The 8th meeting of Agriculture Ministers of Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) member countries was held today through video conferencing under the chairmanship of Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, China and Pakistan participated in it along with India. Under the chairmanship of India, SCO member countries adopted the Smart Agriculture project. Expressing satisfaction over the smart agriculture action plan and the initiative of innovation in agriculture, Shri Tomar said that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi's emphasis is on the overall development of agriculture in the country through technology. In this direction, India has taken several concrete steps  to promote smart agriculture.

 

Welcoming everyone to the SCO meeting on behalf of India, Union Minister Shri Tomar said that India gives importance to its relations with SCO in promoting multilateral, political, security, economic and people-to-people interactions. It is a matter of pleasure and pride for us to organize a meeting of SCO Agriculture Ministers to discuss strengthening cooperation in food security and nutrition, especially in the current situation. Shri Tomar said that in order to maintain the normal functioning of the food supply chain in the present conditions, there is a need for close contact and cooperation between various countries for food and nutrition security. He added that India is the largest employer globally in the agriculture sector, where more than half of our population is engaged in agriculture and allied sectors, while India also represents an important economic activity for many countries. Its importance is also evident from the fact that the budget allocation for agriculture and allied sectors in India has increased more than 5 times in 10 years from 2013-14. Over the years, India has performed well in the agriculture sector, contributing to global food security with food grain production, registering a significant growth in exports, and exports of agricultural and allied products have crossed Rs 4 lakh crore.

 

Shri Tomar said that India's public distribution system and price support system for farmers are unique in the world. It is the good result of foresight of our policy-makers, efficiency of agricultural scientists and tireless hard work of farmers that today India is self-sufficient in food grains. India is a leading producer of many commodities like cereals, fruits, vegetables, milk, eggs, fish. He said that the welfare of the farmers and overall development of the agriculture sector has been the top priority of the Government of India. India, with its comprehensive development path in the agriculture sector, will continue to share its best practices and build capacities with other countries, bilaterally as well as in collaboration with international organizations, so that they too become self-reliant and food secure nations. He said that the rich agricultural research has played an important role in solving the issue of food security, improving the income of farmers and agriculture workers and also for the sustenance of the people. Efforts are being made by the Government of India to make the country self-reliant in the agriculture sector with concerted efforts in innovation, digital agriculture, climate smart technologies, development of high yielding, biofortified varieties, agricultural research. Efforts are being made to improve the life and livelihood of the farmers by making their agriculture sustainable and friendly.

 

Referring to the country's very important Prime Minister Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme, Union Minister Shri Tomar said that under this, crores of farmers across the country would get Rs.6,000 per year are being given and so far about Rs 2.40 lakh crore has been deposited in the bank accounts of the farmers. Deposits have been made. Crores of farmers have been provided concessional institutional credit with a focus on extending Kisan Credit Cards to farmers and covering all PM-Kisan beneficiaries through these. Under the able leadership of Prime Minister Shri Modi, India is also promoting organic farming and natural farming with emphasis on sustainable productivity, food security and soil health. A plan has been started to promote and form 10,000 new Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) to increase the economic potential of small and marginal farmers by adding them to farmer groups. 1 lakh crore  to develop infrastructure in rural areas. Agriculture Infrastructure Fund has been set up. India has taken several measures to increase the use of digital technologies in agriculture. National e-Governance Plan in Agriculture, Agristack and India Digital Eco-system for Agriculture etc., under which most of the schemes are being digitized and brought on a single platform, so that farmers can easily access these schemes and take benefits from them.

 

He said that insurance cover is being provided to the farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, under which Rs. are given. Electronic National Agriculture Market has been developed to increase market access of farmers. India has also launched programs to create new irrigation infrastructure, conserve soil fertility including balanced use of fertilizers, provide farm-to-market connectivity, ICT linkages, etc., with the goal of increasing farmers' income. The vision of empowering farmers, farm women, rural youth is being taken forward by taking large scale lab-to-land initiatives by developing new technologies and methodologies. In view of the importance of food-nutritional security and climate-friendly Mr. Anna, he also urged the SCO countries to support the International Year of Millets declared by the United Nations on India's proposal and said that India should achieve two sustainable development goals, that is, ending hunger, providing food Determined to obtain protection and nourishment. Bio-fortified varieties are a source of staple food rich in micronutrients and are being promoted continuously to address malnutrition in the country.

 

At the beginning of the meeting, Shri Manoj Ahuja, Secretary, Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare gave a welcome address. Representatives of the SCO Secretariat as well as the Central Agriculture and high officials of the Ministry of Farmers Welfare and senior officials of SCO member countries participated.

India’s goods exports for 2022-23 scaled up significantly from earlier estimates to almost $451 billion, indicating a 6.9% year-on-year growth, with exports for March upgraded sharply to a nine-month high of $41.9 billion, as per Commerce Ministry data.

