India is considering guarantees of lenders' letters of credit and soft loans for exporters hit by a cash squeeze following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and Western sanctions imposed on Moscow, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

 

Indian banks are scrambling after bills for imports from Russia have started bouncing and payments for exports have been stuck.

 

A government official, who declined to be named because the discussions were not public, said Indian exporters are owed about $500 million from Russia and the government may guarantee banks' letters of credit or loans to help ease the crunch.

 

'Letters of credit is the most likely option,' the official said.

 

A senior banker familiar with the developments said 'letter of credit or some form of bank guarantees can be given, so that trade settlement is not hampered. We are looking into it'.

 

The finance ministry and Reserve Bank of India did not immediately reply to requests for comment.

 

CHEAP LOANS

 

The government is also looking at having state-owned banks lend to exporters at reduced rates or provide funds to them directly up to the amount of pending payments from Russia and Ukraine.

 

The official said the decisions could be taken in a couple of weeks.

 

The banking source said then the central bank could follow up and 'find solutions to how bilateral trades can be settled.'

 

India exported $3.33 billion worth of goods to Russia in 2021, mainly pharmaceutical products, tea and coffee, while imports totalled $6.9 billion, including defence goods, mineral resources, fertilizers, metals and precious stones.

 

'We will first look to ease the pain of Indian exporters. Import settlement issue resolution could take some time,' the government official said.

 

India, which has deep trade and defence ties with Russia, has avoided criticising its long-standing arms supplier publicly and urged both sides to cease hostilities instead, causing frustration among its other allies including the United States.

Changing trends in meat consumption across the globe, especially pork platters, is fast catching up in South Asian nations, including India.

 

However, supply has failed to meet the growing consumption of pork meat in India, which accounts for a small percentage of the meat demand in the country.

 

Across the world, pork is among the highest consumed meats, while its production in India is only 1.7 per cent of the total production of 4.1 million tonnes, said T.P. Sethumadhavan, former Director of the Kerala Veterinary and Animal Science University (KVASU), quoting statistics of the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying.

 

Pork meat consumption was 2.95 lakh tonnes in 2021. Of the total production, the north-eastern states consume the meat more than other states, he told BusinessLine, adding that the NE states are now procuring piglets and pigs from the North Central and southern states.

 

The scarcity of piglets, coupled with lower productivity and rising demand, make the demand-supply situation more complex. The need of the hour, he said, is to strengthen pig production in the country in line with domestic demand, considering the nutritional, food security and livelihood issues.

 

According to him, there is a need to take up pig production as a priority area in livestock production. Government projects such as the National Livestock Mission, cold chain projects of the Ministry of Food Processing and Industries and Animal Husbandry Infrastructure development projects can pave the way for strengthening pig production programmes.

 

Sethumadhavan, who also works as a World Bank consultant, said pig production can create a lot of job opportunities and support the livelihood issues of millions of families. The thrust on pig production, including research, extension, genetics and nutrition will contribute to more than five per cent of agriculture GDP in the coming five years.

 

However, he said the sector requires skill development programmes to improve integrated value chain systems. Entrepreneurs should be given opportunities to invest in the sector so as to strengthen the production, consumption, value addition and marketing of pork products, including ready-to-eat and ready-to-cook products.

 

Echoing a similar view, A.S.Bijulal, Managing Director, the State-owned Meat Products of India Ltd, said the demand for pork meat is higher than supply. It would be difficult to get an exact production figure as most slaughterhouses are in the unorganised sector. But for MPI, he said 25 per cent of its yearly meat production of 700 tonnes constitutes pork.

 

Prior to Covid, there was good pork farming, especially in the hilly regions of Kerala. However, the majority of these were closed down in the absence of the required feed, mainly food waste, due to the closing down of hotels, catering units, and hostels during the lockdown.

Indian Chamber of Commerce in association with Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organised programme on 'Export Promotional Marketing Development of Organic Food Products from North East' on at Hotel Saramati, Dimapur on the theme 'Governance for Growth', on Thursday.

 

According to a DIPR report, principal secretary & agriculture production commissioner (APC), Y. Kikheto Sema said the region was blessed with all agro-climatic conditions and huge prospects of organic farming.

 

He said that the North East region had a total area of 18.37 million, out of which 5.5 million Ha was cultivated land.Kikheto however said organic farming covered only 3%.

