Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal will meet UAE economy minister Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri on Wednesday here (Delhi) and discuss ways to further boost trade ties between the two countries, an official statement said on Tuesday.

 

A high-level delegation led by the UAE minister is visiting India from Wednesday.

 

'During the visit, the delegation would be meeting with Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, on May 11 and May 13, 2022 in New Delhi and Mumbai respectively to discuss bilateral trade and investment relations,' the commerce ministry said.

 

The visit provides an opportunity to further strengthen the already close and dynamic economic ties between the two countries, it said.

 

The visit also includes interactions with key investors of both sides.

 

The bilateral trade between two countries stood at USD 65.1 billion, making UAE India’s third largest trading partner.

 

'India is on an ambitious path to achieve USD 5 trillion GDP by 2025 and UAE is considered as a valuable partner in India’s journey to realise this goal,' it said A number of engagements in New Delhi and Mumbai, including B2B events, industry interactions and investor meetings, are scheduled for the visiting UAE delegation during its stay in the country, it added.

In addition to the traditional crops, 9 lakh 90 thousand 735 ornamental trees have been exported to the Netherlands, USA and Japan in the last one year from the government approved nursery at Vangani in Thane district

 

In order to increase the participation of farmers in the field of agriculture, a subsidy has been given to the farmers by the district agriculture department for the cultivation of various plants and crops. The positive effects of this subsidy have been seen in the last few years and the exports of fruits and vegetables from the district have recently become very noticeable.

 

9 lakh 90 thousand 735 ornamental plants have been exported to the Netherlands, USA and Japan in the last one year from the government approved nursery at Vangani in Thane district. The addition of ornamental trees along with a combination of fruits and vegetables, has opened up new avenues of business for the farmers here.

 

Every year the district agriculture department plans to export the agricultural produce grown in the district to various states and abroad. For this, a vegetable as well as orchard cultivation area is planned. Last year, orchards and flower gardens were planned to be planted on 1,080 hectares in the district.

 

Apart from agriculture, the number of nurseries in the district is also significant. Many of these nursery owners plant and sell fruit and flower plants. Subsidy is also given by the district agriculture department to the government approved nursery owners for the cultivation of these seedlings. In addition, only nursery owners who are officially permitted by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) can export various plants abroad.

 

There are government approved nurseries at Wangani and Shahapur in Thane district. About seventy percent of all ornamental plants exported to the Netherlands according to the district agriculture department.

 

Trees exported mainly include Ashdenium and Succulent species. These ornamental plants are mainly kept indoors. Also in view of the climate in these three countries, these trees are planted and grown by the nursery owners.

 

Mohan Wagh, District Agriculture Officer, Thane said, 'The district is a major exporter of fruits and vegetables. At present ornamental trees are being exported abroad from the nurseries of the district and this is a positive thing for the district agriculture sector.'

A Round Table meeting between Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Narender Singh Tomar and Agriculture & Rural Development Minister of Israel, Mr. Oded Forer was held on 11-05-2022 in Parliament House, Jerusalem during the visit of Indian delegation to Israel. The Minister discussed various issues related to modern agro techniques, capacity building, transfer of knowledge know-how and support in the fields of agriculture, water management, environment and rural development with the Minister of Agriculture, Israel and other stakeholders, keeping in view the scope and potential of agriculture development in both the countries.

 

During the interaction, MASHAV’s agricultural cooperation programmes and other stakeholders professional training activities in India were appreciated. The Minister stated that Indian Government has to explore the possibilities to adopt MASHAV’s activities in India focusing on capacity building and transfer of knowledge for which Centres of Excellence will be established in each State.

 

The deliberations during the meeting of Indian delegation with Agriculture & Rural Development Minister of Israel were extremely beneficial for agriculture development in India.

 

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations between India and the UK have resulted in the draft treaty text advancing across the majority of chapters at the end of the third round of talks, the British government said on Wednesday.

 

The Department for International Trade (DIT) issued a 'Joint Outcome Statement' at the end of the latest round of technical talks between the negotiators on both sides, which was held in New Delhi in a hybrid fashion.

 

The experts held 60 separate sessions in-person and virtually to cover 23 policy areas, with the fourth round of talks now scheduled to be hosted by the UK next month.

