewable energy.'

 

The Indian High Commissioner expressed optimism about the growing relationship, emphasising political understanding between the two governments. He concluded, 'Our effort is to truly realise this potential, ensuring a balanced relationship that benefits both countries.

 

The centuries-old India-UAE trade relationship has taken flight and diversified into an unbelievable expanse of opportunities, creating solutions that are inclusive and have the global good in mind, the Indian envoy here has said. The Indian Ambassador to the UAE, Sunjay Sudhir's comments came ahead of India Global Forum's annual event in Dubai on November 27.

 

Finance MinisterNirmala Sitharaman will deliver a keynote speech at the event's inauguration.

Under the theme 'Unleashing Ambitions,' the 3rd edition of the event will have an expanded purview beyond the India-UAE partnership, encompassing a broader geographical perspective with the IGF Middle East and Africa 2023 (IGF ME&A) Programme.

Looking forward to the forum, Sudhir said, 'In today's world, the India-UAE strategic partnership stands tall. The centuries-old trade relationship has taken flight and diversified into an unbelievable expanse of opportunities.'

'It is based on the principle of mutual growth and development, taking pride in each other's successes, and creating solutions that are inclusive and have the global good in mind,' he said.

 

The IGF ME&A convenes business leaders, policymakers, and thought leaders from India, UAE and Africa to discuss opportunities for further collaboration and growth between these regions through a series of exclusive networking opportunities, panel discussions, and keynote speeches.

These cover a range of topics, including trade, investment, innovation, technology, climate change and sustainability.

Sitharaman will deliver her address to the assembly virtually, followed by an interactive question-and-answer session.

 

Manoj Ladwa, Founder and Chairman of the IGF, said, 'This year's theme, 'Unleashing Ambitions,' sets the tone for discussions that transcend geographical boundaries and fosters an environment where India, Middle East and Africa can converge their strengths and leverage each other's expertise and resources to pioneer a new era of collaboration.'

'IGF ME&A will be the catalyst for this collaboration and showcase the limitless opportunities presented by the Global South,' he said.

The event comes against the backdrop of the UAE-India partnership scaling newer heights.

Bilateral trade between India and the UAE has seen significant growth, registering a year-on-year increase of 16 per cent to reach USD 85 billion in the April 2022-March 2023 period and a target of achieving USD 100 billion in non-oil trade by 2030.

The bilateral relationship is acquiring newer dimensions, with the two countries joining hands to support investments and development projects in Africa.

The event will feature over 150 speakers and more than 1,000 participants.

Key speakers include Minister of Environment, Bhupender Yadav, Minister of State Electronics & IT, Dr Rajeev Chandrasekhar, UAE's Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence, Omar bin Sultan Al Olama, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations, Patricia Scotland, Gujarat Minister of State Home, Industries, Harsh Sanghavi, and Nikhil Kamath, Co-Founder of Zerodha.

Other speakers include Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder & CEO of Paytm, and Gaur Gopal Das, an Indian monk and author. The Group CEO of Airtel Money, Ian Ferrao, and the Children's Investment Fund Foundation CEO, Kate Hampton, will also speak at the event.

 

Wedding planner Mukta Kapoor recently had a client request an arrangement of locally grown nargis flowers (daffodils). And she's not the only one. There's a growing trend of Indians opting for domestic produce, as opposed to imported blooms. India's increasing cultivation of exotic flowers such as orchids, carnations and tulips is meeting the rising demand. Regulations are also keeping overseas supplies in check.

 

Among the much-in-demand blossoms, India's production of chrysanthemums rose 136% from FY16 to 470.15 tonnes in FY22, while that of orchids was up 210% over the same period. On the other hand, India's imports of fresh and dried flowers, flower buds, bulbs and tubers almost halved during FY15 to FY23.

 

Meanwhile, the fall in flower shipments from India seems to indicate that production is increasingly going towards meeting local demand, especially at weddings. India's flower exports more than halved to $22.92 million in FY23, from $49.43 million in FY15. 'Till some time ago, people had a fetish for foreign flowers, especially tulips,' said Kapoor, who is director of New Delhi-based Yuna Weddings & Events. 'But now, they prefer fresh flowers grown locally, which are equally pretty.'

 

Shorter shelf life for imported flowers

Imports of cut flowers and flower buds of the kind suitable for bouquets or ornamental purposes attract a 60% duty.

 

Additionally, 'there is an import restriction in force, wherein all cut flower shipments are to be brought in only through Chennai customs port,' said Anil Sharma, chief operating officer, retail and franchising, Ferns N Petals.

