Concerned over recent increase in wheat and atta prices, the Food Ministry on Friday announced an increase in the quantity offered for sales through weekly e-auction by 50 per cent to 3 lakh tonnes. It also allowed traders to buy double the quantity they are currently entitled to. The new changes will come into effect from November 1.

 

'To increase the availability of wheat in the open market and to further stabilise the prices of wheat, with effect from November 1, the maximum quantity a bidder can purchase under Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) has been increased to 200 tonnes from 100 tonnes and the total quantity offered per e-auction across India has been increased to 3 lakh tonnes (lt) from 2 lt,' the ministry said in a statement.

 

Traders have been kept out from the ambit of wheat sale under OMSS in order to avoid hoarding of stocks, the ministry said. Regular checks and inspections are also being made at flour mills of the processors who have been purchasing the wheat under OMSS, it added. So far, Food Corporation of India (FCI) has carried out 1,627 checks across the country.

 

96% wheat sold in latest auction

Meanwhile, in the last e-auction held on October 26, out of 2.01 lt wheat offered for sales from 444 depots, 1.92 lt (close to 96 per cent) was sold. Of the 2,763 empanelled buyers participated in the bid, 2,318 were successful in securing the quantity.

 

The weighted average selling price was Rs.2,251.57/quintal for fair and average quality (FAQ) variety wheat against its reserve price of Rs.2,150, whereas the average selling price of under relaxed specifications (URS) was Rs.2,317.85 against reserve price of Rs.2,125/quintal, the government said.

 

As a part of government initiative for market intervention to control the retail price of rice, wheat and atta, weekly e- auctions of both wheat and rice have been organised since June last week.

With an early harvest of kharif crops, sowing of wheat, the key cereal of winter season, has begun and preliminary data show there has been a significant jump in the acreage. The planting under mustard, masur (lentil), chana (gram) and maize has also been reported higher from year-ago level.

 

The total area under all rabi crops has reached 59.03 lakh hectares (lh) until October 27, up from 50.30 lh year-ago, the agriculture ministry said Friday releasing the weekly sowing update. There was 27.5 lh covered in past one week, and it would further increase as the temperature in the north falls further.

 

Wheat acreage has been reported at 3.86 lh, up by 78 per cent from 2.17 lh a year ago. Madhya Pradesh has reported 3.51 lh under wheat while Uttar Pradesh 0.16 lh, Punjab 0.10 lh and Uttarakhand 0.09 lh. Though sowing has begun in Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh, the government may release the data next week, an official said.

 

Crucial year

After two consecutive years of lower than estimated wheat procurement, 2023-24 season crop production will be very crucial for the government as it has been liberally releasing the stock from the official reserves in the open market to check price rise. The Agriculture Ministry has announced a target of 161.22 million tonnes (mt) of foodgrains output, including 114 mt of wheat and 18.17 mt of pulses in the current Rabi season.

 

In last Rabi season, the country had produced 173.98 mt of foodgrains including 110.55 mt of wheat and 18.44 mt of pulses.

 

Area under pulses up

According to the sowing update, pulses acreage stood at 16.79 lh as of Friday, up by 11.8 per cent from 15.02 lh in the corresponding period last year. The area under chana was up at 12.84 lh from 11.21 lh while that of masur at 2.13 lh against 1.24 lh a year ago.

 

The acreage of all pulses in Madhya Pradesh reached 5.61 lh, Karnataka 5.08 lh, in Rajasthan at 3.50 lh, Uttar Pradesh 0.94 lh, Maharashtra 0.76 lh, Andhra Pradesh 0.33 lh and Tamil Nadu at 0.31 lh.

 

The sowing under oilseeds reached 28.42 lh which includes Rajasthan 14.06 lh, Uttar Pradesh 8.47 lh, Madhya Pradesh 5.23 lh, Karnataka 0.44 lh and Tamil Nadu 0.05 lh. In the corresponding period last year, the oilseeds area was 24.67 lh. Mustard acreage was at 27.58 lh as of October 27, up by 16.5 per cent from year-ago while groundnut has dipped to 0.39 lh from 0.60 lh.