 

Initial estimates for the March had pegged exports at $38.38 billion, marking a sharp 13.9% decline, but revised numbers signal only a 6% contraction. The $41.9 billion exports made March only the second month of 2022-23 to cross the $40 billion mark after $42.3 billion in outbound shipments last June.

 

The Ministry, which will be releasing the initial estimates for April’s merchandise trade on Monday, also revised March’s import bill to over $60 billion, the highest in 2023, raising its initial estimate of imports during the month by $1.9 billion.

 

Remained unchanged

However, the overall import bill for 2022-23 remained virtually unchanged at $714.04 billion, a 16.5% rise from 2021-22, compared to $714.24 billion reported initially. The rise in March’s import figure was largely offset by a $1.7 billion correction in November 2022’s import tally that was initially pegged at $58.2 billion, then revised upwards by half a billion dollars and finally pared to $56.95 billion.

 

The latest revisions to official trade numbers cap off a year marked by what economists termed as significantly higher than usual variations between initial estimates and final numbers.

 

Total exports were initially pegged at $447.46 billion as per data released on April 15, then revised to $444.2 billion as per a Ministry statement on May 1. That figure has now been raised to $450.95 billion. Similarly, the import bill as per the May 1 statement was pegged at $711.85 billion, from the initial estimate of $714.24 billion.

 

Overall, export numbers were revised by over $25 billion from their initial estimates through 2022-23, with four months seeing a $3 billion-plus upward revision. The pace of these revisions has accelerated since November 2022, with exports etched up by an average $3.2 billion each month. The revision of $3.52 billion in March exports was the second highest in the year.

 

Import figure revisions have only been slightly milder, averaging over $1.5 billion a month through 2022-23. Over $2 billion revisions from initial estimates were reported in four months, with December 2022 recording the highest upward revision of almost $3 billion.

 

While experts have flagged petroleum shipments as the main driver for the extraordinarily high revisions of recent export data, the revision in import numbers needs further scrutiny.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday said India's strong recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic is a 'bright spot for the global growth outlook'.

 

But at the same time she also underscored the dilemmas faced by emerging market developing economies between climate security and growth, as they manage 'overlapping crises and socio-economic transformation'.

 

Addressing a G7 seminar on economic policies for welfare in Niigata in Japan, the minister stressed the need for balancing sustainable growth with environment in the short and long run. She also called for ways to measure 'empowerment going beyond indicators such as gross domestic product'.

 

The minister is in Japan to attend the G7 meeting. India, which has the G20 presidency for the current year, is an invitee to G7 finance ministers and central bank governors (FMCBG) meeting.

 

She also shared India's focus on digital public infrastructure and green hydrogen 'as a foundation for sustainable and inclusive growth and as an example of innovative policy toolkits' by emerging market developing economies, the finance ministry tweeted.

 

Participating in the first session of FMCBG dialogue, Sitharaman highlighted the resilience as well as unique development challenges of emerging market developing economies. She called for bolstering cooperation among all stakeholders for timely resolution of the debt crisis being faced by vulnerable nations.

 

In the second session of the FMCBG Dialogue focussed on sustainable growth, the minister underlined the need to bolster multilateral development banks to 'address trans-boundary challenges'.

Pulses such as green gram (moong) and coarse cereals such as bajra and jowar continued to gain acreage in the ongoing summer cropping season. However, paddy and oilseeds acreages trail last year’s levels, so far. Overall, the area under the summer crops is marginally lower at 69.20 lakh hectares (lh) as of May 12 compared with 70.39 lh in the same period a year ago, latest data from Agriculture Ministry show.

 

The area under pulses crop stood higher at 19.61 lh, an increase of 6.3 per cent over 18.44 lh a year ago. Farmers are seen planting more area under green gram as the acreage is up by 8 per cent at 16.14 lh against 14.97 lh a year ago.The aArea planted under urad was marginally up at 3.24 lh (3.20 lh in same period a year ago).

 

Bajra gains, maize trails

The overall area under coarse cereals was up at 11.73 lh (11.30 lh). The area under bajra is up at 4.69 lh (3.98 lh), while maize is trailing marginally lower at 6.65 lh(6.94 lh). Jowar acreage was marginally higher at 0.25 lh (0.18 lh), while ragi was lower at 0.14 lh (0.20 lh).

 

The acreage under paddy as on May 12 was lower at 27.89 lh against 29.80 lh a year ago. The overall acreage under oilseeds crops also trailed at 9.96 lh (10.85 lakh ha). The area under groundnut was down at 4.78 lh (5.35 lh), while sunflower was flat at 0.31 lh. The area under sesamum was higher at 4.58 lh (4.47 lh). The acreage under other oilseeds was down at 0.29 lh (0.73 lh).

 

Higher pre-monsoon rainfall

As of May 4, the live storage of 146 reservoirs was 61.81 billion cubic metres (35 per cent) of the total live capacity of 178.19 BCM.