 

'On 6 May 2022, the Republic of India and the United Kingdom concluded the third round of talks for an India-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA),' the statement read.

 

'Negotiation officials undertook these technical talks in a hybrid fashion - with some of the teams meeting in New Delhi and the majority joining virtually. For this round of negotiations, draft treaty text was advanced across the majority of chapters. Technical experts from both sides came together for discussions in 60 separate sessions covering 23 policy areas,' it said.

 

In the first two rounds since the FTA talks began in January, four out of 26 chapters have already been agreed upon and those close to the negotiations said that there had been 'significant progress' in the remaining 22 chapters.

 

During his visit to India last month, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had announced that the negotiating teams on both sides must work towards a Diwali timeline for the completion of a draft agreement. The new target of October 24 brings forward from the previous timeline of concluding FTA talks by the end of this year.

 

'This could double our trade and investment by the end of the decade, driving down prices for consumers, and increasing wages across the UK by as much as GBP 3 billion,' Johnson said at the time.

 

Indian High Commissioner to the UK Gaitri Issar Kumar has said that officials have been working round-the-clock towards the deadline and Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal is also scheduled for a UK visit at the end of this month to hold discussions with stakeholders to move things along.

 

'The minister is leading the negotiations on the Indian side on achieving the target of doubling our bilateral trade by 2030,' said Kumar, with reference to the ministerial visit planned for May 27.

 

'He has offered to come to London and speak to explain what's in store for both sides at a roundtable, where stakeholders from business and industry will get an opportunity to weigh in where necessary. So far, the feedback from the Chief Negotiators is that things are very cordial and going in the right direction,' she said.

 

Earlier this week, a new UK India Industry Taskforce was also announced by the industry bodies on both sides as a joint commission to increase cross-industry collaboration to push the UK-India FTA over the line.

 

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) say their Taskforce will provide oversight and meet ahead of key milestones to reflect views on trade-offs, breakdown barriers to market access and help feed in on-the-ground business intelligence at a ministerial level in both countries.

India and Uzbekistan on Wednesday agreed to exploit the full potential of the Chabahar port for trade between the two countries as they held extensive talks focusing on greater bilateral economic ties.

 

The two sides also agreed to take steps to enhance connectivity to boost trade during the 15th round of India-Uzbekistan Foreign Office Consultations that took place in Delhi.

 

'During the consultations, both sides undertook a comprehensive review of the state and prospects of bilateral cooperation including political, security, trade-economic, connectivity, development partnership, humanitarian and cultural spheres,' the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said.

 

 

It said the talks particularly focused on greater economic cooperation and steps to enhance connectivity between India and Uzbekistan.

 

'Both sides agreed to exploit the full potential of Chabahar port for trade between the two countries,' it said in a statement.

 

Located in the Sistan-Balochistan province on the energy-rich Iran's southern coast, the Chabahar port is being developed by India, Iran and Afghanistan to boost trade ties.

 

In a significant move, India, Iran and Uzbekistan in December held extensive talks on joint use of the Chabahar Port while underlining its importance in enhancing regional connectivity.

 

On the India-Uzbekistan Foreign Office Consultations (FoC), the MEA said the two sides exchanged views on regional and international issues of mutual interest, including Afghanistan.

 

They agreed to further enhance cooperation in the UN, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and other multilateral fora.

 

'Indian side conveyed its full support for Uzbekistan's ongoing chairmanship of SCO. Both sides highly assessed the holding of the 1st India-Central Asia Summit in January and agreed to expeditiously implement its outcomes along with other Central Asian countries,' the MEA said.

 

The consultations were co-chaired by Sanjay Verma, Secretary (West) in the MEA and Furkat Sidikov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan. The last round of FoC was held in the virtual format in November 2020.

The two countries acknowledge the significance of establishing resilient supply chains in critical sectors, he said. The two partners can enhance cooperation in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and critical and rare earth minerals.

 

India and Canada held the fifth Ministerial Dialogue on Trade & Investment (MDTI) on Wednesday and formally agreed to expedite talks to consider a free trade agreement between the two countries to boost trade in goods and services along with an early harvest deal, a commerce ministry spokesperson said.

 

Union commerce and industries minister Goyal and his Canadian counterpart Mary Ng had earlier agreed to formally relaunch negotiations for the India-Canada Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and also to consider an interim agreement or Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) that expedites mutual commercial gains, he said. The discussions over the matter took place during Ng’s visit to India in March.

