Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare virtually inaugurated the 'Silver Jubilee Building' of the ICAR-Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur, Karnataka here today.

 

Shri Tomar underlined the cultivation of cashew in around 11.25 Lakh ha area having an annual production of 7 Lakh Tonnes. He stated that the area under cashew in the country is the second-largest in the world. Shri Tomar accentuated that India is the second-largest country in the production of raw cashew nuts in the world. Highlighting the ever-increasing consumption of cashew in the country, he also stressed the need for setting a goal to fill up the gap between its production and consumption. To adopt the ways for strategic planning to enhance the export of cashew instead of its import was also emphasized by Shri Tomar.

 

The Chief Guest of the occasion, the Union Minister highlighted the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi’s visions of 'Aatma Nirbhar Bharat' and 'New India'. Applauding the efforts of the agricultural and farming fraternity that have led the country to be self-dependent and self-reliant in the production of the various avenues of agriculture, Shri Tomar urged for working together to strengthen the country. The unparallel contributions of the Council and its Institutes Pan India in strengthening the agricultural sector of the country were applauded by the Union Minister. He also asserted on the dedication of the agricultural scientists to ensure the enhancement in the production and quality of the various crops that have yielded visible results.

 

'There is a need to enhance the cashew’s production and its productivity by bringing more area under the cashew cultivation', stressed Shri Tomar. He urged for exploring the possible suitable areas for its expansion. The release of 26 varieties, the development of Virtual Software and the Mobile App 'Kaju India' by the ICAR-DCR, Puttur for apprising the farmers about the latest developed varieties and technologies were underlined by the Union Minister. The large scale employment opportunities generated by the Cashew Processing, which involves around 95% farmers along with the Cashew Processing Units providing employment to about 15 Lakh people was highlighted by Shri Tomar.

 

The Union Minister regarded the New Silver Jubilee Building as a new dimension in the Council’s vision of empowering and benefiting the agricultural community which will help in advancing the research on the Cashew crop. He stated about the Council’s efforts of enabling the farmers to connect with it through technological advancements. This, he said, is beneficial to a large extent for the farmers.

 

Shri Tomar urged the scientists for providing prompt and timely solutions to the various problems faced by the farmers. Asserting the Government of India’s commitment to enhance the farmers’ income, the Union Minister highlighted the various Schemes like - Fasal Bima Yojana, Rs. 1 Lakh Crores Fund for Infrastructure, development of 10,000 Farmers’ Producers’ Organizations (FPOs) and Kisan Credit Cards for Farmers, etc., that are aimed at benefiting the agricultural community to a larger extent.

 

The Guest of Honor, Shri Kailash Choudhary, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare accentuated on the need for enhancing the production and cultivation area of Cashew Nuts in line with the vision of the PM. The Minister also emphasized on benefiting the Cashew Farmers under the Central Government’s 'Lab-to-Land' Scheme and disseminating the Cashew’s new varieties to the maximum number of farmers.

 

The Special Guest, Km. Shobha Karandlaje, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare emphasized on providing prompt solutions to the Cashew Farmers by finding out the particular problems. 'More productive Cashew crops should be developed by carrying out the extensive research in the area of Cashew Nuts Farming', urged the Minister.

 

The need for reducing the Cashew Crop’s imports and its popularization in other areas too was stressed by Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR).

 

Earlier, Dr. Anand Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Horticultural Science), ICAR delivered the welcome address. Dr. Vikramaditya Pandey, ADG (Horticultural Science - 1), ICAR was also present during the occasion. Dr. T.N. Raviprasad, Director, ICAR-Directorate of Cashew Research, Puttur, Karnataka proposed the vote of thanks. Shri Nalin Kumar Kateel, Member of Parliament (Mangalore); Shri Sanjeeva Matandoor, MLA along with Shri Sanjay Garg, Additional Secretary (DARE) & Secretary (ICAR); Dr. Ashok Kumar Singh, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR; Dr. Brajesh Kumar Pandey, ADG (Horticultural Science), ICAR; Senior Officials, Scientists and Farmers of ICAR were also present during the occasion.

A conclave organised here recently to create awareness of the need to obtain Geographical Indication (GI) by bringing together stakeholders received a good response from the business community.

 

The meeting, organised by NABARD Madurai Agribusiness Incubation Forum with the support of the Thoothukudi district administration to enable GI ecosystem among stakeholders of GI products of Tamil Nadu, was an eye-opener to producers of area-specific products.

