India can double acreage of chemical-free farming to 15% immediately and 30% by 2030 without hurting national food security as any resultant loss in output and exports could be compensated by reduction in fertiliser subsidies, Niti Aayog member Ramesh Chand told FE.

 

He, however, ruled out implementation of direct benefit transfer (DBT) of cash in lieu of subsidised foodgrains under PDS system as it could threaten food security of the country. Chand said that natural farming methods could be scaled up in 6% of the gross cropped areas in states such as Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and near the banks of Ganga in Uttar Pradesh where fertiliser usage is low and gradually expand such farming methods over the next decades without jeopardising India’s food security concerns.

 

'Adoption of natural farming should not be done in knee-jerk fashion as was done in Sri Lanka (which banned fertiliser use). However, without compromising India’s food security, by 2030 India can afford to have natural farming in 30% of the area,' Chand said.

 

India’s food production is growing by 3-3.25% annually in the last several years while population growth rate has gone below 1.5%. 'So, with domestic demand growing by 2-2.25%/annum, we have 1 percentage point of output growth which is not required for domestic consumption.'

 

In organic farming, there is 30-35% yield penalty or loss of production if agro-chemicals are not used. 'India is now in a position to do this the trade-off gradually…we are exporting 6-7% of production and if we are willing to take a hit on that food output by setting aside 20% of acreage to organic farming, production will come down by 6-7%… we will not have any surplus to export ($5-6 billion/annum),' Chand said.

 

The government has decided to absorb a substantial part of the rise in fertiliser prices, and subsidies are expected to touch Rs 2.15 trillion in 2022-23 against Rs 1.62 trillion in 2021-22 mainly because of the spike in global prices of phosphatic and potassic fertilisers and urea in last one year. In the next few years, he expects successful models of natural farming developing, which will bring down burgeoning fertiliser subsidies.

 

While acknowledging the role of chemicals and fertilisers in the Green Revolution Prime Narendra Modi at several occasions had warned against the dangers of pesticides and imported fertilisers which lead to increased costs of inputs and also cause damage to health.

 

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget (2022-23) speech had said that chemical-free farming will be promoted throughout the country, starting with fields within a 5-km wide corridor along the Ganga River. On the challenges faced in rolling out DBT in food subsidies, Chand said the country has not reached a stage where it can abandon buffer stock and procurement regime. 'India’s policy of buffer stocking of foodgrains has been helpful in protecting the country against food crisis and price shock,' he said.

 

With wide variations in fertiliser usage across states and a large chunk of farmers engaged in tenancy farming, uniform payment of fertiliser subsidy directly to farmers bank accounts would be complex and unacceptable to many farmers, Chand said.

 

The government’s food subsidy expenses are expected to rise further from budgeted Rs 2.06 trillion for 2022-23.

Natural farming is being promoted by the agriculture ministry through Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati’ (BPKP) which was introduced in 2020-21 as a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana. A financial assistance of `12,200 per hectare is provided to farmers for adoption of BPKP and there are around 0.4 million hectare of area is under natural farming across states.

The 56,000-tonne Indian durum wheat consignment, turned back by Egypt and Turkey, is currently berthed at an Israeli port as it awaits news of a final destination, government officials said.

 

The officials, however, denied there was any link between the consignment’s rejection and the current political furore in West Asia over anti-Islamic remarks made by suspended Bharatiya Janata Party spokesperson Nupur Sharma.

 

The Indian government maintains that the consignment exported by ITC Ltd had met quarantine requirements when it left India.

 

'The wheat shipment was turned down by Turkey because the wheat’s protein content was below 13-14%, which is a key food safety regulation for Turkey and Egypt had turned away the shipment without drawing any samples for testing,' the official said.

 

'Usually the government does not get involved in such situations because the financial transaction was done and the ITC was paid. But because it was Indian wheat we are keeping track,' the official added.

 

Mint had earlier reported that the wheat shipment was sold to the Netherlands, but it was diverted to Turkey and then to Egypt. Both the countries did not accept the wheat amid reports that the consignment had a non-plant based virus.