 

Explaining how four to five days of shelf life are compromised in the case of imported flowers, he said, 'There is a condition of three days' mandatory quarantine of the shipment.' Inland air freight makes it even more costly, Sharma said.

 

On the other hand, local blossoms are delivered fresh and, in large measure, match the quality of imports. 'Flowers such as orchids and tulips are now grown domestically. Also, the quality and size are similar to the imported ones,' said an official.

 

Yuna's Kapoor said lotuses are also much sought after at Indian weddings.

 

Price points are an added benefit. Among locally grown flowers, nargis costs Rs 250-500 a bunch, depending on the quality. Tulips can cost Rs 1,500 for 10 pieces. A tulip stick at the Ghazipur flower market costs Rs 100. The price also differs from season to season.

 

Compared to this, imported blooms including hydrangeas, daffodils and tulips can cost anywhere between Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 per bouquet.

 

Thailand, the Netherlands, Colombia and Kenya are the top sources of imports for India.

 

The UP food safety department has asked state-based 92 manufacturers to recall their products having halal certification, from the market, citing certification from unrecognised organisations.

 

According to the reports, since the ban on halal food products came into effect on November 18, 92 raids were carried out by the state food safety department in which around 3,000 kg of halal certified products worth approximately Rs 8 lakh have been seized. Further, 81 samples were sent for lab analysis.

 

The halal certified food items seized include sugar, sauces, rice, oil and bakery products and many such products were also manufactured in other states.

 

The Government officials say that there are only three organisations in India, including one based in Lucknow, which are registered with the National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies (NABCB) for giving halal certification to meat and meat products for export. However, there are around 800 organisations that have been issuing halal certificates.

In its 63rd council meeting, International Sugar Organisation (ISO), headquartered in London, has announced India to be the Chair of the organisation for 2024. This is a huge achievement for the country to lead the global sugar sector and reflection of growing stature of the country in this domain. While attending the ISO Council Meeting, Shri Sanjeev Chopra, Secretary (Food), Government of India remarked that during its period of chairmanship of ISO in 2024, India seeks support and cooperation from all member countries and would like to focus on bringing together all member countries to adopt more sustainable practices in sugarcane cultivation, sugar and ethanol production and better utilisation of by-products.

 

India has been the largest consumer and second largest producer of sugar in the world. With about 15% share in global sugar consumption and about 20% production of sugar, Indian sugar trends affects the global markets profusely. This leading position makes India as the most suitable nation to lead International Sugar Organisation (ISO) which is the apex international body on sugar and relating products having about 90 countries as members.

 

With Brazil in the Western Hemisphere, India is the market leader in Eastern Hemisphere for sugar market. Now, being the 3rd largest country in the world in ethanol production after USA and Brazil, India has shown commitment towards green energy and its capability to twist the challenges of surplus sugar in domestic market to solution of fossil fuels imports and a tool to meet COP 26 targets for India. It is remarkable that ethanol blending percentage in India has increased from 5% in 2019-20 to 12% in 2022-23 while the production has increased from 173 crore litres to more than 500 crore litres during the same period.

 

Indian sugar industry has come a long way in modernisation and expansion as well as in diversification to exploitation of potential of its by-products to generate additional revenue streams to make the whole business model both sustainable and profitable. It has proven its robustness during Covid pandemic by operating its mills while the country was facing lockdown and rising to the occasion by producing hand sanitisers sufficient to meet the demand in the country.

 

India has a unique distinction of being the Payer of the Highest Cane Price to its farmers and still efficient enough to make profits and operating in self-sufficient manner without any Government financial assistance. Synergy between Government and sugar industry has made it possible to rejuvenate Indian sugar industry and to transform into a major player in green energy in the country. The era of pending cane dues of farmers has become a thing of past. More than 98% cane dues of last season 2022-23 have already been paid and more than 99.9% cane dues of previous seasons are clear. Thus, cane dues pendency is at all time low in India.

 

India has set the example by not only taking care of farmers and industry but also by putting consumers first. Domestic sugar retail prices are consistent and stable. While the global prices are hiked by about 40% in one year, India has been able to contain sugar prices within 5% increase from last year without putting additional burden on the industry.

 

On technical side also, National Sugar Institute, Kanpur has spread its wings and is collaborating with many countries including Indonesia, Nigeria, Egypt, Fiji etc. for sharing the latest technologies in the sector and best practices.