Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, interacted with Silicon Valley entrepreneurs and venture capitalists (VCs) of Indian origin on the third day of his US visit. During the interaction, the Union Minister encouraged the participants to share their ideas to make India a better investment avenue for investors from around the world. The Minister also shared his vision for Indian startup ecosystem and urged the entrepreneurs and VCs present to contribute and help India’s young talent working in critical and emerging technological areas such as Artificial Intelligence.

 

Thereafter, Shri Goyal participated in a roundtable discussion with prominent academicians at Stanford University, where members of various universities, including Stanford, UC Berkeley, Fresno State, UC Santa Cruz, UC Davis, and University of Silicon Andhra, deliberated on various relevant global issues. The roundtable saw an active exchange of ideas on how India can collaborate and set up joint-campuses with foreign universities, institutions like Stanford.

 

He also participated in the event “Charting New Horizons: CAs as Catalysts in the US-India Partnership” which was hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accounts of India (ICAI) San Francisco Chapter. The event consisted of an interactive session with members of ICAI where the Minister emphasised on the role that CAs can play in enhancing the collaboration between India and US.

 

In the later part of the day, Shri Goyal held one-to-one meetings with Mr. Sanjay Mehrotra, CEO Micron Technology and Mr. Neil Mohan, CEO YouTube Inc. As part of these bilateral meetings, the Minister discussed prospects of these companies with respect to their India presence and offered his support in their expansion to Indian markets. In his discussion with Micron, the Minister highlighted how India’s growing semiconductor ecosystem presents vast opportunities for companies to collaborate & expand their businesses. While discussing with Mr. Neil Mohan, the Minister emphasised on how India’s potential lies in its thriving digital ecosystem, growing content space, and young & diverse demography.

 

To conclude the day’s engagements, the Union Minister participated in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) welcome reception for leaders of APEC and guest economies, including India. The reception was hosted by President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden. APEC membership includes Australia; Brunei Darussalam; Canada; Chile; People's Republic of China; Hong Kong, China; Indonesia; Japan; Republic of Korea; Malaysia; Mexico; New Zealand; Papua New Guinea; Peru; the Philippines; the Russian Federation; Singapore; Chinese Taipei; Thailand; the United States of America; and Vietnam.

Consul General of Australia on Wednesday visited Karnataka Higher Education Council in Bengaluru and proposed their interest in establishing Western Sydney University’s (WSU) campus dedicated to agricultural science in the city.

 

A meeting regarding the same was held between Karnataka higher education minister Dr MC Sudhakar, Consul General of Australia Hilary McGeachy and other officials of the council.

 

Earlier, The Indian Express had reported that Western Sydney University, which is ranked 375th globally, is poised to become the third Australian university to set up a campus in India, following the footsteps of Deakin University and the University of Wollongong. In an interview with The Indian Express, Australian Education Minister Jason Clare had said that WSU is keen on establishing its independent campus in Bengaluru by 2025.

 

A statement from the higher education department said WSU is positioned to create strong academic alliances in the field of agricultural science and expand their global presence.

 

McGeachy expressed her interest to foster collaboration between educational institutions in Australia and Karnataka. his collaboration would primarily focus on fostering a fruitful partnership in academic and research activities.

 

She also mentioned that WSU is keen on establishing a campus dedicated to agricultural science in Bengaluru. However, the higher education minister mentioned that in order to establish a campus, universities are to take approvals from apex bodies like UGC and AICTE. The minister also briefed about the twinning programs between Athens University and the Department of Technical Education. He also asked the delegation to consider such twinning and research activities to start with for academic collaborations.

In a significant step towards further enhancing the user experience and accessibility, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has launched the Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS), portal in multiple regional languages. The portal is now available in Gujarati, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi, apart from Hindi and English, with plans to launch the portal in Kannada, Punjabi, Malayalam, Assamese, Bengali and Odia soon.

 

The latest advancement aims to enhance the user experience for local food businesses, allowing them to easily connect with the FSSAI's online compliance portal FoSCoS. This effort is envisioned to empower a wider range of users, fostering increased participation and enhancing overall compliance within the food ecosystem.

 

FoSCoS, launched nationwide in the year 2020, has rapidly evolved into a pivotal platform for food businesses and regulatory authorities, streamlining all compliance-related activities. The system has played a pivotal role in the digital transformation of various food safety processes, simplifying adherence to regulatory norms for food businesses nationwide.