 

Over 300 GI tags have been given to various products across the country., Tamil Nadu has only 42 GI tags due to lack of awareness of the advantages of getting the all-important tag even as potential exists for over 100. It is because the associations, producers and artisans do not know the process of pre-GI registration, post-GI schemes, subsidies and filing for authorised users. Moreover, marketing trends have changed with the advent of social media and market influencers, which is yet to penetrate traditional businesses.

 

Hence, Assistant Collector (Training) Srutenjay Narayanan organised the conclave here that tried to bridge all the gaps by holding a meeting of all GI stakeholders. Over 500 people joined the conclave virtually from across Tamil Nadu and other States.

 

'GI tagged products associations, authorised users and producers of GI products of Tamil Nadu participated in the conclave, which provided them with the right platform for sharing the challenges faced by GI stakeholders. They interacted with Collector K. Senthil Raj and the local heads of various government agencies such as NABARD, APEDA, MSME, Spices Board on post-GI registration benefits and schemes,' said Mr. Srutenjay Narayanan.

 

Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi launched the handbook on GI products of Tamil Nadu and the GI map of the State. She also launched the Blockchain-based traceability on GI tagged ‘Kovilpatti Kadali Mittai’, jointly developed by NABARD and MABIF (Madurai Agrobusiness Incubation Forum).

 

The conclave also highlighted the need for International GI tag filings, increasing the number of authorised user filings for the GI products and exploring more GI tags in Tamil Nadu considering the rich tradition and history of the State.

 

The sessions organised during the meeting threw light on hitherto neglected areas such as packaging, e-commerce and digital promotions. While Indian Institute of Packaging and NABARD MABIF Incubatee’s Shapers Studio explained in detail about the need for attractive and safe packaging, GI Pro presented innovative solutions for enriching the GI market potential and e- commerce platforms to market the products.

 

YouTuber Deepan Chakkravarthy demonstrated the need for digital promotions for GI and Varnik Systems and Solutions highlighted the field=level challenges in implementing traceability technology like Blockchain.

 

The conclave highlighted the relevance of having stakeholders’ meeting, provided key insights and the takeaways gave a way forward for the conclave, said Mr. Srutenjay Narayanan.

 

Chief General Manager of NABARD T. Venkatakrishna, Assistant General Managaer Suresh Ramalingam, Dr. Senthil Raj, Corporation Commissioner T. Charusree, Additional Collector V. Saravanan, Superintendent of Police L. Balaji Saravanan, Thoothukudi Corporation Mayor N.P. Jegan and others participated in the conclave.

As India marches to achieve $410 billion worth of goods export in the fiscal year 2021-22 that just ended, exporters will likely continue to benefit from the momentum in the new fiscal year too, economists said. The ongoing Russia-Ukraine war is hitting global supply and value chains, and could pose downside risks to India’s exports. However, the momentum achieved in FY22, elevated commodity prices, and changing global dynamics may help soften the downside, Yuvika Singhal, Economist at QuantEco Research told FinancialExpress.com.

 

Will the conflict in Europe impede India’s trade momentum?

 

'There are both downside and upside risks from the war. However, at a balance, India will be in advantage,' NR Bhanumurthy, economist and Vice Chancellor, Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics University told FinancialExpress.com. 'The extent of downside risks, in terms of impact on growth, are in my view not substantial. Inflation will have an impact, for instance. I don’t think there will be a significant impact on trade. However, the upside is for sectors such as agriculture. India had a bumper crop this year, which in my assumption would have pushed down the prices, but with the war, and scarcity of agri produce, India is expected to benefit,' Bhanumurthy said.

 

In the absence of domestic demand, external demand for India’s goods has been robust. India’s services exports especially IT companies exports have also done really well. 'This is a great opportunity for India and these numbers indicate that the Indian economy can re-experience the high growth India saw between 2003-2008 period, before the global downturn of 2008,' Bhanumurthy said.

 

Can India be an export-led economy?

 

India has no doubt done phenomenally well in terms of exports this year, and can do better in coming years given its comparative advantage in several sectors, however we would be jumping the gun if we say the Indian economy can become an export-led economy, Singhal said.

 

'In the last two years, with the coronavirus pandemic, global trade has evolved dramatically, some countries have been averse to China and are looking at a China+1 strategy, supply disruptions have become persistent in some markets exacerbated by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. Many global economies, much like India, are looking to be self-sufficient. So in order to say that exports can become the sole driver of the Indian economy in the coming years, that may not be the case,' she added.

 

What is driving India’s exports growth?

 

Russia is one of the largest exporters of oil and gas, and commodities such as wheat, cereals, aluminum, and steel and nickel. The conflict in the Black sea region has created gaps in the global supply chain. In addition, due to sanctions put against Russia by countries such as the US, other countries are looking elsewhere to meet their demands.

