The commerce ministry on Monday asked exporters to focus on potential key sectors such as food, electronics and engineering and 12 major markets to boost exports, an official said. It was also suggested to focus on organising fairs and exhibitions at global scale, the government official said.

 

These issues among others were discussed during a meeting called by the ministry with the industry and exporters.

 

The meeting was chaired by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal.

 

The six sectors which hold huge potential to increase the country's exports include food, textiles, engineering, electricals and electronics, medical devices, pharma and auto components.

 

The main global destinations where exports could be promoted further include the US, UK, Brazil, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Taiwan, Korea, Japan and Russia.

 

An industry representative, who participated in the meeting, said that emphasis was given on both trade and investments.

 

Increasing investments will help in promoting trade through integration with global value chains.

 

The meeting assumed significance as the country's merchandise exports have been contracting for the last four months due to demand slowdown in the global markets.

 

An exporter said that the export figures for June are also looking 'disappointing' due to the global economic uncertainties.

 

'Trade and investments need to be promoted parallelly,' the exporter added.

 

Exports declined for the fourth consecutive month by 10.3 per cent year-on-year to USD 34.98 billion in May, while the trade deficit widened to a five-month high of USD 22.12 billion, according to the ministry data.

 

Cumulatively, exports during April-May this fiscal contracted by 11.41 per cent to USD 69.72 billion, while imports declined 10.24 per cent to USD 107 billion.

 

Demand slowdown in major markets, high inflation in developed economies and the Russia-Ukraine war are impacting the country's exports.

 

Representatives from different export promotion councils from sectors such as apparel and medical devices participated in the meeting besides Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and industry associations.

 

Last month, commerce secretary Suni Barthwal has stated that the ministry is working on a trade strategy to promote exports.

 

As part of that, the Department of Commerce, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Invest India and Indian missions abroad would focus on 40 countries.

 

These countries, including the US and European Union nations, account for 85 per cent of India's total exports.

The consumer awareness about millets is relatively high with 87.3 per cent of those surveyed having heard about them, a survey conducted by Wholsum Foods that owns millet-based food brands such as Slurrp Farm and Mille, said.

 

The survey, conducted among 550 consumers across the country to understand their awareness and willingness to include millet in their everyday life, saw the highest participation by millennials (58.9 per cent), while 54.5 per cent of overall respondents were females.

 

Among those aware of millets, a significant portion (74.6 per cent) became familiar with them during their childhood, suggesting the influence of early exposure to millets as a staple food, while more recent awareness has been primarily driven by news and Government advertisements. About 83.5 per cent of respondents have tried millets, indicating a relatively high adoption rate, while 38.8 per cent used millet as a rice supplement, showcasing its potential as an alternative to traditional rice.

 

Taste plays a key role in millet adoption, the survey said with 31.3 per cent of respondents expressing a willingness to include millets in their diet if they taste better, while pricing remains a significant factor with 22.9 per cent of respondents looking at affordability. As awareness about millets continues to grow, factors such as taste and affordability have emerged as significant considerations hindering millet adoption.

 

Healthy diet

The survey revealed that 40.9 per cent of the respondents already follow or are in the process of switching to a healthier diet, while 34.2 per cent were still considering adopting a healthier lifestyle, suggesting an opportunity for promoting healthier eating habits. Top reasons for switching to a healthier diet were wanting a better lifestyle (38.5 per cent) and improving the weight loss journey (35.3 per cent).

 

Further, the survey pointed out that 59 per cent of millennials and a significant 41 per cent of Gen Z individuals are motivated to follow or switch to a healthier diet to maintain a better lifestyle. Additionally, 69.01 per cent of millennial respondents are driven by their weight loss goal, while only 30.98 per cent of the Gen Z respondents prioritise weight management as their reason for adopting a healthier diet.

 

The survey further revealed that 73.1 per cent of respondents are endeavouring to incorporate more fibre into their diet. This aligns with the growing awareness of the health benefits associated with a high-fibre diet. Furthermore, 58 per cent of respondents expressed a desire for nutrient-rich food, while 52.2 per cent emphasised the importance of increasing protein intake.

 

The survey indicates a clear shift towards plant-based protein sources as 54.5 per cent of respondents opted for vegetarian options. Additionally, 44.4 per cent of respondents mentioned including more lentils, which are a nutritious plant-based protein source. In contrast, only 26.7 per cent of respondents preferred animal-based protein sources/meat.