 

Out of 3.50 lh area coverage under winter paddy against 4.05 lh year-ago, Tamil Nadu has reported 3.17 lh and Kerala 0.27 lh.

 

In coarse cereals and Shree Anna, the coverage has reached 6.45 lh, up from 4.39 lh, in which jowar area was 5.44 lh against 3.28 lh and maize at 0.87 lh against 0.82 lh a year ago.

 

The 10 reservoirs in northern region in Himachal Pradesh, Punjab and Rajasthan, the storage level was at 79.96 per cent of their combined storage capacity of 19.663 billion cubic meter (BCM) as on October 26, whereas it was 88 per cent in the year ago period. The average storage of last ten years as on October 26 was 79.94 per cent of the capacity.

 

The water level in the 150 major reservoirs in India dropped further by two percentage points this week as nearly two-thirds of the country received deficient, largely deficient or no rain since October beginning. According to data from the Central Water Commission (CWC), the storage dropped to 71 per cent (127.591 billion cubic metres) of the 178.784 billion cubic metres (BCM) capacity this week from 73 per cent (129.636 BCM) a week ago.

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has been released first Advance Estimates of production of major Kharif crops for 2023-24. The estimation of Crop production relies on data provided by States and is subsequently validated using information from various alternative sources. These sources include reports from the Crop Weather Watch Group (CWWG), Remote Sensing estimates, estimates based on econometric modeling, inputs collected from farmer surveys, and historical trends in crop estimation.

 

As per First Advance Estimates, the estimated production of major Kharif crops for 2023-24 is as under:

 

?Foodgrains  –1485.69 Lakh Metric Tonnes (LMT)

 

Rice  –1063.13 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Maize  –224.82 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Tur  –34.21 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Moong – 14.05 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Urad – 15.05 Lakh Metric Tonnes

?Oilseeds  –215.33 Lakh Metric Tonnes

 

Groundnut  –78.29 Lakh Metric Tonnes

Soybean  –115.28 Lakh Metric Tonnes

?Sugarcane – 4347.93 Lakh Metric Tonnes

 

?Cotton  –316.57 Lakh bales (of 170 kg each)

 

?Jute & Mesta –91.91 Lakh bales (of 180 kg each)     

 

Area under Rice which is the major Kharif crop is estimated to be higher by around 2 Lakh Hectare over previous year final estimate and by around 4.5 Lakh Hectare over average Rice Area. Its production is also estimated to be higher by about 1 lakh tonnes as compared to average Kharif Rice production.

 

Other cereal crops area such as Kharif Maize and Jowar is also estimated to be higher as compared to previous year as well as average area under these crops. Kharif Maize production is estimated at 224.82 Lakh Metric Tonnes as compared to average production of 213.51 Lakh Metric Tonnes registering an increase of about 11 Lakh Metric Tonnes.

 

For 2023-24, production of Kharif Nutri/coarse cereals is estimated at 351.37 LMT which is slightly higher than the average coarse cereals production of 350.91 LMT. The production of Shree Anna is estimated at 126.55 LMT during 2023-24.

 

The production of Tur is estimated at 34.21 LMT, which is approximately similar to the last year’s production. Further, the area under Urad is estimated at 30.73 lakh hectares which is approximately similar to the last year’s area of 30.98 lakh hectares. However, total Kharif pulses production for 2023-24 is estimated to be lower than previous year due to climatic conditions. Total Kharif pulses production during 2023-24 is estimated at 71.18 LMT.

 

Total production of sugarcane is estimated at 4347.93 LMT which is higher than average sugarcane production of 4222.55 LMT.

 

It's important to note that this first Production assessment for 2023-24 (Kharif) is largely based on the average yield of last 3 years and may undergo change after receiving the yield estimates based on actual crop cutting experiments.

India's rising preference for healthy foods is showing up in its imports, with a surge in inbound shipments of avocado, dry fruits, buckwheat and olives, even as those of ice-creams, cakes and confectionery, and salad dressings decline.