 

On the occasion of Hindi Diwas observed on September 14, 2023, FSSAI marked the occasion with the launch of the FoSCoS portal in Hindi.

 

FSSAI believes that the linguistic diversity of the portal will further establish FoSCoS as an essential tool in the regulatory landscape, promoting a safer and more compliant food ecosystem nationwide.

The Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration has started a comprehensive inspection initiative across the entire state targeting cold storages holding various food items. The inspection was taken up after being instructed by Dharamraobaba Atram, Minister of Food and Drug Administration, Maharashtra, and Abhimanyu Kale, Commissioner of Food and Drug Administration.

 

Recently a raid was conducted in Thane Zone - 4, as Food Safety Officials (FSOs) inspected Amar Universal Pvt. Ltd. The raid was led by FSO B C Vasave along with FSO P S Pawar, S S Khatawkar, and I N Chilwante, the operation resulted in the confiscation of 287,851 kilogram of various food items. The estimated value of the seized goods amounted to Rs 30,674,960.

 

Gaurav Jagatap, assistant commissioner (Food), Food and Drug Administration, Thane, said, 'The action was initiated due to concerns over unlabelled, misbranded, and potentially substandard products. Chavli, Rajama and Almond Kernel are expired and Star Aniseed suspected  to be substandard.'

 

The range of seized food articles comprised of substantial quantity of Chavli, with variations including 3,764 kg (Rs 311,600), 2,452 kg (Rs 6,899,600), 1,805 kg (Rs 5,126,600), 2,232 kg (Rs 11,992,100), and 6,864 kg (Rs 3,367,100). Additionally, Rajama weighing 5,933 kg (Rs 514,760) was among the seized items. Furthermore, Almond Kernel (95,738 kg) valued at Rs 222,200 and Star Aniseed (4,264 kg) worth Rs 2,373,000 were confiscated.

In an ambitious move, the Uttar Pradesh government is set to harness its extensive network of rivers for cost-effective passenger and cargo transportation, eyeing merchandise exports of Rs 3 trillion within the next two-three years.

 

Currently, Uttar Pradesh boasts a dozen waterways in major rivers such as the Ganga, Yamuna, Saryu, Betwa, and Chambal, out of the 111 inland waterways in India.

 

Experts suggest that leveraging inland waterway terminals, directly linked to seaports and dry ports, could significantly reduce transportation costs, playing a pivotal role in boosting exports of both perishable and non-perishable items.

 

The operational Varanasi-Haldia inland waterway, managed by the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), is already in place, with the Yogi Adityanath government aiming to maximise cargo movement through inland waterways.

 

This strategic approach is intended to bolster the export of agricultural and dairy products, along with items from micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

 

As part of this vision, the state is actively exploring the development and redevelopment of additional waterways to facilitate cost-effective intrastate and interstate transportation.

 

The government is also in the process of establishing the UP Inland Waterways Authority, tasked with catalysing cargo and passenger movement, as well as promoting water sports and tourism, reports Business Standard.

 

'The authority will play a pivotal role in promoting water transport and trade, offering a viable medium to export the state’s products to other states and countries,' stated UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

 

The proposed authority, to be headed by the UP transport minister with domain experts as members, is slated to be presented before the state legislature in the upcoming Assembly session starting on 28 November.

 

Inland Waterways Cargo In India

 

In a broader context, inland waterways cargo movement in India has witnessed a substantial increase from 16 million tonnes (MT) in 2016 to 109 MT in 2021-22.

 

Despite the lower operational costs compared to train and road transport, inland waterways are also considered ecologically sustainable.

 

In alignment with these initiatives, Uttar Pradesh has allocated Rs 55,000 crore for investments in transportation infrastructure projects, including roads, expressways, and metro rails for the fiscal year 2023-24.

 

This substantial investment aligns with the state's ambitious goal of becoming a $1 trillion economy by 2027.

Egg stock levels in South Africa are replenishing steadily, and the government is continuing to process import permit applications for products to ensure sufficient supplies ahead of the festive season.

 

This follows the recent outbreak of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) that led to egg shortages in some parts of the country after 7.5 million chickens had to be culled to curb the spread of the disease.

 

The Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development (DALRRD) said in a statement on Thursday that it has a few open import permits for eggs and poultry products from several countries.

 

It added that the importation of table eggs, fertilised eggs, pasteurised eggs, egg powder and liquid eggs has been ongoing for many years.

 

'Countries including Brazil, USA and Argentina have been exporting eggs to South Africa for quite some time, and the department is currently processing import permit applications from a few more countries,' the DALRRD said.