 

India, for instance, is tapping this opportunity and increasing its surplus exports of wheat and other commodities. 'India had a surplus season in terms of agricultural produce this season, and markets were expecting the price to fall, until the Russia-Ukraine war happened. This will help farmers fetch better returns on their produce,' Bhanumurthy said.

 

'India’s exports are also expected to benefit from supportive policies such as the Production Linked Incentive Scheme, for which FY 2022 was the first year of production. Some of the bigger global names such as Apple and Samsung have already set the ball rolling on contributing to domestic production and exports in FY22,' Singhal said.

 

$400 billion+ exports this year, what lies ahead?

 

From Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, leaders lauded exporters, manufacturers, micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), weavers, as well as the farmers, as India exported merchandise goods worth $400 billion for the first time this year, up 20% from FY19. Economists said these numbers are a significant indicator of India’s economic recovery especially post covid. 'India’s export growth historically is seen to display a strong correlation of about 70% with global GDP growth, and FY22 was no exception on that front,' QuantEco’s Singhal said.

 

Major rating agencies such as Fitch and S&P have cut their outlook for global growth citing the war in Eastern Europe. And thus, India, like much of the world, is expected to be hurt. 'We expect import growth to slow down in FY23, though it is likely to remain higher than exports at ~17%. In addition to elevated global commodity prices, unlocking of the domestic economy post the Omicron wave along with improving vaccination cover are anticipated to support pent up and organic demand both,' Singhal said.

Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC is believed to have purchased about 600,000 tonnes of optional-origin milling wheat in an international tender on Wednesday, European traders said in updated assessments on Thursday.

 

The price paid for the wheat was estimated at about $448 a tonne c&f, they said.

 

In first assessments late on Wednesday, traders had reported an initial volume of about 120,000 tonnes, also at $448 a tonne c&f.

 

Algeria, one of the world’s largest wheat importers, does not release results of its tenders and reports are based on trade estimates.

 

Some traders said the volume bought may have been slightly below 600,000 tonnes at about 570,000 tonnes.

 

More detailed assessments of prices and volume are possible later.

 

The tender sought shipment in two periods from main supply regions including Europe over June 1-15 and June 16-30. If sourced from South America or Australia, shipment is one month earlier.

 

The price level in the tender was seen as relatively low and suggested that Romanian and Bulgarian supplies could be used for at least part of the order, traders said, adding that French wheat could also be used.

 

France has traditionally been Algeria’s main wheat supplier.

 

A diplomatic row between Paris and Algiers and a push by OAIC to attract Black Sea origins led to French wheat being sidelined in OAIC’s tenders earlier this season.

 

The agency later moved to allow French supplies again, with traders saying disruption to Black Sea supplies owing to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine prompted Algeria’s rethink.

Source: Reuters

Australia is on the brink of finalizing a free-trade agreement with India with an announcement possible in 'coming days,' as the government works to strike a deal less than two months before an expected May election.

 

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said that he and his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal were meeting daily and 'getting very close' to reaching a deal. Tehan said he was hopeful that there could be an announcement soon.

 

'Both sides are working feverishly to make sure we can get an agreement that’s in both our national interests,' he said in a Bloomberg Television interview.

 

A free trade agreement between India and Australia has been more than 10 years in the making, with negotiations beginning in 2011 before being suspended four years later in 2015. Finally in 2020, amid warming ties between Delhi and Canberra, Prime Ministers Scott Morrison and Narendra Modi agreed to restart negotiations.

 

Two-way trade between India and Australia was worth A$24.3 billion ($18.3 billion) in 2020, up from just $13.6 billion in 2007, according to the Australian government. Experts have said one of the main sticking points is agriculture, with Australia wanting access to the Indian market, but Modi’s government reluctant to put its domestic farmers - a major vote bank - at risk.

 

The push for an agreement comes just weeks out from the beginning of a national election campaign in Australia, with Morrison’s center-right government pushing a narrative of strong economic management as it struggles to make up ground in opinion polls.

 

Tehan is currently on a visit to the U.S. to meet with Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo for the inaugural Strategic Economic Dialogue between the two countries, where they were expected to discuss China’s attempts at trade coercion against Australia and the need to strengthen the supply chains for rare earths.

 

'The traditional rule book is being thrown out the window because we are seeing some countries using their economic weight and their economic power, using economic coercion, using non-market practices, to try and influence global trade,' he said.

 

Speaking on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Tehan said he expected Australia to announce further sanctions against Moscow soon.