He mentioned that APEDA being the forerunner for the organic sector in the country, immense progress was made in the past few years along with ICC.

 

The APC informed that in organic AC market at Agri Expo, 235 MT i.e., 2.35 lakh kg of organic products of vegetables were sold within a year, post-pandemic.

 

Farmer Hostel of 120 capacity at Agri Expo would be completed by the end of 2022 or early part of 2023 he informed.

 

He also disclosed that ginger was one of the best and huge production in Nagaland and that the Spices Board of India and the department had set a pipeline for ginger auction in Dimapur.

Meanwhile, joint director, ICAR Research Complex, Dr. Dipjyoti Rajkhowa said North East state was gifted with enormous resources, fertile land and rich bio-diversity, however, due to remoteness, marginality and inaccessibility up till now, sustain resources for economic upliftment were not met.

 

He said there was a need for strategic change in policies and approachable activities as a concern of hilly eco-system.

 

The farmers are facing the challenges of doing everything manually, not being aware of marketing, storage, or packaging, he pointed out.

 

Dr. Dipjyoti Rajkhowa said another concern was certification mechanism, intervention of certification could export a large amount of production.

 

He mentioned that awareness should be of utmost strategy that needs to be implemented among educated youth and farmers.

 

During the technical session, resource persons were director, Department of Horticulture, Dr. E. Lotha; additional director, department of Agriculture, Nyenghong Phom; joint director, Industries & Commerce, Lipongse Thongtsar; joint director & HOO, MSME Di, ministry of MSME, Tali Longchar; senior field officer, Spices Board of India, Vevotalu Rhakho; senior marketing officer-in-charge (DMI), Tapash Bhattacharjee; regional head, Small Farmers Agri-Business Consortium, Santosh Das.

Representatives of state and union governments, FPOs, progressive farmers, food processing entrepreneurs consumer organisations, organised industry buyers and experts policymakers conducted a brainstorming session during the seminar-cum-buyer-seller meet.

Global wheat prices have surged to over $11 a bushel (over $400 a tonne), a 14-year-high, as shipments from Russia and Ukraine have been totally disrupted following the Kremlin’s invasion of Kyiv.

 

With the North Atlantic Treaty Organization members and their allies announcing sanctions against Russia since February 24 when the Putin administration turned aggressive, analysts see prices for the cereal elevated. 

 

Big global buyers are looking for wheat supplies and countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region fear the worst since they depend heavily on wheat supplies from both these nations. 

 

Why the surge

 

On Thursday, May wheat contracts on the Chicago Board of Trade were quoted at $11.35 a bushel ($417 a tonne). Prices have gone up by over seven per cent in the last 24 hours and 22.5 per cent in the past week. 

 

Wheat prices have increased due to a couple of reasons. First is the concern over the supply in MENA since the countries in the region have been affected by rising prices and the non-availability of foodgrain. 

 

Wheat has also gained since quite a few Russian banks have been expelled from the global SWIFT (Society for Worldwise Interbank Financial Telecommunication) as part of the sanctions against Russia for invading Ukraine. 

 

Grain traders fear that they will be unable to put through their transactions in view of the SWIFT development. Traders point to how Iran lost 30 per cent of its export earnings following such an expulsion by SWIFT. 

 

Black Sea shipments stalled

The other reason for the panic is that Russian troops are closing down on Port of Odessa, a chain of ports, in Ukraine. The port on the Black Sea coast has been temporarily shut with the US reporting that Russian ships are heading towards the third-largest city of Ukraine. 

 

'Total exports from the Black Sea have come to a halt. This is the reason for the panic reaction,' said a New Delhi-based trade analyst.

 

USDA projections

Reports said wheat buyers are turning to the US, South America and Europe for supplies, resulting in prices skyrocketing over the last couple of sessions. Some countries are considering building inventories, fearing the crisis may prolong for a while. 

 

The primary reason for the wheat market reaction is because Russia is the largest exporter of the foodgrain and together with Ukraine made up nearly 30 per cent of global exports during 2020-21.

 

According to the US Department of Agriculture, Russia exported 39.1 million tonnes (mt) and Ukraine 16.85 of the total 198.75 mt shipments in 2020-21. For the current marketing season (August 2021-July 2022), Russia’s exports are projected at 35 mt and Ukraine’s 24 mt of the global exports of 208.44 mt. 