 

The shipment left India before a ban was announced on wheat exports on 13 May. The shipment could be valued in millions as the price of wheat internationally has jumped sharply after the Russia-Ukraine war. Wheat price in the international market is around $450- 480 per tonne, as per the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

 

'The reason for rejection was the protein content and not phytosanitary issues,' one of the officials said, adding that political reasons may also be at play. However, another official said that although India shares testy relations with some countries, international trade stands on its own legs.

 

'Our relations with Saudi Arabia are not the best, but we buy oil. Political issues have little to do with trade,' the second official added.

 

When a shipment is rejected, there are usually three options -- the exporter can destroy it, divert it or bring it back to the original source, an expert said, adding that destroying a shipment is usually the last option but it has happened in the past.

 

Also, wheat is not a perishable commodity and is often stored in India for months, the expert added.

 

 

Last week, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the government is investigating the reason behind Turkey’s rejection.

 

Queries sent to the spokespersons of the commerce and industry ministry, ITC and the Embassies of Israel, Egypt and Turkey did not elicit a response till press time.

 

ITC maintains that it exported to Netherlands customers on FOB (free on board) terms and that the cargo was loaded after being checked and cleared by both the buyer-nominated surveyors as well as by the plant quarantine authorities.

 

FOB is a shipment term used to indicate whether the seller or the buyer is liable for goods that are damaged or destroyed during shipping.

 

Experts said that India’s farm exports have often been rejected due to phytosanitary issues. Earlier this year, Indonesia suspended Indian farm exports after reporting quality issues. In addition, India failed to register laboratories that test food safety and issue a certificate of analysis.

Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir) [India], June 6 (ANI): Farmers in Gassu Batpora village, which is located on the outskirts of Srinagar city in Hazratbal tehsil, are busy in the harvesting of strawberries.

 

This year, despite unseasonal hot weather and late rainfall that pushed the harvesting season from May to Mid April, the production is quite satisfactory allowing farmers to take a sigh of relief.

 

Having the highest number of people growing strawberries, Gassu is famously known as the ‘Strawberry Village’.

 

Here farmers cultivate tonnes of exotic berries on hundreds of acres of land every year. It is also the first one to produce strawberries in the entire Kashmir valley. Women, as well as children, are also involved in the strawberry business in this village.

 

This year, as tourists in large number are visiting Kashmir, farmers are expecting good returns.

 

While talking to ANI, a strawberry grower, Manzoor Ahmed said, 'Last year, harvest started around May 5 but this year as summer began early, harvest season started on April 18. But we are thankful to God that the fruit is good and we are getting good rates as well.'

 

He further added, 'Record-breaking tourist arrivals have contributed to an increase in demand and many factory owners are also coming to us directly to buy strawberries for making juice or other products.'

 

Abida, Horticulture Development Officer in the Shalimar area, said, 'Strawberry is our first harvest crop and its harvesting is going on for the last one month. There are many pickings in this fruit and at present, third picking is going on. As summers came earlier this year, the harvesting season of strawberries also came earlier.'

 

While talking about the benefit of early harvest of strawberries, she said, 'Due to early harvest as only this crop is available in the market at present, we are getting good rates of it. Though in few areas, the crop got damaged due to hailstorm but rest of the fruit is being sold at good rates.'

 

In recent years, strawberry has emerged as a cash crop in the valley with many vegetable farmers having switched to strawberry cultivation.

 

Besides strawberry, Kashmiri fruits like apple, cherry, grapes, apricot and plum are also very famous across the world for their quality and rich taste and are bringing good returns to the territory’s farmers. (ANI)

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has proposed to amend the Food Safety and Standards (Alcoholic Beverages) Regulations, 2018, to include provisions for declaration of info related to energy content.

 

Although, the provision also adds that it will be voluntary for the food businesses to declare such info.

 

The FSSAI, in this regard, issued a draft regulation for the amendment and asked the stakeholders to send their comments on the draft by the third week of July.

 

According to the proposed amendment, 'in Part 5, for the regulation 5.5 (of the alcoholic regulations 2018) the following shall be substituted, namely,- 5.5 Alcoholic beverage shall not contain any nutritional information on the label except energy content in K.Cal,'  and added that such declaration related to energy content shall be voluntary.  