 

There is also more demand for and higher imports of fruits and vegetables, amid a general sway towards natural immunity boosters since the pandemic.

 

In the first five months of FY24, imports in value terms were up 70% for avocado from a year earlier, while more than doubling in case of shelled almonds, and growing 80% and 62% for pistachio and olives, respectively. Imports of cereals such as buckwheat and millets have also grown sharply, albeit on a smaller base.

 

Climbing imports for these products suggest an increasing demand for high-end eatables perceived as healthy alternatives to those available domestically.

 

'People have continued with healthy and immunity-boosting food products after the Covid-19 pandemic and we expect almond imports to be around 20% higher this year, from the previous year,' said Vijay Kumar Bhuta, president, Dry Fruit Traders Association.

 

Olive oil imports grew 24% in the same five months this year, despite a 60% rise in prices due to two consecutive years of drought in Europe, while imports of palm oil - considered less healthy -declined 26%.

 

Besides, India's free trade agreement with Australia has given a boost to imports of nuts and citrus fruit such as oranges and avocados. Avocados and olives are high-end premium products in India and the high growth is on a low base.

 

'The quality of the Indian avocado - with almost 12% oil content - is different from the South American ones, which are softer, take less time to ripen and have a buttery texture owing to larger oil content of about 18%,' said Mohit Singla, chairman, Trade Promotion Council of India. 'While India is growing large quantities of avocado, the predictability of the Indian variant is often low,' he said, explaining the rise in inbound shipments.

 

Indians also upped their consumption of imported fruit and vegetable juices by 5% during April-August 2024.

 

Mixed condiments and seasonings imports, meanwhile, saw a 4.6% rise to $12.46 million in the five months ended August 31, 2023.

 

In contrast, the imports of several consumption items have declined following a change in consumer preferences post-pandemic.

 

This year, imports of pasta fell 16.25% on-year to $12.91 million during April-August and those of bread, pastry, cakes, and biscuits were down 9.5% to $32.24 million. 'A lot of these confectionery products are now available in India and made with ingredients specific to our taste and requirements. In a way, import substitution has happened,' said an official.

 

India's goods imports in April-September this financial year were $326.98 billion, lower than $372.56 billion a year ago.

Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Saturday urged the countries participating in the G7 trade ministers meeting to enhance collaboration on a regulatory framework to facilitate cross border trade. The Group of Seven (G7) trade ministers meeting was held in Osaka, Japan.

 

Under its G7 presidency this year, Japan has invited India, along with a few other invitee countries (Australia, Chile, Indonesia, and Kenya) to participate in the outreach programme held on October 28.

 

In the meeting, Goyal 'urged the governments to collaborate on a regulatory framework to ease the movement of supply chains and facilitate cross border trade,' an official statement said.

 

He said the Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical events have highlighted the vulnerabilities of the existing supply chains leading to increase in commodity prices and global inflation.

 

The Russia-Ukraine war, conflict between Israel and Hamas and global economic uncertainties are impacting flow of goods across the world. India's exports have also been impacted due to these reasons.

 

The minister encouraged public-private partnership, investment in critical infrastructure and the need for innovation and digitalisation of supply chains.

 

Goyal highlighted the need for supply chain diversification and skilling and re-skilling of the personnel.

 

During the session, representatives from the governments, private sector and international organisations like OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and WTO (World Trade Organization) also participated.

 

'Suzuki made a presentation on their experience in India. Suzuki mentioned how they developed a reliable and trusted vendor base in India and achieved over 95 per cent indigenisation in their supply chains in India,' the commerce ministry said.

 

G7 is an intergovernmental forum comprising seven important countries of the world. It accounts for over half of the global network wealth, 30-43 per cent of global GDP and 10 per cent of the world's population.

India and the UK on Saturday reviewed the progress of negotiations of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), talks for which have reached the final stage. The progress was reviewed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch in Osaka, Japan.

 

Both ministers are in Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) trade ministers meeting in Osaka.

 

'Discussed the progress of India-UK free trade agreement negotiations with UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Kemi Badenoch,' Goyal said on social media platform X.