 

Indian export prices

The Russia-Ukraine standoff has opened up opportunities for Indian wheat, particularly in the Asian region. It has also resulted in prices for wheat exports increasing by over 10 per cent in the past week since the Russian offensive.

 

'Indian FOB (free-on-board) price is around $335-340 a tonne,' said Rajnikanth Rai, Divisional Chief Executive, ITC Agri-Business.

 

'Wheat offers are at $340-350 FOB now,' said Nitin Gupta, Vice-President, Olam Agro India Ltd. 

 

A trading source told BusinessLine that of the Russia-Ukraine issue prolongs for a couple of weeks, Indian wheat prices would improve and be still the most competitive in the region. The source said Indian wheat is always discounted against Russian and Ukraine wheat by $10-15 a tonne. 

 

The current crisis has helped to shed the discount since demand has been coming from various Asian nations. 'Most of the shipments are going from Kandla to South Korea, the Philippines and in bits to West Asia,' a multinational trader said.

 

Till now, Indian exporters have signed close to one mt of wheat for shipments over the next two months since most of the countries in the Asian region are looking to meet their short-term requirements. 

 

'There is not much offering as arrivals of wheat (from the new crop) is still very low, though demand is good,' Rai said. The arrival of the new wheat crop, ready for harvest, has been delayed by 15-20 days due to cold weather in the growing regions.

 

Shipping costs to rise

The Delhi-based analyst said the current geopolitical situation will also result in all shipping-related charges from freight to insurance increasing. 'Meeting foodgrain demand is going to be a costly proposition for some of the countries depending on imports,' the analyst said, pointing out that the rise in crude oil prices will only aggravate the situation.

 

On Thursday, Brent crude oil looked to top $120 a barrel, rising by over five per cent to $119.08 a barrel. WTI crude oil crossed $115 to rule at $115.90. The rise in crude oil prices will result in fuel prices.

 

According to agricultural economists, higher crude oil prices historically have led to higher prices for foodgrain prices such as wheat since input costs increase with fuel inflation. 

 

India’s wheat exports are aided by prospects of a record production this year and ample stocks with the Food Corporation of India (FCI). According to the second advance estimates of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, wheat production this year will likely be a record 111.32 mt against 109.59 mt last year. 

 

Record FCI buy targeted

 

As of February 1, FCI had 28.27 mt of wheat and including the new crop that has begun to arrive in some parts of the country, India should not have problems with meeting domestic demand. For this year, the Centre has targeted a record procurement of 44.4 million tonnes of wheat. 

 

In the domestic market, wheat prices are hovering near the minimum support price mark of Rs2,015 a quintal. In markets, in Uttar Pradesh’s Agra and Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain, prices are ruling even higher. 

 

Traders say prices will continue to rule higher as long as sanctions against Russia remain in place. The current situation also gives Indian traders to go global by trading in Russian grain since India has not announced any sanctions against the Kremlin. 

Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC is believed to have purchased durum wheat from optional origins in a tender which closed on Wednesday, European traders said.

 

The volume bought was unclear but initial estimates were around 250,000 tonnes. More details are possible later.

 

Traders estimated prices at around $625 a tonne to $630 c&f. More details are also possible later.

 

Algeria does not disclose the results of its tenders and purchase reports are based on trade assessments.

 

Shipment was sought in two periods, between April 1-15 and April 16-30. The tender had sought a nominal 50,000 tonnes.

 

Tunisia’s state grains agency on Wednesday also purchased about 100,000 tonnes of durum wheat in an international tender all at an estimated $634.89 a tonne c&f, traders said.

The 'Food, Agriculture and Livelihood fortnight' at the Indian Pavilion in EXPO2020 Dubai concluded yesterday with the sector highlighting India's investment-friendly policies, growth opportunities and showcasing country's core strengths across different areas of Agriculture and allied sectors to the global investors.

 

At the India Pavilion, the theme of 'Food, Agriculture and Livelihood' was represented by celebrating the diversity of Indian Agriculture under four major sub-sectors: Millets, Horticulture, Organic and Food Basket of the World (dairy, poultry & fisheries). The stories shared through the sub-sectors also covered Food Processing & Cooperation, which are also pillars for future growth.

 

Starting on 17th February 2022, the fortnight was inaugurated by Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare along with Smt. Shubha Thakur, Joint Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.

