The Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA) expects the production of mustard at 111.83 lakh tonnes (lt) for the 2022-23 season.

 

In his monthly letter to the members of the SEA of India on Monday, Ajay Jhunjhunwala, President of SEA, said the RMSI Cropanalytics Pvt Ltd, which had carried out rape-mustard estimate for 2022-23 in March, had estimated total crop 115.25 lt. Stating that the unseasonal rain during March impacted the crop, he said the revised and final yield of the crop production has been estimated at 111.83 lt.

 

Prices below MSP

Expressing concerns over mustard prices ruling below the MSP (minimum support price), he said the mustard price is currently ruling at Rs.5,100 a quintal in the agricultural produce marketing committee (APMC) yards. However, the farmers receive only Rs.4,600-Rs.4,700 a quintal on hand after deducting APMC yard tax and other charges. APMC yard prices of mustard continue to rule below the MSP of Rs.5,450 a quintal for the season despite the government’s move to procure the oilseeds from the farmers.

 

Stating that the government is aiming to increase mustard production in the country to 200 lt by 2025-26, he said the Centre has increased mustard MSP by over Rs.1,000 a quintal over the last four years. Additionally, high crop prices during sowing period encouraged farmers to expand the area under mustard. 'Unfortunately, at the time of harvesting, price has fallen much below the MSP. The farmers are reluctant to sell at such low prices and are greatly discouraged. This may lead to a lower area under soyabean in the ensuing kharif season and mustard in the rabi season,' Jhunjhunwala said.

 

He hoped that the government agencies such as Nafed and Hafed step up their procurement of mustard seed at MSP and create a buffer stock for any likely eventuality due to El Nino affecting the oilseed crop.

 

El Nino chances

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted a moderate El Nino lowering monsoon rainfall in India this year. The Climate Prediction Centre of US has predicted that there is a 60 per cent chance of El Nino setting in during May-July and increasing to 70 per cent during June-August. He said this may affect maize, soyabean and rice production in India.

 

On the castor crop survey, he said AgriWatch conducted castor crop survey on behalf of the association. The first estimate of 19.63 lt was arrived at during January-end, and it was presented at the Castor Conference. The estimate was revised downward to 19.06 lt in March.

 

Stating that AgriWatch has submitted the final report, he said the total all-India castor crop has been estimated at 18.81 lt for 2022-23 against 16.94 lt in the previous year.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), Government of India celebrated World Bee Day on 20th May, 2023 at Raja Bhoj Agriculture College, Waraseoni Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh.

 

The World Bee Day celebration was graced by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in the august presence of Agriculture Minister, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Chairman, OBC Welfare Commission, Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Chairman, NDDB and other dignitaries on the dais.

 

In his deliberation, Shri Tomar mentioned that under the '10,000 FPO Scheme' of the Government of India, in order to strengthen the beekeepers in the country by developing the institutional framework for collective development, 100 bee keepers / honey producers FPOs have been allocated under NBHM for which TRIFED, NAFED and NDDB have been selected. In this sequence, a total of 80 FPOs of bee keepers /honey producers have been registered. Further he stated that there is huge potential for honey production in this area which must be utilized for increasing farmer’s income.

 

During the World Bee Day celebration, an Exhibition with over 100 stalls were set up by Beekeepers, processors and different stake holders of beekeeping sector to showcase the diverse varieties of honey bee and different products in beekeeping sector. More than 1000 farmers, beekeepers, processors, entrepreneurs and all stakeholders associated with honey production attended the programme.

 

A workshop with three technical sessions was organized on different themes. Need of Research & Development to promote Scientific Beekeeping for Income Generation. Driving Growth through Effective Marketing Strategies for Domestic & Export Market. Production Technology and Research & Development of Scientific Beekeeping- Experience Sharing and Challenges. Productive Partnership in Honey- Industries Insights. Marketing Challenges and Solutions (Domestic/ Global).

 

The programme is aimed at promoting and popularizing beekeeping nation-wide National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) of the Govt. of India under Atma-Nirbhar Bharat. The NBHM is implemented through the National Bee Board for overall promotion of scientific beekeeping & entrepreneurship among small & marginal farmers, infrastructure development for postharvest management and support for research & development and to achieve the goal of 'Sweet Revolution'.

