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08 Jun, 2023 Kolkata to host BIMSTEC Expo and Conclave next week Kolkata, Jun 7 (PTI) A BIMSTEC Expo and Conclave will be held in Kolkata next week, aiming at bringing together government officials, policymakers and business leaders from the member countries. The three-day event starting on June 13 will be attended by over 400 trade and industry representatives from seven BIMSTEC member countries – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand, according to an ICC statement. The conclave will also have a high-level session with over 140 speakers from the BIMSTEC region. The event will focus on a range of issues, including trade facilitation, agri-food, infrastructure development, digital connectivity, sustainable tourism, advancement of healthcare, tea, gems and jewellery, climate change, startups, and fostering innovation. The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organisation that was established in 1997. The region has a combined population of over 1.68 billion people and a GDP of around USD 2.88 trillion. The programme is being held at a time when Sri Lanka and Bangladesh are facing economic headwinds. The event will provide a platform for businesses to showcase their products and services, and to network with potential buyers and partners among the countries, the statement said. It will also help promote cross-border collaboration and contribute to the growth of regional trade and investment. The region has the potential to become a major economic powerhouse, but it needs to address a number of challenges, including trade barriers, infrastructure bottlenecks, and regulatory issues, the statement said. PTI BSM NN NN This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content. Source: theprint.in
08 Jun, 2023 Horticulture emerges as eco growth driver in Telangana Telangana’s horticulture sector is driving agricultural innovation and economic growth. Covering an extensive area of 12.94 lakh acres, the sector produces a remarkable 61.64 lakh MTs of crops. Despite occupying only 7 percent of the total agriculture area, horticulture contributes 34 percent to the Agriculture Gross Value Output (GVO) and excels in various crops, ranking high in areas such as chillies, turmeric, mangoes, and vegetables. After the formation of Telangana, the government prioritised the horticulture sector through various subsidy programmes, including the NMEO-Oil palm, Per Drop More Crop (PDMC - RKVY) for micro-irrigation, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), National Bamboo Mission (NBM), and Sub-Mission on Agro-Forestry (SMAF). The establishment of Centres of Excellence (COEs) in Jeedimetla and Mulugu further enhanced training and demonstration opportunities for farmers. The first CoE, dedicated to vegetables and flowers, is located in Jeedimetla (V), Medchal district, covering an area of 10.35 acres. The second CoE, focused on fruits, is situated in Mulugu (V), Siddipet district, spanning an area of 53.25 acres. Pandal cultivation, promoted under the RKVY scheme, has gained popularity, covering 4,564 acres and benefiting 3,945 farmers with financial support of Rs 45.54 crore. Urban farming initiatives have encouraged households to cultivate vegetables in backyards and terraces, with over 5,900 kits distributed to 4,330 households. The National Bamboo Mission focuses on increasing bamboo plantation in non-forest lands, with 2.21 lakh bamboo plants distributed. The Sub-Mission on Agro-Forestry promotes tree plantation alongside crops and livestock, benefiting 1,064 farmers with 7.61 lakh plantations. Telangana participates in the Cluster Development Programme, with Mahabubnagar district selected as a pilot cluster for mango cultivation. This initiative addresses various aspects of the horticulture value chain, and Prasad Seeds Pvt Ltd has been accepted as the Implementing Agency for the Mahabubnagar Mango Cluster. Encouraged new varieties in Fruit Crops: Mango, Guava, Citrus, Pomegranate, Custard apple and many more Varieties – Mango: Dashehari -35, Arunika, Ambica. Sweet Orange: Katol Gold & Brazilian Oranges Mandarins: Nagpur mandarins Acid Lime: NRCC-7 Lemon: Konkan lemon Guava: Arka Kiran &Arka Rashmi, VNR – Bihi Pomegranate: Bhagwa, Super Bhagwa Custard Apple: NMK-1 Tamarind: Ananta Rudhira&TettuAmalika Jamun: CISH-J 37 From CISH Lucknow, Konkan bahadoli. Turmeric: ACC 48 (Pragathi), ACC79, Released by IISR, Calicut, ♦ Encouraged New Fruit crops suitable for Telangana: Apple ber, Date Palm and Dragon Fruit. ♦ Encouraged New Technologies / Best practices: High Density Plantations in Mango, Trellies, Creeper Mesh for Vegetables, Mulching, Raised Bed, Poly house & Shade net. Source: thehansindia.com