 

The inaugural ceremony also included the opening of the Millets Food Festival along with introductory conversations amongst the Government & Private sector. The inaugural delegation invited audience to participate in seminars/conferences, roundtable meetings and country-level meetings scheduled during this period, to interact with government delegation, businesses, and entrepreneurs from across the globe.

 

A high-level inaugural delegation, comprising of senior officials from the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoAFW), Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (MoFAHD), Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Ministry of Cooperation (MoCoop), was chaired by Dr. Likhi. The delegation also included representation from the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative (IFFCO) and several food, hospitality and farm companies.

In addition to the excellent display at the Indian Pavilion, senior level delegation from India added required enthusiasm and acceleration by participating in meetings with senior officials and investors from Zimbabwe, Vietnam, Morocco & Myanmar. The participants explored areas of cooperation in agriculture, rural development, fisheries & the seafood sector, in order to boost exports and strengthen the trade relations.

 

The UAE is a significant market for agricultural produce from India, the inaugural delegation interacted with key officials from the prominent companies like Al Dahra, Grand Hypermarket, Lulu Hypermarket, RNZ enterprises, Choithram group, Aqua Bridge, Sharaf Group, Jaleel holdings, DP World, Transworld etc. The delegation participated in 8 G2G meetings, 20 G2B Meetings, 63 B2B meetings and visited several country pavilions, during the fortnight.

 

In line with the recent declaration of the year 2023 as the 'International Year of Millets' by the United Nations General Assembly, India's advantage as a major Millet producer was highlighted during the expo. Millets production not only supports small farm holders but also contributes towards achieving food safety and nutrition as a whole. A seminar on Millets was conducted to highlight India's potential and tremendous opportunities of this sub-sector, for stakeholders across the Millets value chain including processing & export.

 

The second delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture was led by P.K. Swain, Additional Secretary, Priya Ranjan, Joint Secretary and Smt. Chhavi Jha, Joint Secretary, from the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, presided over the activities and events planned to showcase Emerging technologies, Organic & Horticulture sectors.

 

Given the current scenario of Indian agriculture, technological innovations and advancements will determine the parameters of success. Hence, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare hosted a seminar on 'Emerging Technologies in Farm Machinery, Digitization & Opportunities for Entrepreneurships'. The seminar focused on showcasing the innovative and relevant technological interventions that will impact the overall productivity and competitiveness of India's farm sector through farm mechanization, digitization and entrepreneurship development.

 

The seminar organized on the subject 'Indian Organic and Horticulture Sector-Moving Up the Value Chain', further emphasized on the progress made in these sub-sectors to improve quality and access high-value markets. The seminar attracted participation from the government & private sector and business houses expressed interest to increase export/import volumes in this segment.

 

The Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD) had several engagements at the Dubai Expo from the 28th of February to the 2nd of March, Shri. Atul Chaturvedi, Secretary, DAHD, GoI virtually connected with the heads of prominent companies like Al Dahra and the Lulu Group to apprise them of the various opportunities and schemes that they could explore within India's dairy, livestock, and animal feed sectors. The objective of such engagements is to one attract more investments in India's dairying and livestock infrastructure so that there are higher profit margins and more jobs created within India, and secondly it also seeks to promote Indian exports to countries within the Middle East and beyond. Thus, the Secretary DAHD shone the spotlight on the major steps taken towards enhancing traceability, adopting technology, and encouraging startups in the country's animal husbandry and dairy sector. As a next step, the Invest India team will conduct market research, location analysis, and assist the interested companies with their India entry plans.

 

India's food processing sector in India is being increasingly seen as a potential source for driving the rural economy and thereby increasing the farmers' income. The future of Agri & Food Processing Industry has been anticipated to potentially attract USD 33 bn investments and generate employment for 9 mn people by 2024. India has a tremendous platform to cater to its domestic demand as well as explore export markets. In order to harness this immense potential, Kuntal Sensarma, Economic Advisor, to the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) led conversations with key stakeholders to foster business collaborations for the sector, which will not only increase overall processing percentage but also contribute to reducing post-harvest losses.

 

The Fisheries sector plays an important role in the Indian Economy providing principal livelihood support and employment to more than 14 million people. India is bestowed with more than 2500 fish species with 75% of them being marine species. Fisheries sector has registered more than double growth in past 5 years from 4.9% in 2012-13 to 11.9% in 2017-18. 50+ different types of fish and shellfish products are being exported from India to 75 countries around the world. Major import markets for India are China, South-East Asia, USA, EU, Japan and Middle East. Frozen shrimp is the key contributor to India's export basket. The immense potential of fisheries sector was further highlighted by Mr I.A. Siddiqui, Additional Commissioner, Department of Fisheries, during the meetings and discussions with delegates from other participating countries at the EXPO2020.