 

The significant achievements in honey production through short video film were played on this occasion. The participants from the different categories were felicitated for their significant contribution in this sector. Different honey products Start-up’s/ FPOs releases of publication on bee keeping were launched. On this occasion the Honey Testing Labs were virtually inaugurated by Hon’ble Agriculture Minister viz., Regional Testing lab- IIHR, Bengaluru, Karnataka, Regional Testing lab, IARI, Pusa New Delhi, Mini Honey Testing Lab SKUAST Kashmir at KVK, Kupwara, J&K, Mini Honey Testing Lab, KVK, Damoh, Madhya Pradesh, Mini Honey Testing Lab, Banaskantha District Co-op. Milk Prod. Uni. Ltd. Palanpur, Gujarat, Mini Honey Testing Lab, College of Agriculture, Pashighat, Arunachal Pradesh; Mini Honey Testing Lab, NIFTEM, Sonipat, Haryana; Bee Disease Diagnostic Center, FCRI, Hyderabad, Telangana. On this occasion he also inaugurated Bee box Manufacturing Units- Honey & Other Beehive Products Collection centres, Trading, Branding and Marketing units at Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh & Uttar Pradesh.

 

Diversified agro-climatic conditions of India provide great potential for beekeeping/ honey production. India is producing about 1,33,200 Metric Tonnes (MTs) of Honey as per 2021-22- 3rd Advanced Estimate. India has exported 74413 MT of Natural Honey to the world worth Rs. 1221 crore (US $ 164.835 million) during 2020-21. The scientific technology being adopted for increasing production and testing of honey by maintaining quality standards for national and international markets and promoting the production of other beehive products viz.; bee pollen, bees wax, royal jelly, propolis & bee venom. This has facilitated the beekeepers to increase their income and increased demand of honey and beehive products both in the domestic and international markets.

 

Bees are renowned for their role in providing high-quality food and other products used in healthcare and other sectors but the work of bees entails much more. The greatest contribution of bees and other pollinators is the pollination of nearly three quarters of the plants that produce 90% of the world’s food. Effective pollination increases the yield of agricultural produce and improves their quality. Beekeeping in India is thus an important agri-business activity that not only promises good returns to the farmers but also helps increase agricultural productivity leading to food and nutritional security of the country.

India’s mango exports to the US are expected to more than double in the current fiscal, although from a very low base. Exporters see shipments of the fruit to the US crossing 2,000 tonnes, as against 813.5 tonnes in 2022-23, 16.51 tonnes in 2021-22 and 1.45 tonnes in 2020-21.

 

Exports to the US were expected to get a boost through the mango-for-bikes deal in 2007. India, then, allowed imports of Harley-Davidson motorbikes from the US in return for the latter opening up its market for Alphonso mangoes. The deal – lifting an 18-year ban on mango imports from India after a few rejected fruit fly-infested consignments – followed the then US President George W Bush’s visit to New Delhi in 2006.

 

But for all the hype over the deal, exports of fresh mangoes did not really take off, touching a peak of 1,095.42 tonnes valued at a mere $4.35 million (Rs 30.56 crore) in 2019-20.

 

During 2022-23, India’s overall mango exports totalled 22,963.78 tonnes (worth $48.53 million or Rs 378.49 crore). The major markets were UAE (12,139.62 tonnes), UK (2,768.76 tonnes) and Qatar (2,026.20 tonnes), with the US at a distant No. 7 behind even Oman, Nepal and Kuwait.

 

However, Kaushal Khakhar, CEO of Kay Bee Exports, is confident about shipments to the US topping 2,000 tonnes in the current fiscal. 'There’s lot of demand coming from supermarkets and stores there, especially for the Kesar mangoes,' said Khakhar, whose Phaltan (Maharashtra)-based company claims to be the largest air-freight exporter of fresh fruits and vegetables to Europe.

 

Grown across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka and Telangana, Kesar is considered to be a sturdier variety with longer shelf life than the more well-known Alphonso. The latter geographical indications-protected variety is mainly cultivated in Maharashtra’s Konkan coast districts of Sindhudurg, Ratnagiri and Raigarh.

 

India’s mango export season normally starts after March. For the US, it takes off in April after the arrival of the country’s phytosanitary inspector who undertakes physical quality checks of the fruits that are destined for exports. The European Union, UK and other countries also follow quality protocols, but their rules for imports don’t require physical presence of inspectors in India.

 

Demand apart, the fall in air-freight charges is seen as another factor favouring exports to the US this time. 'Last year, we had to pay as much as $6 per kg for freight. That has now halved to $3/kg,' said Khakkar.

 

Assam’s dairy cooperative, West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Ltd (WAMUL), has introduced honey under its brand ‘Purabi’ sourced from the local beekeeper of Assam.

 

The first FPO promoted by WAMUL, Naba Milon Beekeepers and Producer’s Cooperative Society Limited, Kamrup.