08 Jun, 2023 UP s share in fruits & vegetables cultivation in the country up from 7.2% to 9.2% in a decade As per the Agroforestry Report 2023, cultivation of fruits and vegetables has gradually become a field of immense possibilities for the farmers of Uttar Pradesh. The reasons for this include, the Yogi Government’s consistent appeal to the farmers to diversify cultivation of crops according to market demand for better income; production of high-quality plants in Centers of Excellence and Mini Centers of Excellence, which are then provided to farmers at minimum rates; controlled temperature and humidity for protected cultivation and the modernization of markets (mandis). According to the report, the share of state in the cultivation of fruits and vegetables has increased from 7.2 percent to 9.2 percent in he country within a decade while the Gross Value Output (GVO) obtained from it has increased from Rs 20,600 crore to Rs 38,000 crore. Horticulture center of excellence will be built in every district It is noteworthy that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has always encouraged farmers towards cultivation of fruits and vegetables since his first term in view of its immense potential both in terms of its consumption in the domestic and international markets as well as for the growth of processing units. More than a year ago, when the Yogi Government took over for the second time in the state, it set an ambitious target for the Department of Agriculture regarding expansion of the area of cultivation, increase in yield and processing for the next 5 years. As per the plan, the area under horticulture crops has to be expanded from 11.6 percent to 16 percent and food processing from 6 percent to 20 percent in UP by 2027. This has been done considering the possibility of a large number of processing units to be set up, which will require fruits and vegetables as raw material on a large scale. Horticulture infrastructure will in every district by 2027 Quality planting material (plants and seeds) plays the most important role in achieving the set target in horticulture. For this, the government will set up an Excellence Centre, Mini Excellence Center or Hi-Tech Nursery in every district within a stipulated time period. For example, the Center of Excellence is under construction in Chandauli, Kaushambi, Saharanpur, Lucknow, Kushinagar and Hapur. Similarly, Mini Centers of Excellence are functional in Bahraich, Ambedkar Nagar, Mau, Fatehpur, Aligarh, Rampur, and Hapur. Mini centers of excellence/hi-tech nurseries are also under construction at Sonbhadra, Moradabad, Agra, Sant Kabir Nagar, Mahoba, Jhansi, Barabanki, Lucknow, Chandauli, Gonda, Balrampur, Badaun, Firozabad, Shamli and Mirzapur. By 2027, he government plans to have such infrastructure in every district. Encouragement of the government led to increase in area of cultivation & yield Due to the encouragement from the government and increasing possibilities, the area under cultivation of fruits and vegetables has increased by more than 1.01 lakh hectares and the yield by more than 0.7 percent in the last 6 years. To provide quality plants to farmers, the Indo Israel Centres of Excellence for Fruits and Vegetables were established in Basti and Kannauj, respectively. Government promoting protected cultivation to grow off season vegetables To grow quality plants and vegetables out of season by controlling moisture and temperature, the work of promoting protected cultivation is also going on continuously by employing Indo-Israel technology. In the last 5 years, 177 hectares of poly house/ shed net were expanded for the production of flowers and vegetables, benefiting 5549 farmers. Constant efforts are made to continue this trend in Yogi-2.0. Dr. SP Singh, Vegetable Scientist said, 'The most effective means of increasing the income of the farmers in Uttar Pradesh is the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and spices. Having 9 types of agro-climatic zones, cultivation of all types of fruits, vegetables and flowers is possible in different regions. Small-marginal farmers will play an important role because they constitute about 90 percent of the total number of farmers, doing traditional farming of paddy, wheat, sugarcane etc. If their income is to be increased then they should be encouraged for the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and flowers.' Source: newsroompost.com
08 Jun, 2023 Malaysia: Bernas increases rice imports by 150,000 tonnes to prevent supply disruption Deputy Agriculture and Food Security Minister Chan Foong Hin said the additional rice import was decided during its engagement session between the ministry and Bernas last week which found higher demand for the staple food in the market now compared to last year. 'The government frequently holds engagement sessions directly with Bernas to ensure the issues of the industry are dealt with quickly. 'Therefore, the possible shortage of rice as raised in the Chinese media is inaccurate. In the current situation, retailers are facing lower domestic rice supply and they will import more rice via Bernas,' he said. He was speaking at the winding up of the debate on the Auditor-General’s Report Series 2 at Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (June 7) in reply to Khoo Poay Tiong (PH-Kota Melaka) who wanted to know the measures taken by the government to ensure an adequate supply of rice for the people. While touching on the 30% profit sharing of rice imports with rice farmers, Chan said it was not part of the 10 social obligations contained in the company's concession agreement with the government. 'This is one of the proactive steps taken by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his negotiations with Bernas to assist padi farmers... we welcome the proposal to include the matter as one of the social obligations after being finalised by the ministry. 'The ministry is still in the process of finalising the detailed mechanism for the implementation of this 30% profit sharing and will make an announcement once it is resolved,' he said. - Bernama Source: thestar.com.my