 

With a vision to set up 50,000 new start-ups, 500 new incubators and 100 new innovation zones by 2024, India has made significant progress. The start-up India eco-system has so far recognized more than 63,000 start-ups and India is home to total of 89 unicorns so far. To help connect with the global start-up ecosystem, Start-up India has launched bridges with 13 countries (Brazil, Sweden, Russia, Portugal, UK, Finland, Netherlands, Singapore, Israel, Japan, Canada, Croatia, and South Korea) that provides a soft-landing platform and aid in promoting cross-collaboration.

India is examining all possible payment mechanisms for continuing trade with Russia, including the one adopted to settle payments with Iran.

 

Foreign banks that don't have operations in countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia or routing payments through Russian banks unaffected by the curbs are among the options under consideration. Third-country banks were used to settle trade with Iran.

 

Two major Russian banks, Sberbank and Gazprombank, are currently exempted from sanctions because they are the main channels of payment for EU's gas and oil imports from Russia.

 

"We are looking into this. Even if these banks face sanctions from the US, payments can be made in euros as these transactions are still being carried out until further sanctions," said a government official, adding that the full impact of the restrictions is yet to be felt.

 

Efforts to Ringfence Economy

 

Another option under consideration is the mechanism used to repay Russian debt through a rupee auction held by the Russian central bank. The repayment is made through the export of identified commodities and services.

 

Bilateral trade between India and Russia is about $10 billion, 1.3% of India's total trade.

 

The Reserve Bank of India and the government are in constant touch over developments as they look to contain the fallout and ringfence the economy, said another person with knowledge of the matter. Any decision on the issue will be taken at the topmost political levels in consultation with the external affairs ministry.

 

India does not want to take any hurried measures that are seen to be undermining western economic sanctions on Russia, sources said.

 

India's agriculture exports after reaching $43.23 billion in 2013-14, slumped to $33.68 billion in 2016-17. Despite the pandemic, a conspicuous turnaround occurred in these exports growing to $41.32 billion in 2020-21. This momentum is expected to continue in the current year as well and India’s agriculture exports can, for the first time, cross $50 billion in 2021-22. This year, the country is also expected to witness the highest ever exports of meat, marine products and rice, with around 50 percent share of rice exports in the world market.

 

While we have witnessed huge export growth in manufacturing and hi-tech sectors recently, the Government of India's consistent and concerted endeavours to usher in reforms for boosting agricultural exports have also been highly fruitful. The year 2020 started with the unprecedented global pandemic, which led to substantial increase in the global demand for food items. India has been able to step in through Indian missions abroad and interacted through virtual buyer-seller meets, removed many bottlenecks, coordinated with port/customs/State/district authorities, etc, to meet the increased global demand. All these efforts led to India emerging as a global supplier of food and other essential agricultural products.

 

Due to these efforts, exports of principal agriculture commodities have registered an increase of 17.56 percent to $41.32 billion, in 2020-21 vis-à-vis 2019-20. In 2020-21, India reached its highest ever export of $4 billion of spices and its products.

 

Similarly, during April 2021 to December 2021, the following commodities have shown significant increase in their export vis-à-vis April 2020 to December 2020: Non–Basmati Rice (46%), Coffee (43%), Wheat (416%), Other Cereals (72%), Cashew (16%), Sugar (61%), Fruits (28%), Dairy products (82%) and Marine products (35%).

 

Covid-19 emergency response cell created to help exporters in addressing their issues related to movement of consignments/trucks/labour, issuance of certificates, lab testing reports, sample collection, etc, ensured the real time clearance of exports.

 

The validity of various certifications/accreditations was extended beyond their dates of expiry. Timely and smooth issuance of certificate for export, health certificates and certificate of origin was done. An in-house platform for organising virtual trade fairs to establish contact between Indian exporters and importers was developed.