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said his government is annually spending over Rs 6.5 lakh crore for the agriculture sector and farmers and asserted that the Centre is delivering rather than just talking about promises, in an apparent dig at the Congress party over poll guarantees. Addressing the 17th Indian Cooperative Congress here, the prime minister asked cooperatives to become carriers of social and national policy instead of politics. He asked them to become a model of transparency and corruption-free governance, and adopt digital tools in a big way.

 

Modi called upon cooperatives to work towards increasing production of oilseeds and pulses, and help the country become self-reliant in cooking oils.

 

Speaking at the event, the prime minister highlighted achievements of his government in the last nine years in the field of agriculture and related sectors.

 

Modi said the government has ensured supply of fertilisers at cheaper rates compared to other countries, bought large quantities of grains at minimum support price (MSP) and paid huge amount directly into bank accounts of farmers under PM-KISAN scheme.

 

'On an average, the government is spending more than Rs 6.5 lakh crore yearly on agriculture and farmers,' Modi said.

 

'The government is making sure that every farmer in the country receives around Rs 50,000 every year in some way or the other. This means, under the BJP government at the Centre, there is a guarantee that every farmer gets Rs 50,000 in various forms,' he asserted.

 

'Ye Modi ki guarantee hai. Aur maine jo kiya hai, woh bata raha hoon, vaade nahi bata raha hoon,' the prime minister said.

 

Elaborating, Modi said more than Rs 15 lakh crore have been given to farmers in the last nine years through procurement of their produce at MSP.

 

The government has spent Rs 10 lakh crore towards fertilizer subsidy in the last nine years to ensure that farmers get crop nutrients at reasonable price despite rise in global rates, he said, and quipped 'isse badi guarantee kya hoti hai, bhai'.

 

Modi highlighted that farmers are getting a bag of urea at around Rs 270, which is much lower than Rs 720 in Bangladesh, Rs 800 in Pakistan, Rs 2,100 in China and more than Rs 3,000 in America.

 

'This shows what a guarantee looks like and what massive efforts are needed to change the lives of farmers,' he said.

 

In the last 4 years, the prime minister said Rs 2.5 lakh crore have been sent directly to bank accounts of farmers under PM KISAN scheme. Under PM-KISAN, farmers get Rs 6,000 annually.

 

'You can guess how big this amount is from the fact that the total agricultural budget for the five years before 2014 was less than Rs 90,000 crore,' Modi said.

 

He also informed about the recent package of Rs 3.7 lakh crore for the fertiliser sector as well as increase in fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane farmers at Rs 315 per quintal.

 

Modi highlighted contributions of dairy cooperatives in making India the world's leading milk producer and the role of cooperatives in making India one of the top sugar-producing countries in the world.

 

He underlined that cooperatives have become a huge support system for small farmers in many parts of the country.

 

Modi said the government has decided to strengthen the cooperative sector to achieve the goal of becoming a developed nation.

 

He highlighted that it was the first time that a separate ministry was formed and a budget was allocated for cooperatives.

 

Now, Modi said, cooperatives are being presented with a platform exactly like that of the corporate sector.

 

The prime minister talked about the measures to strengthen cooperative societies and mentioned the reduction in tax rates. He highlighted the measures taken to strengthen cooperative banks.

 

Modi noted that through the Digital India campaign, the government increased transparency and ensured benefits for the beneficiaries.

 

'Today, the poorest of the poor believe that corruption and nepotism have been eliminated in the upper echelons,' he added.

 

Modi stressed that the cooperative sector should become a 'model of transparency and corruption-free governance'. For this, digital systems should be promoted in the cooperative sector.

 

'India is known in the world for its digital transactions', the Prime Minister remarked as he urged cooperative societies and banks to stay ahead when it comes to digital transactions. He said it will increase transparency and efficiency in the market while also enabling better competition.

 

Underlining that the main cooperative societies of the primary level or PACS will become a model for transparency, Modi said that the computerization of more than 60,000 PACS has already taken place.

 

He stressed that cooperatives should make full use of the technology available to them and that the nation will hugely benefit from the acceptance of core banking and digital transactions by cooperative societies.

 

Referring to the ever-increasing record exports, the prime minister asked cooperatives to also contribute in this regard.

 

He elaborated on the measures taken to meet the challenges of sugarcane farmers. Sugar mills were given a package of Rs 20,000 crore for clearing farmers' dues.

 

Ethanol blending of petrol was prioritized and ethanol worth Rs 70,000 crore was purchased from sugar mills in the last nine years, he said.

 

The prime minister noted that that food security should not be limited to wheat and rice and pointed out that India spends roughly Rs 2-2.5 lakh crore on import of edible oil, pulses, fish feed and processed food etc.