 

'The Interim Agreement would include high level commitments in goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phyto-sanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, and dispute settlement, and may also cover any other areas mutually agreed upon,' said the spokesperson.

 

A readout of the conversation, released by Global Affairs Canada, the country’s foreign ministry, said Ng 'expressed her appreciation for India’s openness to explore diverse trade issues and advance the long-standing economic and investment relationship between Canada and India — a priority as Canada deepens key partnerships in the Indo-Pacific.'

 

The statement added that as 'Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine threatens the rules based international order, it is more important than ever for democracies to strengthen ties.'

 

Ng also emphasized the importance of advancing discussions on an investment protection agreement between Canada and India, which would improve predictability and transparency for Canadian investors in India.

 

Both countries also agreed to undertake intensified work with respect to the recognition of Canada’s systems approach to pest risk management in pulses and market access for Indian agriculture goods such as sweet corn, baby corn and banana, said the commerce ministry spokesperson cited above.

 

Canada also agreed to examine expeditiously the request of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) for facilitating Indian organic export products, he said.

 

he two countries acknowledge the significance of establishing resilient supply chains in critical sectors, he said. The two partners can enhance cooperation in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and critical and rare earth minerals as well as in tourism, urban infrastructure, renewable energy and mining, among other fields.

 

India and Canada also noted the role of strong people-to-people ties between the two countries, including movement of professionals and skilled workers, students, and business travellers, in strengthening the bilateral economic partnership, he said.

 

Minister Goyal later tweeted: 'Discussions were held on ways to further strengthen bilateral trade ties, explore new opportunities & attract greater investments as both sides work towards a mutually beneficial trade pact.'

 

During the meeting, minister Ng said advancing the long-standing economic and investment relationship with India is a priority for Canada, as it 'deepens key partnerships in the Indo-Pacific'.

 

APEDA, in association with IIWBR, will be conducting a series of such interactions in key wheat-growing states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, to sensitise stakeholders on the issue of exporting quality grain.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development Authority (APEDA) on Wednesday asked the Karnal-based Indian Institute of Wheat and Barley Research (IIWBR) to prepare comprehensive quality standards for wheat exports, including phytosanitary and residue norms.

 

This follows a first-of-its-kind meeting of all the stakeholders including farmers, traders and exporters in the value chains held at Karnal, Haryana. APEDA, in association with IIWBR, will be conducting a series of such interactions in key wheat-growing states such as Punjab, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, to sensitise stakeholders on the issue of exporting quality grain.

 

'There is significant demand for wheat from India in the global market and we need to develop stringent norms so that we emerge as a reliable supplier of grain globally,' M Angamuthu, chairman, APEDA, told FE. India has exported a record 7 million tonne (mt) of wheat in 2021-22, which is valued at $ 2.05 billion. Out of the total shipment, around 50% of wheat was exported to Bangladesh in the last fiscal.

 

In the current fiscal, Egypt, which is one of the world’s biggest importers of wheat, has agreed to source wheat from India. Egyptian authorities have chosen India as one of the origins for this strategic commodity. Angamuthu said that a delegation from APEDA will be soon visiting Egypt to work out modalities of wheat exports. The export promotion body will soon send delegations to Morocco, Syria, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam to explore the possibility of wheat exports.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi last week asked the concerned officials to ensure quality norms for exports of food grain and other agricultural products from the country. 'In the light of increasing demand for agricultural products of India, the Prime Minister directed that all steps be taken to ensure quality norms and standards so that India evolves into an assured source of food grain and other agricultural products,' an official statement had stated. Amid the reports of drop in wheat production to 105 mt from the earlier estimate of 111 mt for the 2021-22 crop year (July-June), India has set a target of a record 10 mt of wheat in 2022-23, amid rising global demand for the grain globally.

Rajkot: Efforts have picked up to make Kutch kesar as popular as Gir kesar and make it a brand the world over in the next few years. The government of India has chosen Kutch as a cluster for development of this variety of mango fruit under its ‘Horticulture Cluster Development Programme’ (HCDP). The programme aims at giving a boost to horticulture across the country.

 

Kutch has the potential to attract Rs 200 crore investment under HCDP and this project will help establish Kutch kesar as a brand and boost the income of farmers. Work under the project started this year.

