Even as Maharashtra closed its 2021-22 sugar season on Tuesday producing historically highest sugar, the state is already staring at breaking this record in the next season starting October 1, said state's sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad.

 

'Maharashtra's sugar mills have produced 138 lakh tones of sugar, which is the highest quantity ever produced since the inception of the sugar landindustry in the state. The 2021-22 also proved to be the year of longest crushing season, as the mills operated for 240 days,' said Gaikwad

 

'With this, Maharashtra has surpassed countries like China, Russia, Thailand, Australia become a sugar producing region, which is next only to Brazil,' said Gaikwad.

 

This year, India has become the largest sugar producer in the world, pushing Brazil to the second position.

 

Next year, the state is likely to break its own record of the current season.

 

'The process of taking review of area under cane for the next year is currently underway. So farm, 95% of the sugar mills have informed us that next year, the area planted under cane in their jurisdiction will be higher than the current year,' said Gaikwad.

 

To avoid crushing cane in during the peak summer months, the office of the sugar commissioner of the state is going to propose an early start to the crushing operation in 2022-23, which is about four months away.

 

Maharashtra broke one more record by crushing 1320 lakh tonnes of sugarcane. The sugar mills have paid Rs 37,712 crore of FRP till date to the farmers, which is 95.28% of the total payable FRP of the farmers.

 

The state government had to struggle to crush the excess cane in the current season as the harvesting labour refused to work in the months of April and May. For the next year, the share of mechanised harvesting is set to increase as 200 more harvesters are likely to be added taking the total to 1000 harvesters.

 

BOX: Maha opposes CACP recommendation of increase in base recovery to 10.25%

 

The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), which recommends the fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane, has suggested to increase the basic recovery from 10% to 10.25% from the 2022-23 season.

 

However, Maharashtra government has conveyed to the CACP to keep the base recovery unchanged as frequent changes to it can confuse the farmers.

 

In the ongoing season, the FRP is Rs 290/quintal for a basic recovery of 10%. Sugar recovery is the proportion of sugar extracted from sugar, while the FRP of cane goes up with higher sugar recovery percentage.

New Delhi [India], June 15 (ANI): India and Vietnam signed a 'Joint Vision' document to 'significantly enhance the scope and scale' of bilateral ties by 2030 during the recent Vietnam visit of Indian Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Vietnam.

 

The two countries have many things in common. Both of them are listed among the fastest-growing economies of Asia and both aim at enhancing peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region through multi-faceted cooperation.

 

India and Vietnam have a broad convergence of interest as the emerging economies and important countries with respect to creating alternative supply chains in Asia after global disillusionment with the China-centric supply chain during the Covid pandemic.

 

Besides, the two countries are equally concerned about the aggressive and expansionist policies of China in the Indo-Pacific region. The two countries also share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership since 2016 and defence cooperation is a key pillar of this partnership.

 

Bilateral defence engagements have expanded over a period of time to include wide-ranging contacts between the two countries, including Defense Policy Dialogue, military-to-military exchange, high-level visits, capacity building and training programmes.

 

The two countries have also cooperated in UN peacekeeping, ship visits and bilateral exercises. The Indian Defence Minister, during his visit, had a wide-ranging discussion with his Vietnamese counterpart, General Phan Van Giang, at Hanoi to jointly pursue effective and practical initiatives to further expand bilateral engagements.

 

The two countries signed an MoU on mutual logistics support, the first of its kind that Vietnam has signed with any country. India and Vietnam also agreed to the early finalization of the USD 500 million defence line of credit to Vietnam by India.

 

The Indo-Vietnam Cooperation assumes significance in view of the US and several world powers’ efforts to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific region, especially at a time when China has shown scant respect for international laws to resolve the territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

 

China claims a major chunk of the disputed China Sea despite cross-claims by other countries in the neighbourhood including Taiwan, The Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam. One of the main concerns of India in the region is that it has exploration projects in the Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea. The two countries have boosted their maritime security cooperation in the last few years to protect common interests.