In order to keep pace with the changing regulatory requirements for export of organic products to European Union, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized a webinar jointly with the Indian Embassy in Brussels and Denmark yesterday.

 

The webinar focussed on the revised Regulations being implemented since 1st January 2022 for imports in EU and the market opportunities for Indian organic products.

 

The European Union is the second major destination for Indian organic food products. Under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), exports to EU stood at $356 million in 2020-21, accounting for around 34% of the $1040 million worth worldwide organic food products exported from India.

 

Organic food products from India are exported to USA, European Union, Canada, Great Britain, Korea Republic, Israel, Switzerland, Ecuador, Vietnam, Australia, etc. In terms of export value realization, Processed foods including soya meal (57%) lead among the products followed by Oilseeds (9%), Cereals and millets (7%), Plantation crop products such as Tea and Coffee (6%), Spices and condiments (5%), Medicinal plants(5%), Dry fruits (3%), Sugar(3%), and others.

 

While complementing the stakeholders on the milestone achieved by India by crossing remarkable export of more than $ 1billion organic products under NPOP, Dr. M. Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, emphasized that the applicable standards need to be adhered to in order to maintain the market acceptance by the end consumers and the national regulators. He also stated that APEDA provides possible means for market penetration of new products and brand building through participation in organic food fairs in EU.

 

In order to address the challenges faced by the Indian exporters in exporting to EU and enhance the share of Indian organic product shipments to EU, a panel discussion was also held with members of OrganicDenmark, Confederation of Indian Organic Industry, International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM) and Organic Processing and Trade Association (Europe) (OPTA). Technical sessions were led by Michel Reynaud of IFOAM and Aurora Abad of OPTA wherein the aspects on new regulatory requirements and emerging market opportunities were detailed.

 

In his address, Shri Santosh Jha, Ambassador of India to Belgium, Luxembourg and EU, highlighted the necessity for the market acceptance for organic products, expectation by the importing countries and emerging opportunities for Indian organic products.

 

Ms. Pooja Kapur, Ambassador of India to Denmark, spoke about the current organic market trend focussing on Europe, significance of regulatory system and brand building for India.

 

Though the webinar was aimed for Indian exporters, it witnessed the participation of trade associations in EU, Indian missions of various EU Member States, Certification Bodies, Assessors and officials from various departments.

 

APEDA is the implementing body for the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP). The programme involves the accreditation of Certification Bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming and marketing, etc. The NPOP standards for production and accreditation system have been recognized by European Commission and Switzerland for unprocessed plant products as equivalent to their country standards. With these recognitions, Indian organic products duly certified by the accredited Certification bodies of India are accepted by the importing countries. APEDA is also in the process of negotiation with South Korea, Canada, Japan, Australia etc.

 

In 2020-21, India produced around 3496800  Metric Tonne of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely Oil Seeds, Fibre, Sugarcane, Cereals & Millets, Pulses, Aromatic & Medicinal Plants, Tea, Coffee, Fruits, Spices, Dry Fruits, Vegetables, Processed foods etc. The organic production is not limited to the edible sector but also raw cotton, functional food products etc. Among different states, Madhya Pradesh is the largest producer followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. In terms of commodities, Oil seeds are the single largest category followed by Fibre crops, Sugar crops, Cereals and Millets, Spices & Condiments, Pulses, Medicinal plant products, Fruits & Vegetables, Tea, Coffee, Dry Fruits etc.

 

In 2000, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry launched NPOP as the first such institutional mechanism for organic products in India. In 2001, the NPOP was brought under the ambit of Foreign Trade Development and Regulation (FTDR) Act wherein it was mandated that no organic products can be exported unless they are certified under National Programme for Organic Production.

The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to use the unprecedented opportunity of wheat exports for India to establish brand MP of wheat at the international level.

 

In a meeting held with top 20 wheat exporters of the country in Bhopal on Tuesday, chief minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan said the exporters will have to mention MP Sharbati Wheat in their invoice instead of just writing wheat.

 

The MP government has said it has an additional quantity of 3.75 million tonnes in 19 districts of the state, which can be made available for exports on 'priority'.

 

'The quality of MP wheat is much better. If the invoice just says wheat, one cannot know its source. Writing the name of MP Sharbati wheat will help in establishing its identity,' said Bhavinkumar Shah, managing director of Prateek Agro Exports. 'The biggest incentive for us will be the proposal to give subsidies for freight rate, which has increased exorbitantly.'

 

The state government will give fiscal incentives to exporters who will now be able to get a licence by paying Rs 1,000 instead of Rs 3 lakh required earlier. The government is also considering giving subsidies on electricity used by mills for grading and sorting.