 

He urged farmers and cooperatives to work in this direction and make the nation Atmanirbhar in production of edible oil.

 

Modi exuded confidence that cooperatives will become a powerful medium of the country's economic source in the new India.

 

He emphasised the need to build villages that will become self-sufficient by following the cooperative model.

 

Modi suggested improving cooperation among cooperatives and said that cooperatives should become the carrier of social policy and national policy instead of politics.

India is likely to export 290,000 tonnes of fully broken white rice under government-to-government (G2G) route to Mali, a country in West Africa.

 

The move follows the Indian government’s decision in May to permit exports of fully broken white rice, which was banned from 8 September last year, to other countries to meet their food security needs.

 

'MEA (the ministry of external affairs) has forwarded a request from the minister of industry and commerce to export 290,000 tonnes of fully broken rice,' a senior government official said. 

 

'The quantity will be exported in two separate lots of 240,000 tonnes and 50,000 tonnes once the Directorate ­General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) examines the issue and announce the policy.'

 

The development comes amid demand from African countries that look to India for supply of fully broken white rice, other than parboiled rice.

 

This will be an addition to the government permitted broken rice exports of 500,000 tonnes to Senegal and 50,000 tonnes to Gambia in April. The government also allowed to export 200,000 tonnes of the rice variety to Indonesia in April.

 

African countries rely on India for rice supply as they get it at a cheaper rate as compared to the price offerings by Vietnam, Thailand or Pakistan.

 

While Thailand is offering 100% broken rice at $523 a tonne, the same variety of rice is being offered by India at $425 per tonne, the benchmark price in the global market. The Indian price includes a 20% export duty. A 5% broken rice is being offered at $468-$472 a tonne by India, whereas Pakistan, Vietnam and Thailand are offering it at $488-492, $508-512 and $518 per tonne, respectively. These three countries are offering the 25% broken rice in the range of $458-498. In contrast, India is quoting this variety at $448-452 a tonne, spot trade sources said. These prices are free-­on-­board (FOB).

 

Queries sent to MEA, commerce and food ministries on Sunday remained unanswered till press time.

 

Due to an export ban on fully broken rice, Indian exporters cannot sell it to the international market. However, the Indian government on 24 May allowed the exports of broken rice based on permission given by it for shipments to other countries for meeting their food security needs, though the export of broken rice is banned in general. The step was taken by the government after it started receiving requests for the same from foreign ministries.

 

As the export ban on fully broken rice is on place since September 2022, African nations, which rely on India to meet its 70% rice consumption have switched to non-basmati rice. In the first two months of the ongoing financial year, import of non-basmati rice by African countries have been 35% higher than the corresponding period last year at nearly 2.1 million tonnes (mt), said executive director of All India Rice Exporters’ Association Vinod Kaul.

 

In April-May of FY24, India’s basmati rice exports were 21% more than the previous year during the same period at 830,858 tonnes, and a 6.1% hike year-on-year at 2.8 mt has been recorded in non-basmati rice exports.

 

In FY23, India exported a total of 17.79 mt of non-basmati rice, while broken rice exports were 23% lower on year at 3 mt because of a ban on shipments imposed to keep domestic prices down.

India is mulling mega trade fairs for food, textiles and auto components, on the lines of Messe Frankfurt, Gulfood and Canton Fair, to achieve 12% growth in goods exports by 2030. These suggestions figured in a meeting held by commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal with industry and exporters on Monday.

 

Officials said investment promotion arm Invest India, which is also drawing up the country’s trade strategy, has identified 100-odd companies across 30 sectors and 30 countries, and around a 100 more being shortlisted as part of the Strategic Investment Targets Initiative. Besides, sectoral targets have been set for $1 trillion goods exports by 2030.

 

The commerce and industry ministry has identified 12 priority countries including the US, Canada, Germany, Brazil and South Korea where Indian exporters would do global exhibitions.

 

'There is a need to scale up our exhibitions and invite foreign companies to exhibit here,' said an official. The push for export promotion activities comes amid falling outbound shipments.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) will sell through e-auction nearly 8 lakh tonnes (lt) of foodgrains on Wednesday (July 5) as part of the government’s efforts to cool domestic prices of wheat and rice. According to State-wise tenders issued over the last three days, the Government has offered to sell 4.07 lt of wheat and 3.86 lt of rice under the open market sale scheme (OMSS).

 

In a shift from its earlier policy, the Government has decided to hold the e-auction every week. Earlier, it was supposed to be on alternate weeks, one-grain type a week.