 

The relations between the two countries were elevated to the level of 'Strategic Partnership' in 2007 when Vietnam’s then Prime Minister Nguyan Jan Dung visited India. The relations were further upgraded to 'Comprehensive Strategic Partnership' in 2016, as Vietnam serves as an important partner in India’s 'Act East' Policy and Indo-Pacific vision.

 

The two countries had signed a cultural agreement in 1976 and since then, it has led to the creation of many channels of cultural cooperation. A recent development in this regard is the establishment of the Swami Vivekananda Indian Cultural Centre in Hanoi in 2016.

 

Earlier, the Institute of Indian and South-West Asian Studies under the aegis of the Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences was inaugurated in Hanoi in 2012.

 

Around 1,69,000 Indians visited Vietnam and 31,000 Vietnamese visited India before the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. Vietnam is the 15th largest trade partner of India and India is its 10th largest partner with bilateral trade standing at USD 11.12 billion in 2020-21. There is an upswing in India-Vietnam relations and it is rising up to new heights.

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in May 2022* are estimated to be USD 62.21 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 24.03 per cent over the same period last year. The merchandise exports in May 2022 were USD 38.94 Billion, as compared to USD 32.30 Billion in May 2021, exhibiting a positive growth of 20.55 per cent. The estimated value of services export for May 2022* is USD 23.28 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 30.32 per cent vis-a-vis May 2021 (USD 17.86 Billion).

 

India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-May 2022* are estimated to be USD 124.59 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 25.90 per cent over the same period last. The merchandise exports for the period April-May 2022 were USD 78.72 Billion as against USD 63.05 Billion during the period April-May 2021, registering a positive growth of 24.86 per cent. The estimated value of services export for April-May 2022* is USD 45.87 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 27.71 per cent vis-a-vis April-May 2021 (USD 35.92 Billion).

 

The overall imports (Merchandise and Services combined) in May 2022* are estimated to be USD 77.65 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 59.19 per cent over the same period last year. The overall imports in April-May 2022* are estimated to be USD 151.89 Billion, exhibiting a positive growth of 45.44 per cent over the same period last year.

 

MERCHANDISE TRADE

 

Merchandise imports in May 2022 were USD 63.22 Billion, which is an increase of 62.83 per cent over imports of USD 38.83 Billion in May 2021.

 

The merchandise trade deficit in May 2022 was estimated at USD 24.29 Billion as against USD 6.53 Billion in May 2021, which is an increase of 271.96 per cent.

 

Merchandise imports for the period April-May 2022 were USD 123.41 Billion as against USD 84.87 Billion during the period April-May 2021, registering a positive growth of 45.42 per cent.

 

The merchandise trade deficit for April-May 2022 was estimated at USD 44.69 Billion as against USD 21.82 Billion in April-May 2021, which is an increase of 104.80 per cent.

 

Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports in May 2022 were USD 27.16 Billion, registering a positive growth of 13.10 per cent over non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports of USD 24.02 Billion in May 2021.

 

Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports were USD 34.79 Billion in May 2022 with a positive growth of 31.66 per cent over Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery imports of USD 26.42 Billion in May 2021.

 

Non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports during April-May 2022 was USD 55.60 Billion, an increase of 16.42 per cent over non-petroleum and non-gems & jewellery exports of USD 47.76 Billion in April-May 2021.

 

Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery (gold, silver & precious metals) imports were USD 70.42 Billion in April-May 2022, recording a positive growth of 32.94 per cent, as compared to Non-petroleum, non-gems & jewellery imports of USD 52.97 Billion in April-May 2021.

 

SERVICES TRADE

 

The estimated value of services import for May 2022* is USD 14.43 Billion exhibiting a positive growth of 45.01 per cent vis-à-vis May 2021 (USD 9.95 Billion)

 

The services trade balance in May 2022* is estimated at USD 8.85 Billion, which is an increase of 11.85 per cent over May 2021 (USD 7.91 Billion).

 

The estimated value of services imports for April-May 2022* is USD 28.48 Billion exhibiting a positive growth of 45.52 per cent vis-à-vis April-May 2021 (USD 19.57 Billion).