 

The launch took place on May 20 during an event commemorating World Bee Day, which was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Government of India, at the College of Agriculture in Waraseoni, Balaghat district in Madhya Pradesh.

 

The ceremony was attented by the Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare,Narendra Singh Tomar, who inaugurated the event.

 

During the programme, the Chairman of NDDB, Meenesh Shah, highlighted the significant contribution of WAMUL in the formation of the Honey Farmers’ Producer Organization (FPO) in Kamrup district. 'West Assam Milk Producers’ Cooperative Union Limited (Purabi Dairy), the largest dairy in the Northeast region of our country, formed a Honey FPO in Kamrup district of Assam as a CBBO. The raw honey produced by the farmers of this FPO will be procured, processed and marketed by the milk union as ‘Purabi Honey’.'

 

‘Purabi Honey’ was launched alongside other honey brands produced by various CBBOs across India as part of the government’s ambitious 10,000 FPO initiative. WAMUL has been entrusted with developing the honey FPO in Kamrup Rural, and Naba Milon Bee Producers is one of the successful FPOs established under this initiative.

 

General Manager WAMUL, SK Parida said that Purabi as a brand always stood for good health and wellbeing with its range of high-quality dairy products, has extended the portfolio with Purabi Honey, which stands in similar plank of good health. Additionally, the cooperative network also provides an opportunity to enhance the farmers’ income through honey production.

Hyderabad will host a three-day G20 Agriculture Ministers meeting from June 15-17.

 

Addressing the media here on Sunday, Union Minister G Kishan Reddy said apart from Agriculture Ministers from G20 countries, special invites from 9 countries, experts, heads of agriculture departments from various countries, and model farmers will also take part in the global agricultural conference.

 

Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar would be overseeing the preparations.

 

Reddy said that 100 out of 250 meetings of G20 have already been successfully completed under India's G20 presidency.

 

There are 46 sectors consisting of agriculture, culture, tourism, security, law and order and other themes. Each sector will have four meetings, out of which, three meetings would be working group meetings and the fourth being the meeting of the G20 ministers.

 

He said the third meeting of the tourism sector is going to be held from May 22 to 24 in Srinagar. 'It is the first international event taking place in Srinagar after 34 years,' he said, adding that the first meeting of the culture was held at White Beach in Ran of Kutch in Gujarat, the second one in Darjeeling of West Bengal, and the third is going to be held in Srinagar. The final and ministers’ level meeting will be held in September this year in Goa, he added.

 

Kishan Reddy said that delegates from G20 countries and from nine special invitees’ countries comprise 85 per cent of the population and 75 per cent of the GDP of the world. 'It is a proud moment for the country for successfully completing the meetings and the state governments have also been cooperating,' he said.

 

Following the directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the spirit of ‘Athithi Devo Bhava’ and ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ resonated during the conduct of the meetings.

The 2nd TIWG meeting, under India’s G20 Presidency, is being organized in Bengaluru from May 23rd - 25th, 2023. The meeting will be inaugurated by the Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Smt. Anupriya Patel on May 24th, 2023. During this three-day meeting, over 100 delegates from G20 member countries, invitee countries, regional groupings and international organizations will deliberate on reforming the multilateral trading system, integrating MSMEs in global trade, resilient GVCs, making trade work for growth and prosperity, and efficient logistics for trade.

 

On May 23rd, the first day of TIWG, a seminar on Trade and Technology will be organized. Themes, such as technology reshaping trade and the role of technology in driving inclusive growth will be deliberated in two panel discussions, featuring domain experts, academicians and practitioners. Seminar will be followed by a guided city tour, a cultural program and Gala Dinner for the G20 delegates.

 

The subject of WTO Reform, which is one of the priorities pursued by the Indian Presidency will be taken up for discussion in a technical session on May 24th, 2023. The emphasis of these discussions will be on reaffirming WTO’s foundational principles, as embodied in the Marrakesh Agreement and its multilateral trade agreements, thus recognizing the need for open, inclusive and transparent functioning of WTO. A presentation will also be made on the subject by the Knowledge Partner.

 

On the second and third day, presentations will be made on the deliverables related to digitalization of paper documents, such as Bills of Lading and Certificate of Origin that are critical for cross-border trade, and on developing an action plan to create Meta Information Portal for MSMEs, framework for mapping GVCs, a compendium of best practices on Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) and on G20 Regulatory Dialogue. These deliverables have emerged from deliberations that took place during the 1st TIWG meeting held in Mumbai from March 28th – 30th, 2023.