 

Negotiations between senior officials of India and the UK are on to bridge differences on issues such as rules of origin and services sector, with an aim to conclude the talks for the proposed FTA at the earliest.

 

India and Britain launched the talks for a trade agreement in January 2022, with an aim to conclude them by Diwali last year (October 24, 2022), but the deadline was missed due to political developments in the UK.

 

There are 26 chapters in the agreement, which include goods, services, investments and intellectual property rights. An investment treaty is also being negotiated as a separate agreement between India and the UK.

 

These investment treaties help in promoting and protecting investments in each other's country. The main point of contention in this pact is the mechanism for settlement of disputes.

 

The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT, and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty.

 

On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, automobiles, lamb meat, chocolates and certain confectionary items. Britain is also looking for more opportunities for UK services in Indian markets in segments like telecommunications, legal and financial services (banking and insurance).

 

The bilateral trade between India and the UK increased to USD 20.36 billion in 2022-23, from USD 17.5 billion in 2021-22.

 

Further, Goyal also held bilateral meetings in Osaka with US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai; World Trade Organization (WTO) Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Japanese Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Nishimura Yasutoshi; Japanese trading and investment major Matsui and Co; Director and Chair of Board of Directors Tatsuo Yasunga, and Australian Trade and Tourism Minister Don Farrell.

 

'Held a productive discussion on scaling up the India-US trade and investment ties with USTR Katherine Tai,' he said.

 

With the WTO chief, the Indian minister deliberated upon greater cooperation to ensure free and fair trade among member countries.

India's mango exports rose 19 per cent to USD 47.98 million during the April-August period this fiscal, the commerce ministry said on Friday. In volume terms, the shipments increased to 27,330.02 tonnes during the first five months of this fiscal from 22,963.78 tonnes in the year-ago period, it said.

 

Of this, the maximum were exported to the US, it said.

 

India has exported 2043.60 tonnes of mangoes to the US in the first five months of the current fiscal, an increase of 19 per cent over the same period last year, the ministry said.

 

The other major destinations include Japan (43 tonnes), New Zealand (111 tonnes), Australia (58.42 tonnes), South Africa (4.44 tonnes), and Iran, Mauritius, Czech Republic, and Nigeria.

 

As part of its initiative to promote export of mangoes, the Centre invited the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) inspector for pre-clearance of mangoes at irradiation facilities at Vashi, Nashik, Bengaluru, and Ahmedabad.

 

'The export of mangoes in the first five months of the current fiscal (stood at) USD 47.98 million, which is 19 per cent higher than the previous years' value of USD 40.33 million in the same period,' it said.

 

It added that inspectors from South Korea have also been invited for pre-clearance of mangoes for exports to that country.

 

This has allowed India to export 18.43 tonnes of the fruit after being treated at the authorised Vapour Heat Treatment facility under the joint supervision of the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine, and Storage (DPPQS), India and Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA), South Korea.

 

The Indian government on Saturday imposed a $800 per tonner minimum export price on onions being shipped from the subcontinent amid an increase in the cost of the root vegetable across the country.

 

'Export of onions is ‘free’. Minimum Export Price (MEP) of US $800 F.O.B per Metric Ton (MT) is imposed till 31st December, 2023,' a notification from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) read.

 

The DGFT notification indicates that the export poicy change will go into effect starting Sunday, October 29. The notification also laid out exceptions to the new regulation, stating that onions designated for export and already handed over to Customs are exempt as well shipments for which export duty has been paid before the notification was sent out.

 

'Where onions consignment has been handed over to the Customs before this Notification and is registered in their system / where onions consignment has entered the Customs station for exportation before this Notification,' the notification said.

 

The average wholesale price of onions at the benchmark Lasalgaon APMC in Maharashtra have jumped close to 60% in the last fortnight, rising 18% in the last one week. The maximum price for the best quality onion touched Rs 50/kg in Delhi on Wednesday as well as in some markets of Maharashtra. Onion prices are expected to continue to rise till December, when the new kharif crop is expected to hit the markets after a delay of nearly two months.