 

The services trade balance for April-May 2022* is estimated at USD 17.39 Billion as against USD 16.35 Billion in April-May 2021, which is an increase of 6.39 per cent.

The World Trade Organization has extended its ministerial in Geneva by another day to Thursday to try and build consensus on the key issues of fishing subsidies, food security and measures to combat the Covid pandemic.

 

The four-day ministerial was to conclude on Wednesday, but director-general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala late Tuesday night decided to extend the talks by a day to reach some agreement.

 

The WTO takes decisions by consensus among its members. 'Progress is being made but it needs a little more work and more time,' the director-general said. This is the first WTO ministerial in five years.

 

On the fishing subsidies issue, India is staying with its initial demand for a 25-year transition, something many countries are not ready to agree to, and has rejected the draft agreement.

 

'The transition period of 25 years sought by India is not intended as a permanent carve-out. It is a must-have for us and for other similarly placed non-distant water fishing countries,' commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said in a statement.

 

India has argued that its fisheries subsidy at $15 per family per year was not even comparable to what some developed nations dole out, for example, $42,000 by the Netherlands, $65,000 by Sweden and $75,000 by Denmark.

 

Concessions Below Expectations

Also, the proposed pact on fisheries extended concessions only up to 24 nautical miles from the shore, up from 12 miles as incorporated in the original draft text. The concession is far below what India had asked for - unrestricted fishing in the exclusive economic zone, meaning up to 200 nautical miles from the coast.

 

 

India has also locked horns with select developed nations - Switzerland and the UK in particular - on the waiver of Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) and WTO's response to future pandemics.

 

Goyal has on record accused the developed world of nit-picking. 'My own feeling is not a single factory (to manufacture vaccines) will ever come up with the agreement that we are finally trying to negotiate,' he said.

 

In his formal interaction, minister Goyal, however, did not name either Switzerland or the UK - the two countries that were advocating in favour of their private pharmaceutical companies.

 

On public stockholding for food security, India asked the WTO why it was holding back its members from government-to-government purchases for humanitarian purposes. Here too, a group of nations with a strong agriculture base, for instance, Argentina, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, has not yielded ground.

India’s agricultural and processed food product exports will continue to surge in the current fiscal after a record shipment valued at $25.6 billion in 2021-22 because of global demand for the agricultural commodities, said Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA)

 

Demand for agricultural products from India is witnessing a surge in many markets despite logistical challenges such as freight costs and container shortages, he added. 'Demand for Indian products is increasing and optimum efforts are being made to ensure an uninterrupted supply chain,' Angamuthu told FE.

 

Amongst the APEDA basket products, rice exports in 2021-22 were valued at more than $9.65 billion, while the shipment value of other key commodities like sugar was at $4.6 billion followed by buffalo meat at $3.3 billion, wheat at $2.2 billion and fruits and vegetables at $1.4 billion.

 

Angamuthu said that growth in the agricultural products export would be sustained despite the government banning wheat exports in May while allowing only shipments which had a letter of credit and those cleared under bilateral deals.

 

'Our wheat exports rose only in the last two years and we were never a major player in the global market for the cereal while we continue to be the biggest exporter of rice globally in the last decades,' he said. India exported a record 7 million tonne (MT) of wheat worth $2 billion in 2021-22, against just 2.1 MT worth $0.55 billion in 2020-21.

 

On the possibility of imposing restrictions on exports of agricultural products, the APEDA chairman said that macro environment analysis enables each country to identify the requirement of domestic and surplus and accordingly the decision is taken.

 

India’s agricultural products including rice, fruits and vegetables, marine, tea and coffee exports crossed a record $50 billion mark in 2021-22. APEDA’s products share in India’s agricultural exports was 52%.

 

The government is also in the process of creating a matrix for 50 agricultural products with export potential.

 

On the challenges faced by India’s agricultural and processed food products exports, the agri-export promotion body has identified factors such as pesticide residues, traceability requirements, prohibition and restrictions in exports, market access etc. as a few of the major constraints. As far as traceability is concerned, the export promotion body has set up a system as per the requirement of importing countries, it has been implemented for grapes, peanuts, horticulture products etc shipment.