 

Presently the rule 5.5 only says that alcoholic beverages shall not contain any nutritional information on the label.

 

Also, the draft proposed that in part 2 of the same regulation related to distilled alcoholic beverages, under section 2.8 related to whiskey, the clause (i) shall be substituted by '(i) Single malt or Single grain whisky: Single malt or Single grain whisky is a distillate obtained from fermented mash that uses malted barley or malted/ unmalted grain, respectively, distilled in pot still only, and produced in a single distillery'.

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said the negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the European Union will begin from June 17 at Brussels.

 

He said negotiations were progressing for such agreements with the United Kingdom and Canada.

 

'FTA negotiations with the EU will begin in Brussels on the 17th of this month,' Goyal said.

 

India-EU FTA negotiations were stuck after 16 rounds of talks between 2007 and 2013. While the EU insisted on duty concessions on automobiles, alcoholic beverages and dairy products, India's demands included greater access to the EU market for its skilled professionals.

 

MARINE EXPORTS

Goyal also said India aims to double export of marine products to ?1 lakh crore from the present ?50,000 crore in the next five years.

 

'This target will be achieved through sustainable fishing, ensuring quality and variety, promotion of coastal shipping and aquaculture, and by supporting the entire fisheries ecosystem,' he said at an event organised by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in Kerala.

 

The minister also ruled out the possibility of shifting the MPEDA office from Kochi.

 

At a separate event on National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation, he said India can become a $30 trillion economy.

 

He said 18 states have joined the national single window and over 25,000 compliances have been either eliminated or simplified.

Though the Commerce Ministry has said that the impact of Russia-Ukraine war on India's trade with both the warring nations can be assessed only after the situation stabilises, it is interesting to know between 2020-21 and April-February period of 2021-22, India's value of trade with Russia grew 45.79 per cent.

 

Similarly India's value of trade with Ukraine between the same period, went up by 19.34 per cent.

 

According to Commerce Ministry figures, India's total trade with Russia stood at $8.141 billion in 2020-21. During April-February period of 2021-22, the trade value went up by 45.79 per cent to $11.869 billion.

 

Similarly, India's trade with Ukraine in value terms, stood at $2.590 billion during 2020-21. In the April-February period of 2021-22, this went up by 19.34 per cent to $3.091 billion.

 

More significantly India's imports from Russia rose to $8.69 billion in the first 11 months of 2021-22, 58 per cent higher than the total imports of $5.48 billion recorded in 2020-21.

 

India's exports to Russia rose to $3.18 billion in April–February period of 2021-22 from $2.65 billion recorded in the full year 2020-21.

 

The Russia-Ukraine war has continued for more than 100 days and severely impacted India's trade ties with both the nations.

For the first time, India is dominating the world in terms of sugar and has exported sugar to 121 countries this year. What’s more, Maharashtra’s share of the total sugar export is the highest at more than 65% according to the state sugar commissioner.

 

A two-day conference was held at the Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI) in Pune on June 4 and 5 where representatives of sugar factories, scientists and experts discussed about sugar. It was after a gap of seven years that this state-level conference was organised, helmed by former union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar. Union minister for road transport Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and other leaders also attended the conference. The VSI and Maharashtra sugar commissioner presented the data during the conference.

 

Sharad Pawar said, 'As per data from the ministry of commerce, India dominated in terms of sugar exports and attained a new identity as a world sugar exporter. India exported sugar to 121 countries. Although there were no concessions or promotions from the central or state government, India dominated the world sugar market.'

 

'Despite all the odds such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Europe and crisis in Afghanistan, India made its mark in the export of sugar. Afghanistan is one of the major importers of Indian sugar,' he said.

 

Recently in April, union minister for commerce Piyush Goyal had said, 'India’s sugar export has witnessed astounding growth. India exported sugar to 121 countries across the globe.'

 

Maharashtra sugar commissioner Shekhar Gaikwad said, 'Eighty-two lakh tonne sugar has already been dispatched from the ports out of which 52 lakh tonne sugar is from Maharashtra alone. When the final figures are released, Maharashtra’s share in the total exports will be more than 65%. Maximum sugar was exported from Maharashtra.'