 

Punjab allotted more

Except in three States, where minor adjustments have been done in allocation, all other States have been allotted the same quantity as was in the first round of tender, officials said. Only 85,580 tonnes of wheat were sold, at an average Rs.2,136/quintal, against 4.08 lt on offer in the first round of e-auctions held last week.

 

On the other hand, in the first round of rice e-auction Punjab has been allotted 1.5 lt, which is 39 per cent of the total quantity on offer.

 

'Since Punjab has excess stock, the offering is also higher,' an official source said. However, traders said the allocation has not been justified as many consuming States have not received adequate quantity whereas Punjab, which is predominantly a wheat-consuming State, has received a huge allotment.

 

5 States skipped in rice

There is no auction in rice announced for Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Assam, Chhattisgarh and Telangana. Officials said that due to on-going procurement of rabi-grown paddy some States have been excluded since there is a possibility of recycling. However, millers said that due to the reserve price fixed at Rs.3,100/quintal, there is no scope for recycling.

 

In the on-going season (October-September), the Government buys the majority of paddy at Rs.2,060, which comes to Rs.3,075 in terms of rice.

 

Bihar has been allocated 30,000 tonnes of rice in the first e-auction, while Uttar Pradesh got 15,000 tonnes and West Bengal 2,300 tonnes. Odisha has been allotted 10,000 tonnes, Jharkhand 17,000 tonnes, Andhra Pradesh 7,000 tonnes, Karnataka 33,000 tonnes and Kerala 10,000 tonnes.

 

The conditions such as bidders should have an FSSAI licence and cannot re-sell the rice to bulk buyers, as in the wheat auction, have been retained in the rice tender, too. Similarly, the maximum cap of 100 tonnes per entity as well as having a GST number in a state to be eligible to participate in that State have been retained in rice auction guidelines.

ProChile, a Chilean organization that promotes resource rich country globally, is keen to bring the Latin American agro-food varieties to India from apples to wines.

 

Chilean food like kiwifruit, cherries, blueberries, apples, walnuts, and wines are becoming popular in India.

 

Ignacio Fernandez Ruiz, the General Director of ProChile, visited India recently to explore new opportunities. He was joined by representatives from SOFOFA, a trade association in Chile. The delegation's goal was to strengthen the relationship between Chile and India, Ruiz told ET. ‘Know Chile through Wines’ was also part of Ruiz's mission.

 

India’s exports to Chile had been growing steadily since 2009. The expanded preferential trade agreement began implementation in May 2017 and since then India’s exports to Chile have increased. The trade has now picked up and recovered in 2021-22.

 

India’s export to Chile is diversified and constitute motor vehicles/cars, drug formulations, chemicals, products of iron & steel, manmade yarn, fabrics, cotton fabrics, made-ups, RMG Cotton including accessories, auto components, electric machinery and equipment, leather goods, rubber products, bulk drugs, drug intermediates, footwear of leather, iron and steel, aluminum & its product, ceramics & allied products, RMG manmade fibres etc. The top 25 principal commodities constitute 94% of India’s total exports to Chile during 2021. The top 10 constitute the 70%.

 

Chile can play a big part in India’s green energy transition. Chile with the largest lithium reserves worldwide, is ready to partner with India on tapping into the lithium value chain.

India on Monday allowed imports of potatoes from Bhutan without any license for one more year till June 2024. Earlier it was allowed till June 30 this year.

 

India imported fresh or chilled potatoes worth $1.02 million in 2022-23.

 

'Import of potatoes...is allowed from Bhutan without any import license, up to June 30, 2024,' the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.

 

In a separate notification, the DGFT said that the import of 17,000 metric tonnes of fresh (green) areca nut without a minimum import price (MIP) condition from Bhutan will also be allowed through LCS (land customs station) Chamurchi (INCHMB).

 

Rice exports

In a trade notice, the directorate laid out a procedure for allocation of quota for export of broken rice on humanitarian and food security grounds, based on requests received from governments of other countries.

 

It has extended the last date for submission of application for obtaining license for the export of broken rice to Senegal, Gambia, and Indonesia, upto July 6.

 

'In case of any mis-declaration by any applicant or any applicant failing to export the allocated quota to the respective country(ies), within the specified time period, will be black listed for the next two financial years,' the DGFT added.

CSIR-CFTRI (Central Food Technological Research Institute) sees the One Week One Lab (OWOL) as a platform to promote and exhibit advanced research, novel technologies, expertise, start-of-the-art facilities in food science.