 

Abhilaksh Likhi, additional secretary of ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare, visited the mango clusters in Mandvi taluka last week. This programme will address challenges of the entire value chain like pre-production, production, post-harvest management, logistics, marketing and branding.

 

Deputy director of horticulture in Kutch, M S Parsaniya, said: 'We expect that this programme will attract investment of around Rs 200 crore in next couple of years and Rs 50 crore of that will come from the government.'

 

Under this project, an irradiation facility will also come up in Kutch. Farmers’ produce organisation, co-operative society, marketing yard or any private party can start this facility. Now, the export of Kutch kesar is negligible but this facility will boost the export of this variety.

 

Efforts are also being made to start an air cargo facility in Kutch so that direct export of this mango from Kutch can happen. There is also a proposal to build a pack house and a cold room. 'We aim to increase exports of Kuch kesar by 25 per cent in the next couple of years and we will create a cluster specific brand.' Parsaniya said.

 

The farmers will also be provided training in good agricultural practice so that they get good quality fruits. The taste of Kutch kesar is slightly different from that of Gir kesar. Processing units to make pulp will come up and value addition will give more income to the farmers. Kesar mango is grown in 10,500 hectares in Kutch and the annual production is around 70,000 tonne. There are around 5,000 farmers engaged in mango cultivation in Kutch.

 

Mehul Premjiyani, a farmer of Desalpar Vandhai village, 25 km from Bhuj, said: 'This project will boost our income and establish our mango as a brand. Kutch kesar is very sweet in taste and this variety will be promoted among mango lovers. The value addition of mango and export will boost our income.'

 

The ministry of agriculture and farmers’ welfare has identified 55 horticulture clusters, of which 12 have been selected for the pilot launch of the HCDP. These 12 clusters include Shopian (J&K) and Kinnaur (Himachal Pradesh) for apple; Lucknow (UP) and Mahbubnagar (Telangana) for mango; Anantapur (Andhra) and Theni (TN) for banana; Nashik (Maharashtra) for grape; Siphahijala (Tripura) for pineapple; Solapur (Maharashtra) and Chitradurga (Karnataka) for pomegranate; and West Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya) for turmeric.

The Union ministry of commerce secretary BVR Subrahmanyam reviewed the exports of various products of Agriculture, Marine, Spices, and organic products. He took the stock of various issues faced by the exporters during the interaction session.

 

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized the interaction session with the Commerce Secretary Subrahmanyam and exporters from AP and Telangana, besides Agriculture, MPEDA, VSEZ, DBFT, Spices Board, and Vizag Port officials here on Monday.

 

 

Exporters brought various issues to the notice of the Commerce Secretary including logistical and other problems. The IAS officer BVR Subrahmanyam came to know about vessel availability and the hike in prices for transporting and others.

 

Later, the commerce secretary visited the Vizag Port and also had a look at vessel loading, besides container traffic movement. Exporters interacted and discussed with him personally to elaborate on their issues, concerns, and constraints in exports. Exporters discussed increasing the exports from AP and Telangana. APEDA officer Dharma Rao and others were present.

 

Bangladesh's state importer - Directorate General of Food (DGF) - has launched its eleventh tender of the year for 50,000 mt of optional origin milling wheat, which is due to close on May 23, an official document showed on Tuesday.

 

As usual, DGF has called for offers on a CIFLO delivered basis, with 60% of the volume to be delivered to Chattogram port and the remaining 40% into Mongla during the 40 days after the contract has been signed.

 

In its latest tender, which closed on April 11, DGF received the lowest offer for Indian wheat from Bagadiya Brothers at $399.19/mt CIFLO, who reportedly won the tender.

 

DGF's previously awarded offers include $406.83/mt CIFLO by Agrocorp on April 4 and $409.97/mt CIFLO shown by Swiss Singapore in a tender that closed on March 16, trade sources told Agricensus. 

 

The tender comes against a backdrop of ongoing rumors in the market regarding possible state regulation that could surface for Indian wheat exports given the slow pace of state procurement.

 

This has pushed Indian wheat prices higher, but for some destinations, like Bangladesh, it remains the cheapest option.

 

For more information on Bangladesh wheat buying, please see our Tender Dashboard.