 

The Agriculture Export Policy was announced by the Government of India in 2018 with a focus on agriculture export-oriented production, export promotion, better farmer realisation and synchronisation with the policies and programmes of the Government of India. During the course of its implementation of AEP, considerable progress has been made in giving Farmer-Produce Organisations (FPOs) and farmers a stake in the export of their produce. It provided direct linkage of FPOs/farmers with the export market, which has not only improved farmers’ incomes but has also resulted in good farming practices.

 

Regular interaction was carried out with the states to propel them to include agricultural exports in their respective State Export Policy. The Department of Commerce, through APEDA, facilitated the state governments in finalising state/UT specific action plans for implementation of AEP in respective states/UTs. For the first time, an institutional mechanism for promoting agricultural exports has been set up in the states.

 

In order to provide direct export market linkage to farmers/FPOs and to encourage export-oriented production, 46 unique product-district clusters have been notified for export promotion. For the first time, the government has reached out directly at cluster and farm levels to give farmers a stake in export of their produce. The FPOs/farmers have been sensitised about requirements of export-oriented production. Agri-clusters have been activated by forming cluster-level committees, forming FPOs, connecting exporters to the FPOs, and sorting out the issues of transportation/ logistics/ pack houses, etc.

 

These clusters have been made operative with none or minimal additional investments by pooling the existing resources, with great success in clusters like Varanasi (fresh fruits and vegetables), Nagpur (orange), Ananthpur, Theni, Kolhapur, Solapur and Jalgaon, Surat, Narmada and Bharuch (Banana), Sangli, Nasik and Pune (Grapes), Nashik (Onion) and Solapur (Pomegranate).

 

A Farmer Connect Portal has been set up through APEDA for providing a platform for FPOs/FPCs, cooperatives to interact with exporters. Around 3,120 FPO/FPCs and 3,604 exporters have been registered in the portal. In order to ensure quality of exports and establish India as a reliable supplier of quality produce, traceability to the farm level is vital. A number of digital platforms, using technologies like blockchain, for traceability have been developed for enabling smooth flow of business and ensuring transparency in the system, such as HortiNet for mango, vegetables and citrus fruits, Basmati.net, TraceNet for organics, Peanut.net, farm registration app, Meat.net and Grapenet.

 

‘Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) for Specified Agriculture Products’ is a scheme for providing assistance for the international component of freight to mitigate the freight disadvantage for the export of agriculture products and assistance for the marketing of agricultural produce. This has enabled exporters to export from hitherto unexplored land-locked areas.

 

Specific products from the agriculture sector have been identified for exports.

Detailed analysis of SPS/TBT issues affecting these products has been carried out, for taking up the matter bilaterally with various importing countries. APEDA has also engaged with 60 Indian missions for preparing country-wise agri-export strategy.

 

APEDA interacted with the Indian missions and other stakeholders to identify the products, their potential and way forward for each country. The opportunities thus analysed have been shared with trade bodies and exporters so that they can avail the opportunity. A Market Intelligence Cell has been set up for dissemination of e-market intelligence reports comprising detailed market analysis.

 

Efforts are being made to expand India’s agri-export basket and promote export of products unique to India. Few examples include moringa, ethnic rice, millets, GI certified mango varieties, sapota, litchi, jackfruit powder/cubes, saffron/dry fruits, dragon fruits, etc.

 

In future, we may look forward to concerted efforts by multiple stakeholders including the various concerned ministries of the Government of India, farm organisations, food processing industries, other trade/policy organisations and technology startups to build structural transformations in the areas of post-harvest value addition and quality standards enhancements of agricultural produce to expand our global market performance to even higher levels.

The central government is committed to doubling the income of farmers and is working on making agriculture more profitable as well as more sustainable, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

 

New Delhi: The central government is committed to doubling the income of farmers and is working on making agriculture more profitable as well as more sustainable, Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi said on Wednesday.

 

In an interview, the PM also said his administration identified four pillars to make the lives of farmers better: lowering input cost, increasing the sources of income, better market prices and more use of scientific methods in agriculture.

 

'Both parampara (legacy) and pragati (progress) will be used to support our farmers,' Modi said.

 

During his first term, Modi first pledged to double the income of farmers by the 75th anniversary of India’s Independence. Since then, his government has repeatedly stressed on its commitment towards agriculture, showcasing schemes such as PM-KISAN, under which cultivators are paid ?6,000 a year.