 

'The department does not dictate which countries should make business sense for South African retailers to import eggs from. It only ensures that biosecurity risk assessments are conducted when importers apply for import permits.'

 

Agriculture minister Thoko Didiza said the HPAI outbreak is under control, and 70% of farms that were not infected continue to produce eggs and chickens.

 

'Since the egg production cycle is not too long, we expect the situation to normalise early next year.

 

'We will continue to import more eggs should the situation not improve,' Didiza said.

 

The department said South Africa had imported nine million fertilised eggs, 37 802 tonnes of day-old chicks, 62 tonnes of egg products and 30 986 tonnes of poultry meat ahead of the festive season.

 

'We have increased fertilised eggs from 1.9 million to nine million in less than one month.

 

These eggs will be chickens in less than four months,' Didiza said.

Companies exporting rice, white goods and polymer from India to the Persian Gulf have got a leg up from a proposal to construct a warehouse in the UAE.

 

The Singapore-headquartered transportation solutions enterprise, BoxcoWorld FZE recently inked a memorandum of understanding with Dubai-based global maritime major DP World to invest $28 million to construct a modern warehouse in the Jebel Ali Free Zone, a free trade zone in the UAE. The deal was signed by Abdulla Al Hashmi, COO of Parks & Zones, DP World, UAE Region, and Vir Kotak, Founder of BoxcoWorld.

 

DP World is an multinational logistics company specialising in cargo logistics, port terminal operations, maritime services and free trade zones. BoxcoWorld FZE specialises in comprehensive multimodal logistics solutions. It has presence in Ahmedabad, Amsterdam, Delhi, Dubai, Houston Mumbai and Singapore; and is planning to increase warehousing presence in GCC countries (especially Saudi Arabia and Oman), East Africa and the United States.

 

Explaining how Boxco aims to use Dubai’s logistical advantages to enhance Indian firms’ access to international markets, Kotak says the proposed facility will 'serve as an ideal destination' for Indian firms to efficiently manage their import and export cargo with minimal delays when connecting to and from vessels. He asserts the company’s warehousing investment in the UAE (and other GCC countries) will greatly help rice, white goods and polymer exporters from India. 'These warehouses would act as distribution centres for these exporters to the whole of the GCC region. We will also be able to leverage the recent free trade agreement between India and the UAE, which will help to boost bilateral trade between the countries. One of the G20 summit outcomes was the announcement of the India-Middle East-Europe economic corridor, which will provide a reliable and cost-effective ship-to-rail transit network between India, the Middle East and Europe. As a result, there is a tremendous boost to the potential robustness of trade in the region.'

 

The proposed industrial bloc, which will have a throughput of approximately 15,000 TEUs, will also offer sorting and repackaging services for imported waste paper, primarily from the USA and Europe. The waste paper will be re-exported to markets in the Indian subcontinent and Far East Asian regions after sorting and repackaging. It will also have 40,000 cubic metres of robotic racking system for polymers — the first of its kind in the GCC. Robotic racking enables optimisation of warehousing space.

 

Boxco says the facility will foster closer relationships with clients, enabling the company to gain a deeper understanding of specific customer needs and challenges in the import, export and trading sectors.

 

The UAE is a hub for re-export and transhipment. JAFZA plays a key role in trade in this region as it houses over 9,000 companies from around the world, and serves over 3.5 billion people globally by connecting directly to 150 ports. The zone is well-connected to the Al Maktoum International Airport and Jebel Ali Port, ensuring efficient transportation of goods.

After mango, fresh green vegetables and other agricultural products, now Purvanchal's marigold flower will spread its fragrance in the Gulf market. The first consignment of 400 kg of marigold flowers from east UP left for UAE from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport on Wednesday.

The consignment was flagged off virtually by chairman, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Abhishek Dev.

The APEDA's deputy general manager CB Singh told TOI, that, 'Working in close collaboration with the ministry of commerce & industry, Government of India APEDA's initiatives had resulted in landlocked Purvanchal region as a new destination of agri-export activities. Farm Producer Organisers promoted in the region had started exporting green chilly and other fresh vegetables, Banarasi Langda Mango, banana plant products and others.'

'Now, marigold of Purvanchal was exported on Wednesday to the UAE market', said Singh explaining how APEDA's regional wing in Varanasi coordinated with the FPO and linked them with exporters for grounding the shipment smoothly to UAE. This consignment of marigold was exported by a Varanasi-based FPO.