 

APEDA for the first time facilitated exports of unique products such as Mishri variety of cherries and saffron, Mushkbudji fragrance rice from Kashmir valley and Apricot from Kargil to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Similarly, ‘Bao-dhaan’, grown in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam was exported to the United States. Jamun was shipped to the United Kingdom from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh as ‘exotic’ fruit.

 

A range of Geographical Identification (GI) tagged products were exported such as King Chilli from Nagaland to the United Kingdom, Bhalia wheat from Gujarat to Kenya and Sri Lanka, sweet dish Mihidana from Bardhaman, West Bengal to Bahrain, Madurai Malli (Jasmine) from Tamil Nadu to the United States, Marayoor jaggery from Kerala to UAE.

India fully supports a strong, unified and prosperous ASEAN, one whose centrality in Indo-Pacific is fully recognised, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Thursday at a conclave of the Foreign Ministers of the 10-nation influential grouping.

 

In his opening address at the two-day meet, Mr. Jaishankar said a better connected India and ASEAN would be well-positioned to promote decentralised globalisation and resilient and reliable supply chains.

 

The  Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is considered one of the most influential groupings in the region, and India and several other countries including the US, China, Japan and Australia are its dialogue partners.

 

Referring to the COVID-19 pandemic, he said it has not fully abated and there is much ground yet to be covered as 'we walk towards post-pandemic recovery'.

 

'This path has become even more arduous with geopolitical headwinds which we face due to developments in Ukraine and its knock-on effects on food and energy security, as well as fertilizer and commodities prices, and logistics and supply chain disruptions,' he said.

 

Mr. Jaishankar said there is strong convergence between ASEAN Outlook on Indo-Pacific and India's Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and it is the testimony of the shared vision of the two sides for the region.

 

'India-ASEAN ties must respond to the world that we confront,' he said, noting that ASEAN has always stood tall as a beacon of regionalism, multilateralism and globalisation.

 

Mr. Jaishankar said that ASEAN has successfully carved out a niche for itself in the region and provided the foundation for evolving strategic and economic architecture in the Indo-Pacific.

 

The ASEAN's role today is perhaps more important than ever before given the geopolitical challenges and uncertainties that the world faces, he said.

 

The External Affairs Minister said it is important to identify a new set of priorities by India and the ASEAN while ensuring the early realisation of the ongoing initiatives.

'Engaging with the Developed world to try and find solutions, and I must commend him for his wonderful leadership and of H.E. Ms. Xolelwa, Ambassador of South Africa. I have been trying to get a sense of where this is heading, both in the various quadrilateral meetings, in my bilaterals with various ministers and governments and also in the green room. I have a few disturbing things to share with you, which I think is important that we are all on the same page before we take a final decision.

 

First of all, I do not think it matters very much whether the item 1 and 2 get finalized or no, my own sense is whatever language we want gradually we will get in item 1 and 2 here, because they are very keen to show to the world and to civil society, that we have pain in our heart for the developing countries, we care for Africa, we care for the Less developed countries, we care for developing world and they want to clear their chest of this allegation that the developed world is insensitive and inhuman to the concerns of the poor and vulnerable.

 

My own sense is right now and and the number of meeting that are being held and the number of green room engagements, the effort they are putting in, is more to showcase to the world that oh we found a wonderful solution we agreed with 80 countries or whatever to give a TRIPS waiver. Now the common man does not understand that this is nothing near a TRIPS waiver, common man does not understand that this is a little elevation from a compulsory licensing. But, the way the discussion were going on, the nitpicking and my colleague, the Ambassador from Egypt will also share because he was also in the room, also at the receiving end of several attacks on him for having raised his voice, but very clearly the effort there is to somehow take the burden or the obligation off their chest, get anything passed, but the nitpicking they are doing reflects that the insincerity and the fact that my own feeling is not a single factory, not one, will ever come up with the agreement that we are finally trying to negotiate and which may get approved.

 

The kind of fights over small commas, fullstops, one word here or there seem to suggest that this will continue through the 5 years, if anybody was to try and take the benefit of this agreement so that whoever makes such an effort will get frustrated and not a single plant to make manufacturing of vaccines will come with this.