07 Jun, 2023 Farmer Producer Organisations will be promoted in a big way in Andhra Pradesh, says Agriculture Minister Kakani Govardhan Reddy. Minister of Agriculture & Cooperation, Marketing and Food Processing Kakani Govardhan Reddy has said that the Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) will be largely promoted in Andhra Pradesh on the lines of the Self Help Groups (SHGs) to help farmers get remunerative prices and explore opportunities in the domestic and export markets. Mr. Govardhan Reddy inaugurated the day-long workshop on ‘Export opportunities for agricultural, horticultural and processed food products from Andhra Pradesh’ organised by the A.P. State Organic Products Certification Authority (APSOPCA), Guntur, and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), New Delhi, in Vijayawada on June 6 (Tuesday). Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Govardhan Reddy said that Andhra Pradesh produces many varieties of horticulture and agriculture products in huge quantities, and remunerative price for the farmers was the most important aspect to be addressed. 'Through the FPOs, focus will be on achieving remunerative prices for the products. The FPOs will be promoted in a big way in the State so that the produce from small farmers is sourced by them on a large scale. The FPOs will trade the products in domestic and export markets,' he added. He said the Good Agriculture Practices (GAP) certification by the State government would make agriculture more beneficial to the farmers as they would be able to export the products to about 100 countries. Special Commissioner of Agriculture C. Hari Kiran said, for the first time, Andhra Pradesh was going to issue GAP certification to the farmers. He said farmers with GAP certification could export their produce to the European countries and the U.S. and get more profits. He said the World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) trained 240 farmers from Andhra Pradesh in good agriculture practices, and they in turn trained 9,000 more farmers. Commissioner of Horticulture S.S. Sreedhar said that Andhra Pradesh cultivates more than 135 varieties of agriculture and horticulture crops, and it was in the top three positions in many crops in the country. He said so far the produce was being exported to the Middle East, South-East and South Asian countries, and we were unable to export to other countries due to high amount of pesticide residue in the produce. He said the GAP certification would help explore more opportunities, and Andhra Pradesh now had the permission to certify organic produce too. A.P. State Seeds Development Corporation Ltd. Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Sekhar Babu Geddam, APEDA member Polaiah Kolamgari, A.P. Food Processing Society CEO Sridhar Reddy, representatives of various FPOs, farmers and others were present. Source: thehindu.com
07 Jun, 2023 India's palm oil imports hit 27-month low, buyers pick cheaper soft oils: Dealers. India's palm oil imports sank to a 27-month low in May as buyers cancelled expensive cargoes of the edible oil and replaced them with cheaper soyoil and sunflower oil, six dealers told Reuters on Tuesday. Palm oil imports by India fell to 441,000 tonnes last month, down 14% from 510,094 tonnes in April, according to average estimates from the dealers. May imports were the lowest since February 2021, the dealers added. The drop in purchases by the world's biggest importer of vegetable oils could weigh on palm oil prices, which are already trading near their lowest level in 30 months. India buys palm oil mainly from Indonesia, Malaysia - the top two producers - and Thailand, while it imports soyoil and sunflower oil from Argentina, Brazil, Russia and Ukraine. Price-sensitive Asian buyers typically rely on palm oil because of the low cost and quick shipping times. But the edible oil started trading at a premium to soyoil and sunflower oil over the past few months, prompting buyers to shift to the cheaper soft oils, said Sandeep Bajoria, CEO Sunvin Group, a vegetable oil brokerage and consultancy firm. In April, buyers opted to cancel large amounts of palm oil purchases for May shipments for the first time in many years. India's average monthly palm oil imports in the first six months of the 2022/23 marketing year that started on Nov. 1 were 818,203 tonnes, according to the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, up 52% from a year earlier. The trade body is likely to publish its May import data by mid-June. India's sunflower oil imports in May jumped 28% from a month ago to 319,00 tonnes, while soyoil imports rose 10% to 290,000 tonnes, according to an average estimate from the dealers. 'Palm oil has been losing market share for the past few months and is unlikely to regain it unless it becomes competitive, said Rajesh Patel,' managing partner at GGN Research, an edible oil trader and broker. Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