 

'Mainly Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are the sugar exporting states. Some traders from Karnataka procured sugar from Maharashtra, mainly from the Kolhapur region and exported the same. That sugar has not been accounted for under Maharashtra’s sugar exports. Still, Maharashtra’s share in the sugar export will be more than 65%. Interestingly, most of the sugar industry in Maharashtra is dominated by cooperative factories. This also proves how the cooperative sector can benefit the economy,' Gaikwad said.

 

All sweet

 

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) data, India had exported sugar worth of USD 1,965 million ( ?15,254 crore) in 2019-20, which rose to USD 2,790 million ( ?21,658 crore) in 2020-21 and USD 4,600 million ( ?35,709 crore) in 2021-22.

 

In 2021-22 (April-February), India has exported sugar worth of USD 769 million to Indonesia, followed by Bangladesh (USD 561 million), Sudan (USD 530 million) and U.A.E (USD 270 million). India also exported sugar to Somalia, Saudi Arab, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Nepal, China. Indian sweetener has also been imported by the US, Singapore, Oman, Qatar, Turkey, Iran, Syria, Canada, Australia, South Africa, Germany, France, New Zealand, Denmark, Israel, Russia, Egypt.,

 

Sugar production prediction for 2022-23

 

As per the data shared at sugar conference, it is predicated that the next crushing season would remain same like this year.

 

350 lakh tonne: Sugar production in India

 

85 lakh tonne: India will export sugar

 

265 lakh tonne: Sugar for domestic use

 

135 lakh tonne: Maharashtra’s share of sugar production

In what is being termed a first in the country, tribal farmers from Nashik in Maharashtra have exported naturally-grown organic mangoes to the US. Vishal Jadhav, the managing director of Nashik based EcoKisan, said this consignment has enabled farmers to earn more than 200 per cent of their normal earnings from local markets.

 

The 1.2 tonnes consignment was sourced from tribal growers from nine talukas of Nashik. What makes this fruit special is that they are grown naturally along the borders of the fields by farmers in areas where chemical fertilisers are yet to become common.

 

EcoKisan has helped these farmers get organic certification for the farmers. 'Given the salubrious condition of the fields, these wild Kesar mangoes see lesser attacks of pests. At most, some cow dung is given to the trees,' said Jadhav.

 

Traditionally, traders go to the fields to buy from farmers. The idea of exports came to Jadhav through a collaboration with another agriculture startup, Khetibadi.

 

Over the last few years, Jadhav has been working with tribal farmers in Nashik growing around 50 commodities to help them find better markets. The interventions include both B2C and B2B linkages which allow farmers to earn better. Other than fruits and vegetables, the startup also helps in marketing grains.

 

Commercially cultivated Kesar mangoes grown mostly in Gujarat, Maharashtra, and other parts of the country normally weigh 300-400 gm, but the naturally grown tribal mangoes weigh 190-230 gm. 'What makes this fruit special is the way it is grown and the unique taste it has,' said Jadhav.

 

Given the biodiversity of the region, the mango trees grow naturally and manage to produce fruit regularly. 'Our farmers normally sell their produce at Rs 60-70/kg but for the export consignment they got Rs 100/kg,' he said.

 

Full traceability is ensured with the consignment. While numerically the 1.2-tonne consignment might just be a drop in the normal 50,000 tonnes of exports India normally reports, this marks an important step for the tribal farmers.

 

Jadhav, whose Ecokisan was registered in 2021, has been involved in organic and other agriculture-related activities for the last many years. The success of the first consignment Jadhav said has opened other channels for them. 'We have already got orders for the second consignment. While the freight charges are high we are hopeful that the start starting of the sea route will help us reduce the same,' he said.

Free trade agreements (FTAs) with the UAE and Australia will help promote exports of goods such as garments, engineering products, handicrafts, textiles, and agri processed items, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Anupriya Patel said on Monday. Department of Commerce organised a stakeholders outreach programme on FTAs for the exporting community in Agra.