 

'The Madhya Pradesh government wants to enter into long-term trade contracts with different countries in joint venture with the Ministry of External Affairs and Apeda,' said an exporter who was present at the meeting but did want to be identified.

 

In a move aimed at realizing Prime Minister Narendra  Modi's vision of 'Vocal for Local' with an emphasis on 'Aatmanirbhar  Bharat', the agriculture department of Meghalaya under the aegis of  Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority  (APEDA) organized a one-day International Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) on  Tuesday. 

 

'Despite being endowed with conducive climatic  conditions for the production of a large number of quality fruits and  vegetables, the export potential of the North Eastern Region of India  has remained untapped. Being a landlocked State, the farmers and  entrepreneurs of Meghalaya have not received much exposure to  international trade opportunities. The exclusive buyer-seller meet  provided an opportunity to the producers and processors of Meghalaya to  showcase their products to global and domestic buyers to promote their  exports as well as their wholesale and retail sales,' an official  statement said. 

 

The BSM buyers from Sri Lanka, Nepal,  Bhutan, Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Greece, United Arab Emirates,  Muscat and European countries actively participated in the first of its  kind buyer-seller meet post-Covid-19 period in Meghalaya.

 

Addressing buyers and sellers, APEDA chairman, M. Angamuthu, said,'We  intend to promote agricultural products of Meghalaya. The state has a  good number of G.I products as well as state-specific agricultural  products such as ginger, turmeric, pineapple, etc. The objective of this  BSM is 

 

to tap the abundant potential available in the northeastern  state. The APEDA will facilitate over 100 exporters in registration and  knowledge building by training them for export of quality products,' the  release read.

 

The APEDA has also assured traders of  Meghalaya that a dedicated packhouse would be established in the state  to give a fillip to the export of agricultural products of the state.  The BSM was organized by APEDA in association with the National Design  Centre, Shillong.

 

State Agriculture Minister, Banteidor  Lyngdoh, who virtually shared his views on the event, said,'APEDA,  under its Agricultural Export Policy, is encouraging States to harness  the potential of agri produce exports.'

 

APEDA aims to create a  platform for the buyers to get the products directly from the farmer  producer organizations (FPOs) and the food processors.       

 

This event will link the producers and processors of Meghalaya and  buyers from other parts of the country as well as abroad, which in turn  will broaden the base of the export pockets in the North East, including Meghalaya, and increase the employment opportunities thereby improving  the livelihood of the people,' the official paper said.

 

More than 50 participants from all the eight North Eastern States will  display a wide range of agricultural products. Over 30 buyers from  India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Singapore, Greece and Nepal will participate in this event. 

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) has facilitated the season’s first consignment of fresh mangoes exported from Mumbai to Japan.

 

A mango festival is being organised in Tokyo, Japan as a part of Azadi ki Amrit Mahotsav, in collaboration with the Embassy of India, Japan & Invest India today, wherein the mango exhibition & tasting will be done at various outlets of Lawson supermarkets.

 

Apeda has taken a number of export promotion activities and initiatives by way of development of virtual portals for organising virtual trade fairs, farmer connect portal, e-office, Hortinet traceability system, buyer seller meets, reverse buyer seller meets, product-specific campaigns etc. Apeda has been closely working with the state governments for creating infrastructure and promotion of export from the state.

 

Apeda, a statutory body under the ministry of commerce, is the nodal agency for promoting Indian agro and processed food exports and is responsible for facilitating and promoting the export of horticulture, floriculture, processed food, poultry, dairy and other agro products.

India's export of agricultural products have touched USD 40.87 billion in the first 10 months of the current fiscal and it is 25.14 percent more than the financial year, Union Minister of State for Commerce Anupriya Singh Patel said in Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Patel said exports of some other major agricultural products like wheat, sugar and cotton have registered a substantial increase during the current year.

 

'During the period between April 2021 to January 2022 of the current financial year, exports of agricultural products have amounted to USD 40.87 billion compared to USD 32.66 billion over the corresponding period of previous year, registering an increase of 25.14,' she said during Question Hour.

 

Patel said of the products for which targets were fixed, export of some of the major items like rice, other cereals, coffee cereal preparations, meat, dairy and poultry products and marine products would achieve or come very close to achieving the targets for 2021-22.

 

The minister said the rise in agricultural exports improves realisations for farmers and has a positive impact on their income.

 

In order to ensure that the farmers benefit from exports, the government has launched a Farmer Connect Portal for providing a platform for Farmer Producer Organisations Companies (FPOs/FPCs) and cooperatives to directly interact with exporters, she said.