 

The aim, under India’s G20 Presidency, is to build a shared understanding of the challenges faced in accelerating global trade and investment, and leveraging existing opportunities to make growth inclusive and transparent. Thus, building global synergies that lead the world towards finding common solutions for a resilient and sustainable One Earth, One Family, One Future.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his British counterpart Rishi Sunak on Sunday reviewed the progress of the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations and agreed for their trade teams to continue at pace towards an 'ambitious' deal, Downing Street said. Modi and Sunak met on the sidelines of the summit of the G7 advanced economies here in Hiroshima.

 

In their second in-person meeting since the G20 Summit in Indonesia last November, the two leaders are said to have discussed the deep ties shared between the nations.

 

In relation to India's G20 presidency, Downing Street also indicated that the British Indian leader's first visit to India is expected to be for the G20 Summit in New Delhi later this year.

 

'The leaders reflected on the deep ties between the UK and India, rooted in our human connections, and the vital importance of democracy and fair and open trade,' said a Downing Street spokesperson.

 

'They discussed progress on a UK-India Free Trade Agreement. The leaders agreed that their teams would continue to work at pace to finalise an ambitious and mutually beneficial deal,' the spokesperson said.

 

'The leaders discussed the wider objectives of the G7 Summit and the Prime Minister [Sunak] committed his strong support for India's G20 Presidency, which comes at a crucial time for global security and prosperity. He looked forward to working closely with Prime Minister Modi ahead of a successful Summit later this year,' the spokesperson added.

 

Modi is also said to have passed on his 'warm congratulations' to Sunak on the Coronation of King Charles III earlier this month, where India was represented by Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar.

 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) readout of the meeting echoed similar outcomes of the in-person meeting between the two leaders, as they reviewed the India-UK Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, including taking stock of progress in the India-UK FTA negotiations.

 

The two nations last month concluded the ninth round of FTA negotiations with detailed discussions across a range of policy areas.

 

Recently, Britain's Chief Negotiator for the FTA - Harjinder Kang - was appointed the country's new Trade Commissioner to South Asia and Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, based in Mumbai.

 

According to official UK government statistics, India was the UK's 12th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q3 2022, accounting for 2.1 per cent of total UK trade.

 

They also agreed to deepen cooperation across a wide range of areas, such as trade and investment, science and technology, higher education, and people-to-people relationship.

 

During discussions on India's G20 presidency, Prime Minister Modi said he looked forward to welcoming Sunak to New Delhi for the G20 Summit in September.

 

The G7 Summit concluded in Hiroshima this weekend after wide-ranging discussions between leaders from the largest economies of the world. India was invited as a guest nation to the Group of Seven, which includes the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, France, Germany and Italy, with the European Union (EU) as a non-enumerated member.

India’s coffee exports for the marketing year 2023-24 beginning October are set to rise by 2 per cent to 6.3 million bags of 60 kg each (about 3.8 lakh tonnes) on strong export prospects, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)’s local office in the country said.

 

The USDA India Post in its latest projections expects the export demand for Indian coffees to remain strong throughout 2023-24. However trade sources do indicate that current prices are limiting the international buyers from placing large orders, it said.

 

'The strong demand for Indian robustas, especially the robusta cherry is seen driving the projected growth,' said Ramesh Rajah, President, Coffee Exporters Association. 'We are seeing a good demand for the lower priced robustas, while we don’t see a big increase in Arabica shipments.'

 

Shipment stats

In the current year 2022-23, USDA Post sees India’s coffee exports at 6.225 million bags of 60 kg each. So far, the shipments are trailing the previous year’s levels.

 

For the October-May 15 period of the current season 2022-23, shipments stood at over 2.38 lakh tonnes, about 10 per cent lower when compared with the same period last year’s 2.65 lakh tonnes, as per the Coffee Board data.

 

The Post said farmgate prices of Indian coffee are trading at decade-high rates, driven by a global surge in international prices due to supply issues.

 

Green bean prices for arabica parchment and robusta cherry have increased by 9 and 24 per cent, respectively, since the beginning of the Indian marketing year in October 2022. Both varieties are trading well above the International Coffee Organisation indicator prices.

 

The USDA Post forecasts marketing year 2023-24 coffee production at 5.8 million bags of 60 kg each comprising 73,800 tonnes of arabicas and 2.74 lakh tonnes of robustas. The forecast for 2023-24 is seen as lower than the current year’s estimate of 6.25 million bags.

 

Monsoon impact

'Deficit pre-monsoon rains (March-May) are expected to impact yields negatively as fruit setting drops significantly, especially for the arabica variety in the major growing regions,' USDA Post said.