 

Through this programme, the Mysuru-based CSIR-CFTRI strives to raise awareness, foster collaboration among other diverse stakeholders and facilitate the exchange of ideas, to ultimately drive innovation within the food industry.

 

The institute has developed several innovative products. Pioneering efforts include development of infant foods, ready to eat mixes, parboiling of paddy, spirulina, wellness and super foods. It has a major understanding of food analytics for ensuring safe foods, omnics technologies for molecular understanding, intelligent automation and the application of big data as an enabler for healthy foods. Further, CFTRI also facilitates cluster development activities for technology upgradation. Skill development and capacity building in food processing to boost entrepreneurship and foster growth of small-scale units.

 

In an effort to accelerate One Week One Lab, CFTRI called on the food industry experts for a 5-day event spanning July 3 to July 7 to deliberate on subjects that could spur the development of food research and technology. The institute stated that there was immense scope for transfer of technology for the products it developed and launched during the event.

 

At the event, CFTRI announced the process for the production of soluble and insoluble arabinoxylan from wheat bran. Arabinoxylan (AX) is one of the important dietary fibres found in cereal bran. Several scientific reports clearly demonstrated its benefits to human health. The current process uses wheat bran as starting material to extract soluble and insoluble arabinoxylan enriched fractions. The process is cost-effective compared to the existing processes. The process is greener, reagents and equipment used are indigenously available, and have a history of safe use in the food industries. The AX-rich products can be used as ingredient in the following products; bakery, breakfast cereals & snacks, confectionery, dairy, meat products, infant food, beverages, pharmaceuticals, and animal nutrition.

 

It also developed a production process for yeast. The process technology for bakers yeast is divided into upstream and downstream processing. The upstream primarily involves rejuvenation of yeast strain and preparation of inoculum (10%) for the production scale. Here the batch fermentation process is established at 100 L scale. After harvesting the yeast culture with time elapsed 24 h, feeding is initiated. After completion of feeding step, the obtained culture is converted to wet cake by centrifugation, following by washing with autoclaved distilled water and again centrifuging. The obtained cake is removed aseptically and packed using wax paper. The unwrapped wax packet can be used within 20-30 days when stored at 4oC for baking applications.

 

Yet another product was the launch of SeaSlim a  barley-seaweed based anti-obesity supplement, which helps in regulating body weight by reducing the food intake, plasma glucose and blood and adipose lipid level and can be used as low-glycemic index food.

Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Wednesday urged Indian banks to provide MSMEs with improved and inexpensive loans in order to meet the aim of 1 trillion dollars in product exports.

 

'Piyush Goyal has asked the Indian banks to ensure enhanced and affordable credit to MSMEs to achieve the target of 1 trillion dollar merchandise exports,' read the Ministry of Commerce & Industry press release.

 

According to the official statement, the meeting was convened by the Department of Commerce in coordination with Export Credit Guarantee Corporation Limited, (ECGC) in New Delhi.

 

The meeting was attended by the top officials of 21 banks which included the State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank, Canara Bank, Union Bank of India, Bank of India and Central Bank of India, said the official statement.

 

A presentation on 'Export Credit and Export Credit Insurance for Banks (ECIB)' was prepared by CMD ECGC, M Senthilnathan, it added.

 

According to the official statement, ECGC has now proposed additional improvements to provide adequate and affordable financing to a larger variety of MSME exporters based on its experience with the extended coverage plan.

 

'Based on ECGC's experience under the scheme of enhanced cover, ECGC has now proposed further modifications to make available adequate and affordable credit to a larger section of MSME exporters, the statement said.

 

The product facilitates the borrower accounts to be treated equivalent to 'AA-rated accounts with reduced cost of export credit to the exporters, it further added.

 

The Commerce and Industry Minister also mentioned at the meeting that the ECGC might look into expanding the programme that was proposed for nine banks to all banks in order to improve the export credit offtake for MSME Exporters, it said.

 

The Commerce and Industry Minister also recommended ECGC follow a pattern on similar lines to compensate for their loss for the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE), and bankers suggested that ECGC implement a claim processing technique similar to that.

 

The Union Minister advised the banks to take advantage of the proposed scheme and extend adequate and affordable export credit to MSME exporters. This would enable the country to achieve its target of USD 1 trillion in merchandise exports by 2030, said the statement.

 

The Union Minister also advised ECGC to examine 75 per cent of claim payments to banks under the ECIB scheme, within 45 days of receiving the claim, said the official statement

 

The Commerce and Industry Minister further informed that in the next four months, all the ECGC services would be digitised so that physical interaction can be minimised, it added.