07 Jun, 2023 Global GDP is set to climb 2.1% this year: World Bank. The World Bank on Tuesday raised its 2023 global growth forecast as the US and other major economies have proven more resilient than forecast, but said higher interest rates would cause a larger-than-expected drag next year. However, it trimmed India's GDP growth forecast to 6.3% in FY24 from 6.6% forecast in January.Real global GDP is set to climb 2.1% this year, the World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report. That's up from a 1.7% forecast issued in January but well below the 2022 growth rate of 3.1%. Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
07 Jun, 2023 Trade body seeks 50 new agro-processing clusters in state in Rajasthan. A Rajasthan-based trade body has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to provide 50 new agro-processing clusters to the state. Agriculture & allied sectors contribute around 25 per cent to the state’s gross domestic product. Prem Biyani, the executive president of Akhil Rajya Trade & Industry Association (Rajasthan), said the setting up of these food processing clusters would help the state export quality products along with consumption in the local markets. Biyani said this would ensure that farmers get better prices for their produce because agriculture products purchased at support prices by the government would flow to these units, and this awould also reduce the economic burden on the government. The state has in place an agro-processing, agri-business, and agri-export promotion policy, which offers sops and concessions such as capital subsidies, subsidies on the freight for export of ordinary and organic produce, and interest subsidies for agro-processing units and for agro-processing infrastructure projects. Besides, a package of general financial incentives (exemptions and subsidies) is available for agro-processing, agri-business, and agri-export units. Rajasthan contributes 42 per cent of the country's total bajra production, according to statistics. Similarly, it contributes 45 per to mustard, 22 per cent to oilseeds, 17 per to sesame, 19 per cent to groundnut, 20 per to chana, 13 per to jawar, and 85 per to guar. In the fiscal year 2021–22, the total production of fruits was 956,000 tonnes, while that of vegetables stood at 2.37 million tonnes, spices (1.04 mt), food grains and pulses (25.4 mt) and oilseeds (10 mt). Source: business-standard.com
07 Jun, 2023 Govt removes 40 pc procurement ceiling for tur, urad, masur under PSS to boost domestic production. The Centre on Tuesday said it has removed the procurement ceiling of 40 per cent on three pulses -- tur, urad and masur -- under the price support scheme (PSS) for the 2023-24 crop year (July-June) to enhance domestic production. The Food and Consumer Affairs Ministry said farmers are free to sell how much ever quantity of their production of tur, urad and masur under the PSS this year. 'The assured procurement of these pulses by the government at remunerative prices will help motivate the farmers to enhance sowing area in respect of tur, urad and masur in the upcoming Kharif and Rabi sowing seasons in order to enhance the production,' the ministry said in a statement. PSS is operationalised only when prices of agri-produce fall below the minimum support price (MSP). The ministry has also directed state governments to ensure strict enforcement of stock limits on tur and urad and monitor their prices. To check hoarding and price rise, the ministry on June 2 imposed stock limits on tur and urad. The stock limits have been made applicable to wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers, millers and importers. It has also been made mandatory for these entities to declare their stock position on the portal of the Department of Consumer Affairs. The ministry has directed the state governments to ensure strict enforcement of the limits in their respective states. As part of enforcement, the states have also been asked to monitor prices and stocks position by verifying with various warehouse operators. Parallelly, the ministry has also asked Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC) and State Warehousing Corporations (SWCs) to provide the details about tur and urad held in their warehouses, the statement added. The retail prices of tur and urad have come under pressure in view of a slight fall in domestic production during the 2022-23 crop year. Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com
07 Jun, 2023 Saudi Arabia buys 624,000 tonnes of wheat in tender. It was bought at an average price of $261.76 a tonne c&f, GFSA said. The wheat with 12.5% protein content was sought for arrival between September and October in a series of Saudi ports. The purchase was more than the 480,000 tonnes sought in the tender. Traders had been hoping that Middle East importer buying interest would be sparked after US wheat futures hit 2-1/2 year lows last week. The agency, previously called the Saudi Grains Organization (SAGO), was renamed in January as the General Food Security Authority. In its previous reported tender on March 13, Saudi Arabia bought 1.043 million tonnes of wheat for July-August arrival. Source: brecorder.com
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