 

Second, with great difficulty we got the period of 5 years but by the way we all know that by the time we get an investor, we get funds raised and draw plans, get equipment and set up a plant, it will probably take 2.5-3 years to do that. After that you will start producing and within two years you will have to bring down your exports to the normal compulsory license level and your capacity will remain idle. Today, in India we have vaccines which are expiring, we have the capacity of vaccines which is idling and therefore, investors will not be easy to come by for this.

 

Our hope and desire was that this will be the beginning and in 6 months they we will decide over therapeutic and diagnostics. I am sorry to share with you that in some bilaterals that I have had with the developed world and some of the countries who are opposing this in a way, they have almost clearly hinted and indicated that IP rights are extremely important, we are flowing with wind only because of the international pressure but on diagnostics and therapeutics there is no way we are going to yield.

 

Their expectation is very similar to what is written here that COVID-19 is increasingly being well managed and the issue will loose relevance, that is their hope. Their hope is unburden your chest of any guilt today, show the world we have been so magnanimous today, push the can down the road for therapeutic and diagnostics which are really now essential, vaccine story is almost over and even there, they have charged an arm and a leg to many of our countries. Where a vaccine in India gets produced for a $1.5, many parts of the world are paying  $38 - $40 plus. Some of you have received donations, valuing the vaccine at $38 or $40 and making it out to be such a big favor to you. So, my own sense is that what we are getting is completely half baked and it will not allow us to make any vaccines, they have no intentions of allowing therapeutic and diagnostics and if at all they try to say that we are the cause for its collapse, I think we should unanimously speak to the world and tell them that no we ideally we want a holistic solution including therapeutic and diagnostics.

 

Vaccines have already lost relevance, 2 years they spent without giving a solutions and it is too late, not even a situation where you can say better late than never, its just too late there is no demand for vaccines anymore. So rather, let us pitch for the final decision, collective and holistic decision and not get conned into accepting a sub-optimal stage 1, knowing full well that the stage 2 will never happen.'

In a major boost to the export of mangoes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) launched an eight-day-long Mango Festival in the Kingdom of Bahrain on June 13 in association with the Indian Embassy and Al Jazira Group.

 

At the show, 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Odisha, are being displayed at eight different locations of Bahrain's Al Jazira group supermarket. 27 of these varieties have been procured from West Bengal, while two each variety are from Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, and one variety from Uttar Pradesh. All the varieties of mangoes have been directly procured from farmers and two Farmer Producer Organizations. The mango show will continue till June 20, 2022.

 

The 27 different varieties of mango from West Bengal are Bhavani, Daud Bhog, Amrapali, Golapkhas, Rogni, Dilshad, Chatterjee, Bimli, Ratan Kewra, Mallika, Ananras, Sahebpas and, Kishen Bhog, Lakshman Bhog, Madhu Latika, Rasagolla, Dwarika, Raja Bhog, Amrit Bhog, Arajanma, Nilanjana, Rani Pasand, Rakhal Bhog, Desi Sundari, Langra, Himsagar and Khirsapati. Jharkhand’s Kamli and Biju, while Bihar’s Jardalu, which is a GI-tagged variety, and Langra are displayed at the Mango Festival in Bahrain. Odisha’s Benganpalli and Himsagar and Dusseri varieties of Uttar Pradesh are also at the show.

 

All the 34 varieties of Indian mangoes have been displayed at eight different stores of Al Jazira located at Hamala, Mahooz, Zing, Juffair, Budaiya, Adilya, Seef and Riffa in Bahrain. Besides, mangoes as a whole, several mango preparations like mango cake prepared in Al Jazira bakery, juices, different varieties of mango shakes, etc. have also been showcased at the festival.

 

The mango show in Bahrain is part of APEDA’s new initiatives to explore international markets for Indian mangoes under the ‘Mango Festival 2022’. It’s the outcome of APEDA’s commitment to provide a global platform for Indian mangoes that for the first time 34 varieties of mangoes from eastern states have been showcased in Bahrain. On earlier occasions, mostly be mango varieties from Southern and western regions like Alphonso, Kesar, Banganpalli, etc were showcased in most of the global shows.