 

Farm gate prices have risen since the beginning of this marketing year due to the anticipation of lower-than-expected supplies.

 

India’s domestic consumption is forecast to decline marginally to 1.285 million bags of 60 kg each as a result of rising input costs including that of raw coffee beans.

 

Post further said that carryover stocks will remain limited due to higher export volume, USDA Post said.

Uttar Pradesh has surpassed Maharashtra in sugar production in the current season even as 118 sugar mills operated in UP during the period compared to 210 mills that were operational in the western state. UP's Cane Development and Sugar Mills' minister Laxmi Narayan Chaudhary told PTI, 'UP is ahead of Maharashtra as far as production of sugar is concerned along with a number of other factors.'

 

Elaborating further, Chaudhary said, 'The total sugar produced by Uttar Pradesh in sugar season 2022-2023 is 107.29 lakh tonnes (which includes 3.05 lakh tonnes of Khandsari (physically extracted sugar from liquid jaggery), as compared to 105.30 lakh tonnes by Maharashtra. The area under cane cultivation in Uttar Pradesh is 28.53 lakh hectare (maximum in India) as compared to 14.87 lakh hectare in Maharashtra.'

 

The sugarcane crushing season runs from October to June.

 

'The sugarcane production in UP has been 2,348 lakh tonnes, while in Maharashtra it was 1,413 lakh tonnes,' Chaudhary said.

 

He added that total cane crushed by sugar mills in UP in the 2022-2023 season was 1,084.57 lakh tonnes, whereas it was 1,053 lakh tonnes in Maharashtra.

 

The UP minister also informed that 19.84 lakh tonnes of sugar was diverted to ethanol in Uttar Pradesh, while in Maharashtra, it was 15.70 lakh tonnes.

 

Pointing towards the number of installed sugar mills in both the states, the UP minister said that as compared to 246 installed sugar mills in Maharashtra, there are 157 installed sugar mills in UP.

 

As many as 210 sugar mills operated in Maharashtra as compared to 118 in Uttar Pradesh, he said.

 

He added that in the 2022-23 season, a payment of Rs 28,494.32 crore has been made to the farmers, and there are about 80 sugar mills, which have made 100 per cent payment within a week of closure.

 

'Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath jee, in the last six years, the sugarmills have made a payment of Rs 2,11,700 crore (to the farmers). In the tenure of the previous governments, 12 sugar mills were sold, while 18 sugar mills were shut down. After coming to power, we have opened new mills and increased the capacity of some mills,' Chaudhary said.

 

Sharpening his attack on the previous governments, Chaudhary said, 'The payment made to cane farmers during the Bahujan Samaj Party regime (from 2007 to 2012) was Rs 93,000 crore, while in the Samajwadi Party government (from 2012 to 2017), it was about Rs 95,215 crore.'

 

The cane development minister said that the UP farmers' earnings from all other crops is almost equal to the amount they get in their bank account by selling just sugarcane.

 

He also said that instructions have been issued to the sugar mills to remain operational till June 15.

 

Meanwhile, when contacted, Maharashtra's Cooperation Minister Atul Moreshwar Save told PTI, 'The production of sugarcane this year was less, so less amount of sugarcane reached the sugar mills as compared to last year, and hence there is the difference. However, next year, the capacity (of the sugar mills) will increase.'

The FSSAI has issued a clarification on format of test reports related to ‘Report of the Food Analyst’ (for primary notified laboratory) and ‘Certificate of Analysis by the Referral Food Laboratory’ and ‘instructed’ the stakeholders to follow the test report formats of Form VII A and Form XI.  

 

This order is applicable for both primary and appeal samples.

 

The direction by the food authority stated, 'All the FSSAI notified food testing laboratories and concerned stakeholders are hereby informed and instructed to follow the test report formats given under Food Safety and Standards (First Amendment) Rules, 2022, i.e. Form VII A and Form XI from now onwards for issuing test reports of the sample analysis (primary and appeal samples).'

 

According to FSSAI, recently in January 2023, the Food Safety and Standards (First Amendment) Rules, 2022 have been notified wherein the test report formats, i.e. Form VII A ‘Report of the Food Analyst’ (for primary notified laboratory) and Form XI ‘Certificate of Analysis by the Referral Food Laboratory’ (for appeal samples) have been published.  

 

'In view of this, the Food Safety and Standards (Laboratory and Sampling Analysis) Regulations, 2011 are being revised to omit the given format of test reports, i.e. Form A ‘Certificate of Analysis by the Referral Food Laboratory’ and Form B ‘Report of the Food Analyst,' reads the FSSAI statement.