Packed in 200 boxes, only 400 kg of marigold flower occupied the entire cargo space in which three-four tonnes of green vegetable are exported to Gulf market from Varanasi airport, said Singh adding, the marigold cultivators of region are currently getting Rs 40-Rs 50 per kg of this product in local market while the consignment had been export at the rate of Rs 60 per kg. The Purvanchal region with Varanasi in its centre had negligible agri-exports due to lack of basic infrastructure, recalled Singh adding that after establishing an office in Varanasi in 2020 with support from the UP government APEDA, apart from mobilising farmers and forming FPOs, also made sustained efforts to boost export oriented farm production in east UP region. 'Now, the region is abuzz with activities which have given a boost to exports', he added.

 

India has signed contracts to export about 500,000 metric tons of new season basmati rice to cash in on robust demand from top buyers in Europe and the Middle East, traders said on Wednesday.

 

India annually exports more than 4 million tons of basmati – a premium long-grain variety famed for its aroma – to Iran, Iraq, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States, among others.

 

Europe is another big market for the rice.

 

After imposing a ban on non-basmati white rice exports in June to stabilize domestic prices, India set a floor price, or minimum export price (MEP), of $1,200 a ton for overseas sales of basmati in August.

 

However, as the floor price hampered exports of the premium variety and saddled farmers with large stocks of new-season rice, the government last month cut the floor price for basmati exports to $950 per ton.

 

Trade came to a standstill after the August decision, but the lowering of the floor price has breathed new life into basmati rice trade, the traders said.

 

'There’s been a great deal of interest in India’s new basmati rice crop and so far we have signed export contracts for around 500,000 tonnes,' said Prem Garg, president of the Indian Rice Exporters Federation.

 

'Normally we start getting orders for the new crop in September and October but the MEP of $1,200 a metric ton made it difficult for us to sign any deals,' he said.

 

Indian traders have signed basmati export deals between $1,000 and $1,500 a metric ton, two exporters including Garg said.

 

Turkey, Iraq and Saudi Arabia are top buyers of the rice so far this year, aid Vijay Setia, a leading exporter from Haryana, a top basmati rice producing state in the north.

 

'Despite the MEP of $950 a metric ton, it looks like we’ll be able to export our usual annual volume of around 4 million metric tons,' Garg said.

Among India’s top 10 export destinations, the Netherlands, the UK and Australia drove shipments during the first seven months (April-October) of the financial year 2023-24, while exports to most other countries remained in negative territory, according to preliminary data released by the commerce ministry.

Shipments to China remain muted with 0.8 growth during the same period.

 

India’s overall exports registered positive growth in August (3.8 per cent) and October (6.2 per cent), with the commerce department claiming this to be a sign of a turnaround. However, exports during the April-October period contracted by 7 per cent.  

Experts attributed the growth in exports in October to a favourable base a year ago as shipments fell sequentially from 34.5 billion in September to 33.6 billion in October.

Last month, the World Trade Organization (WTO) more than halved its growth projection for world merchandise trade volume for 2023 to 0.8 per cent compared to the 1.7 per cent forecast in April due to a continued slump in goods trade.

The world trade body, however, marginally increased its forecast for goods trade for 2024 to 3.3 per cent from 3.2 per cent estimated earlier.

While disaggregated figures for October are not available, data for the April-September period shows Indian exports to Australia were driven by petroleum products ($2.8 billion) and medicines for retail sale ($188 mn).

 

Shipments to the UK during the April-September period were propelled by petroleum products ($743 mn), smartphones ($494 mn), medicines for retail sale ($261 mn) and turbo jets ($211 mn).

Since the Netherlands is a key trans-shipment hub for the European Union, the European nation has been a key importer of petroleum products ($5.6 billion) from India since the Russia-Ukraine war. Other key export items to the Netherlands included smartphones ($484 mn), medicines for retail sale ($161.5 mn) and aluminum ($159 mn).

While in April shipments contracted to seven out of top 10 export destinations of India except for the Netherlands, the UK and Saudi Arabia, exports shrank only to Singapore in October, with double-digit export growth to the USA, the UAE, the Netherlands, China, the UK, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh and Australia.

 

India’s imports contracted 8.9 per cent in April-October period though inward shipments shot up 12.3 per cent in October led by a near doubling of gold imports.

During the April-October period, only imports from Russia and the Netherlands saw positive growth due to India’s dependence on crude oil and gold respectively on these two countries.