 

In the national capital, onion prices have further risen to Rs 65-80 per kg in the retail market. Mother Dairy, which has around 400 Safal retail stores in the Delhi-NCR, is selling loose onions at Rs 67 per kg. E-commerce portal Bigbasket is selling at Rs 67 per kg, while Otipy at Rs 70 per kg.

The Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Shri Rohit Kumar Singh today held a meeting with Mozambique High Commissioner, H.E. Ermindo A. Pereira to discuss trade and related issues pertaining to tur (Pigeon pea).

 

Shri Singh conveyed concerns over procedural hurdles that cropped up since July, 2023 in Mozambique causing delays in shipment of tur exports consignments from the country. He requested the High Commissioner to intervene for ensuring seamless export of tur from Mozambique, just as the Government of India had put in place necessary policy measures to make the imports smooth and seamless. In this regard, Secretary Consumer Affairs appraised H.E. Ermindo A Pereria about the tur export consignments awaiting clearance at Mozambican ports and stressed the need for expeditious clearance. It was also emphasized that the bilateral MoU for trade in tur needs to be upheld as it embodies the commitment of India and Mozambique toward producers and consumers of the two countries.

 

High Commissioner, H.E. Ermindo A Pereria stressed the importance of trade relation between India and Mozambique for overall agriculture agricultural eco system in Mozambique. He assured that necessary steps will be initiated to resolve the current issues concerning tur trade and to ensure smooth flow of tur exports from Mozambique to India.

 

The meeting between Secretary Consumer Affairs and High Commissioner of Mozambique at this juncture is significance as smooth flow of imports from Mozambique will augment availability of tur during the coming months and ensure availability and affordability to Indian consumers.

With the demand for basmatirice shooting up in the country, the premium fragrant variety is becoming a target of unscrupulous players, who are flooding the market with adulterated rice. This is not only casting a shadow on exports sometimes; it is misleading unsuspecting consumers who end up buying substandard basmati rice.  

 

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), which has recently come out with a set of standards for this premium rice variety, has launched a nationwide awareness campaign in association with the industry to promote the quality standards.

 

'We have been receiving complaints, particularly from rural areas, against adulterated basmati rice and duplicate brands. We have alerted all our field officers to collect samples from supermarkets and retail outlets frequently and send them for testing,' G Kamala Vardhana Rao, Chief Executive Officer of FSSAI, said.

 

Addressing the 10-city national roadshow - Basmati Rice - No Compromise - virtually on Thursday, he said the authority had set the standards for basmati rice for the first time in August 2023. 'The consumption of basmati rice is increasing. So there is a need to ensure quality standards are conformed to. The standards cover quality, flavour, aroma, texture, and moisture,' he said.

 

Domestic offtake

Ayush Gupta, Business Head of KRBL Ltd (a leading exporter of basmati rice), said the country produced about 7.5 million tonnes of basmati rice. 'Of this, about 4.5 mt are exported and the remaining 3 mt are consumed domestically. While the hospitality sector consumes 60 per cent of the 3 mt, the remaining quantity (about 1.8 mt) is consumed by individual consumers,' he said.

 

He said a large chunk (1.2 mt) of the basmati rice consumed by individuals was unbranded, leaving a huge scope for adulteration. 'This is impacting the image of basmati rice. Since they are mixing it with ordinary rice varieties, they are able to sell it cheap,' he said.

 

Educating ecosystem

The countrywide roadshow is aimed at educating the ecosystem about the new standards and creating awareness on adulteration.

 

Harinder Singh Oberoi, Director of National Institute of Food Technology Entrepreneurship and Management, felt that there was a need to develop a tool kit to easily test the samples.

 

'We have mooted the idea with the industry. If we get funding, we can develop a simple testing equipment, which can assess the quality in a few minutes,' he said.

 

'Adulteration in basmati rice doesn’t mean that it will spoil the health of people. Since they mix it with other rice varieties, there are no health risks. But it is the question of deceiving the consumers,' he pointed out.