 

Modi also touched on the surprise repeal of three controversial farm laws, which sparked a yearlong protest by cultivator groups from Punjab, Haryana and Western Uttar Pradesh. The government and many experts said the reforms were long overdue and would help the cause of farmers. However, farmers believed that the laws would increase their dependance on the private sector.

 

'As far as the impediment in the form repeal of the agricultural laws is concerned, I would say that the path may be different. But our goal is the welfare of the farmers,' the PM said.

 

Modi said the government was promoting traditional farming techniques, organic farming, zero budget farming and natural farming. He also stressed on technology, mentioning the Kisan Drone initiative, which can help in crop evaluation, digitisation of land records and spraying of pesticides and nutrients.

 

'The bright future of India’s agriculture is also linked to the export of more and more agricultural products. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, agricultural exports are at a record level this year… this shows that the government’s efforts are paying off,' he said.

 

Agriculture has also been one sector immune to the pandemic, growing by 3.6% last year (2020-21) and estimated to expand by 3.9% in the ongoing financial year.

 

The PM said the government focused on an all-round strategy to increase the income of farmers. 'For the first time, we have decided to keep the minimum support price (MSP) at 150% of the cost of the farmers. Apart from this, several facilities related to animal husbandry, fisheries as well as beekeeping and horticulture have been added…today, foodgrains are being purchased from farmers by twice the number of government procurement centres in the country compared to before 2016,' he said.

 

The PM said there was an 'unprecedented difference' in agricultural procurement between the previous government and his administration. 'In our time, there has been an increase of 78% in the purchase of paddy. We have broken all the previous records not only in the purchase of paddy, but also in that of wheat. Similarly, compare the last five years of the UPA [United Progressive Alliance] regime and the last five years of our government. The MSP payment in pulses has increased by 88 times,' he added.

India’s merchandise export in February 2022 was USD 33.81 billion, an increase of 22.36% over USD 27.63 billion in February 2021 and an increase of 21.88% over USD 27.74 billion in February 2020.

 

India’s merchandise export in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 374.05 billion, an increase of 45.80% over USD 256.55 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 28.16% over USD 291.87 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

India’s merchandise import in February 2022 was USD 55.01 billion, an increase of 34.99% over USD 40.75 billion in February 2021 and an increase of 45.12% over USD 37.90 billion in February 2020.

 

India’s merchandise import in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 550.12 billion, an increase of 59.21% over USD 345.54 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 24.11% over USD 443.24 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

Value of non-petroleum exports in February 2022 was 29.70 USD billion, registering a positive growth of 18.04% over non-petroleum exports of USD 25.16 billion in February 2021 and a positive growth of 22.23% over non-petroleum exports of USD 24.30 billion in February 2020.

 

Value of non-petroleum imports was USD 39.96 billion in February 2022 with a positive growth of 26.0% over non-petroleum imports of USD 31.72 billion in February 2021 and a positive growth of 47.33% over non-petroleum imports of USD 27.12 billion in February 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum exports in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 319.09 billion, an increase of 36.16% over USD 234.36 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 26.07% over USD 253.10 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum imports in April 2021-Feb 2022 was USD 408.63 billion, showing an increase of 49.61% compared to non-oil imports of USD 273.12 billion in April 2020-Feb 2021 and an increase of 26.61% compared to non-oil imports of USD 322.74 billion in April 2019-Feb 2020.

 

Value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in February 2022 was USD 26.60 billion, registering a positive growth of 18.31% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 22.48 billion in February 2021 and a positive growth of 24.98% over non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 21.28 billion in February 2020.

 

Value of non-oil, non-GJ (gold, silver & Precious metals) imports was USD 31.61 billion in February 2022 with a positive growth of 31.66% over non-oil and non-GJ imports of USD 24.01 billion in Feb 2021 and a positive growth of 42.31% over non-oil and non-GJ imports of USD 22.21 billion in Feb 2020.

 

The cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports in April 2021-February 2022 was USD 283.83 billion, an increase of 33.92% over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 211.95 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and an increase of 29.47% over cumulative value of non-petroleum and non-gems and jewellery exports of USD 219.22 billion in April 2019-February 2020.

 

Non-oil, non-GJ (Gold, Silver & Precious Metals) imports was USD 332.85 billion in April 2021-February 2022, recording a positive growth of 44.78%, as compared to non-oil and non-GJ imports of USD 229.89 billion in April 2020-February 2021 and a positive growth of 22.35% over USD 272.05 billion in April 2019-February 2020.