 

Speaking at the event, she said the government is committed to taking all necessary efforts to increase exports from the country.

 

Patel said exporters of Uttar Pradesh can use these FTAs as an instrument to promote outbound shipments in areas like garments, engineering, handicrafts, handloom textiles, agri processed products and sports goods.

 

Also speaking at the event, Sanjay Leekha, Chairman, Council for Leather Exports (CLE), said some of the pending demands like exemption of duty on imports of wet blue, crust and finished leather should be considered by the government.

 

FTAs with the UAE and Australia are going to help the Indian leather and footwear exporters to explore these markets in a big way, Leekha added.

 

Anant Swarup, joint secretary, Department of Commerce, said duty free access is one of the instrument that helps in making domestic exports competitive compared to competing countries like China, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand.

 

'India-UAE and Australia FTAs have been signed to facilitate the duty free access for exporters,' he added.

 

Srikar K Reddy, joint secretary in the department, gave a detailed presentation on the FTAs.

MUMBAI, June 6 (Reuters) - India's surprise ban on wheat exports has prompted rice traders to increase purchases and place unusual orders for longer-dated deliveries, fearing the world's top rice exporter may restrict those shipments as well, four exporters told Reuters.

 

In the last two weeks, traders have signed contracts to export 1 million tonnes of rice for shipments from June through September and are opening letters of credit (LCs) quickly after signing deals to ensure the contracted quantity will be sent even if India restricts exports, the people said.

 

Those forward purchases come on top of roughly 9.6 million tonnes of rice already shipped out of India this year - in line with record 2021 shipments - and may reduce the amount of grain available for other buyers during the coming months as loading schedules fill.

 

'International traders pre-booked for the next three to four months and everybody opened LCs to ensure business continuity,' said Himanshu Agarwal, executive director at Satyam Balajee, India's biggest rice exporter.

 

Normally traders sign deals for the current and next month.

 

Aggressive purchases from India could also reduce demand for rice from Vietnam and Thailand, the world's second and third-biggest exporters respectively, which are struggling to compete on price.

 

WHEAT BAN

 

India last month banned wheat exports in a surprise move, days after saying it was targeting record shipments this year. It also put a cap on sugar exports.

 

India is not a top global wheat exporter, but it is the world's second-biggest sugar exporter behind Brazil.

 

Those export curbs led to speculation that India could also cap rice shipments, though government officials said India does not plan to because it has sufficient rice stocks and local prices are lower than state-set support prices.

 

India's wheat ban trapped a large quantity of the grain at ports because New Delhi only allowed contracts backed by LCs to depart. 

'Normally people open LCs while they nominate a vessel. This time they opened LCs for all rice contracts that were pending, so in case there is a ban on exports, at least the contracted quantity is shipped out,' Agarwal said.

 

India accounts for more than 40% of global rice trade.

 

PRICE ADVANTAGE

Overseas buyers are looking for Indian rice because it is far cheaper than rivals, said B.V. Krishna Rao, president of the All India Rice Exporters Association.

 

Indian 5% broken white rice is offered between $330 to $340 per tonne on a free-on-board (FOB) basis, significantly lower than Thailand's $455 to $460 a tonne and Vietnam's $420 to $425, dealers said.

 

Thailand and Vietnam are not able to compete with India and they are trying to explore ways to support prices, Thailand's government has said.

 

If India restricts exports, global prices could jump sharply, said a New-Delhi-based dealer with a global trading house.

 

'Indian rice is more than 30% cheaper than other destinations. Poor buyers in Asia and Africa would be forced to pay very high prices if India restricts exports. That's why there is a rush to buy Indian rice,' the dealer said.

 

Bangladesh, China, Benin, Cameroon, Nepal, Senegal and Togo are key buyers of India's non-basmati rice, while Iran and Saudi Arabia are key buyers of premium basmati rice.

 

India exported a record 21.5 million tonnes of rice in 2021, compared with combined exports of 12.4 million tonnes by Vietnam and Thailand.

 

Panic buying by importing countries was expected after the rumours of the ban began circulating because no other country can replace Indian shipments, said a Mumbai-based dealer with a global trading firm.