 

The Mango Festival was inaugurated by the Indian Ambassador to Bahrain Shri Piyush Srivastava in the presence of Al Jazira Group chairman Mr. Abdul Hussein Khalil Dawani. The Murshidabad district administration has facilitated the transportation of mangoes to Bahrain in coordination with APEDA.

 

Mango in India is also referred to as the ‘king of fruits' and referred to as Kalpavriksha (wish-granting tree) in ancient scriptures. While most of the states in India have mango plantations, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Karnataka have a major share in the total production of the fruit. Alphonso, Kesar, Totapuri and Banganpalli are leading export varieties from India. Mango exports primarily take place in three forms: fresh mango, mango pulp, and mango slice.

India's surprise move to ban wheat exports has raised concerns about potential curbs on rice exports as well amid rising inflation. However, the world's biggest rice exporter has ample stocks of rice and there is no plan to curb exports, the top official at the food ministry on Monday said.

 

'We have more than sufficient stocks of rice, so there is no plan to consider this,' Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey said while responding to a question whether India would consider any curb on rice exports.

 

That's a relief for import-dependent nations already grappling with surging food costs, but most of India's rice growing season lies ahead and any change in prospects for the harvest could alter its stance on exports of the staple grain.

 

Monsoon rains determine the size of India's rice crop, and plentiful rains this year would help it maintain its preeminent position in the global rice trade.

 

Patchy monsoon rains, however, would stunt the crop and cut yields and that might lead to a drawdown in state inventories that would trigger export curbs to ensure sufficient supplies for the country's 1.4 billion people.

 

WHY IS INDIA SO CRUCIAL FOR GLOBAL RICE SUPPLIES?

 

India's rice exports touched a record 21.5 million tonnes in 2021, more than the combined shipments of the world's next four biggest exporters of the grain: Thailand, Vietnam, Pakistan and the United States.

 

India, the world's biggest rice consumer after China, has a market share of more than 40% of the global rice trade.

 

India to not budge on fisheries sops deal

High domestic stocks and low local prices allowed India to offer rice at deep discounts over the past two years, helping poorer nations, many in Asia and Africa, grapple with soaring wheat prices.

 

India exports rice to more than 150 countries, and any reduction in its shipments would fuel food inflation. The grain is a staple for more than 3 billion people, and when India banned exports in 2007, global prices shot to new peaks.

 

WHO WILL SUFFER THE MOST IF INDIA RESTRICTS RICE EXPORTS?

 

Any move to restrict exports from India would hit almost every rice importing country. It would also allow rival suppliers Thailand and Vietnam to raise prices that are already more than 30% above Indian shipments.

 

Other than serving Asian buyers like China, Nepal, Bangladesh and the Philippines, India supplies rice to countries such as Togo, Benin, Senegal and Cameroon.

 

WHAT'S THE ROLE OF INDIA'S MONSOON?

 

India's summer-sown rice accounts for more than 85% of the country's annual production, which jumped to a record 129.66 million tonnes in the crop year to June 2022.

 

Millions of farmers start planting summer rice in June, when the monsoon lashes India. The monsoon, which delivers about 70% of India's annual rainfall, is crucial for water-thirsty rice.

 

Indian farmers rely on monsoon rains to water half of the country's farmland that lacks irrigation. In 2022, India is forecast to receive an average amount of rainfall. But since June 1, when the four-month monsoon season began, rains are 41% below average.

 

The rains are expected pick up by mid-June and spur the sowing of rice. Three years of average or above-average rains, and new, modern farming practices have ramped-up rice output.

 

SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT WORRY ABOUT RICE SUPPLIES?

 

India at present has more than sufficient stocks of rice, and local prices are lower than the state-set prices at which the government buys paddy rice from farmers.

 

Rice export prices are also trading near the lowest in more than five years.

 

Meanwhile, milled and paddy rice stocks at government granaries of 57.82 million tonnes are more than quadruple a target of 13.54 million tonnes.

 

Unlike for wheat, India did not see a surge in rice exports after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, as the Black Sea region is not a major producer or consumer of rice.