 

Meanwhile, the country as a whole has received 24 per cent more rainfall in the pre-monsoon, so far. From March 1 till May 12, the country has received 111.9 mm of rains against a normal 90.2 mm, as per IMD data. At least 21 sub-divisions accounting for 69 per cent of the country’s area, have received excess rains, so far. Nine sub-divisions accounting for 22 per cent of the area have received normal to excess rains, while six sub divisions, accounting for 9 per cent of the area, have received deficient rains.

The Netherlands has emerged as India's third largest exports destination after the US and UAE during 2022-23, showed commerce ministry's data on Sunday.

 

This can be attributed to a surge in shipment of goods such as petroleum products, electronic items, chemicals, and aluminium goods, reported PTI, citing commerce ministry. India's trade surplus with the Netherlands has also increased from USD 8 billion in 2021-22 to USD 13 billion in 2022-23.

 

The Netherlands has taken over major destinations such as the UK, Hong Kong, Bangladesh and Germany, the data showed.

 

India's exports to the Netherlands rose by about 48 per cent to USD 18.52 billion during 2022-23 as against USD 12.5 billion in 2021-22.

 

In 2021-22 and 2020-21, the outbound shipments to the European country stood at USD 12.55 billion and USD 6.5 billion, respectively. The exports are registering healthy growth continuously since 2000-01, when India's exports to that nation was USD 880 million.

 

Further, in 2021-22, the Netherlands was the fifth largest destination for Indian exports as against ninth in 2020-21.

 

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said the Netherlands has emerged as a hub for Europe with efficient port and connectivity with the EU through road, railways and waterways.

 

In the calendar year, India's exports to the country increased to USD 18.1 billion in 2022 from USD 5.5 billion in 2017.

 

According to economic think tank GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative), ATF (aviation turbine fuel) and diesel were the key petroleum products exported from India to that country.

 

Telecom equipment and smartphones with a value of over USD 1 billion were the largest electronic items, it said.

 

Mumbai-based exporter and Chairman of Technocraft Industries Sharad Kumar Saraf said the trend would continue in the future also.

 

Saraf said that the Netherlands is a gateway to Europe as their ports are very efficient hence cheaper than other European ports for shipping operations.

 

India and the Netherlands established diplomatic relations in 1947. Since then, the two countries have developed strong political, economic and commercial relations.

 

In 2022-23, the bilateral trade between the two countries increased to USD 24 billion as against USD 17 billion in 2021-22 and about USD 10 billion in 2020-21.

 

The Netherlands is among top trading partners of India in Europe, after Germany, Switzerland, the UK and Belgium. It is also a major investor in India. During April-September this fiscal, India received USD 1.76 billion in foreign direct investment from the Netherlands. It was USD 4.6 billion in 2021-22.

 

There are over 200 Dutch companies present in India, including Philips, Akzo Nobel, DSM, KLM and Rabobank. Similarly, there are over 200 Indian companies operating in the Netherlands, including all the major IT firms such as TCS, HCL, Wipro, Infosys, Tech Mahindra as well as Sun Pharmaceuticals and Tata Steel.

Amid talk of hoarding of pulses such as tur (pigeon pea) and urad (black matpe) by the private trade in Myanmar, India on Wednesday warned the exporters in the neighbouring country that it may look at importing these items on a government-to-government (G2G) basis if supplies are not eased. It is understood that the exporters of these pulses from Myanmar, a large supplier, are taking advantage of the scarcity in India, which has led to a firm price trend in recent months.

 

Trade sources, who attended the virtual meeting convened by the Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Kumar Singh on Wednesday to take stock of the situation on the availability of these two varieties of pulses, confirmed the development.

 

Ban on private trade

'The government has warned the exporters of Myanmar that if they are taking advantage of the of the scarcity in India, then we will impose a ban on private trade and will buy on a G2G basis. The Consumer Affairs Secretary has given them a friendly warning. In fact, the Myanmar trade association president assured that they are not hoarding the cargo and will augment the supplies,' said Bimal Kothari, President, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA).

 

To manage the current scarce situation of tur, Kothari said IPGA has suggested certain measures to the government including the promotion of other alternate pulses like chana dal and masur dal, which are available in abundance and at minimum support prices.

 

'Also we advised them that government agencies should not buy tur in any of tenders of various schemes such as mid-day meals or ICDS among others. We have suggested that tur be replaced with chana dal or masur dal or yellow peas, which are in abundant supply and are a cheaper and good source of protein,' Kothari said. He said about half a million tonnes of tur are purchased through government tenders annually for various schemes.

 

Boosting supplies

The Indian government has been taking steps to ensure that the supplies of these two pulses are eased through imports so that prices are kept under a check. The imports of tur and urad are kept open till March 2024 to boost the supplies as the domestic output of these pulses was impacted due to erratic weather pattern. In the recent past, following a firming trend in prices of tur and urad, the Centre had directed the pulses importers to declare stock availability in a routine transparent manner.

 

Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India said the prices of tur have moved up in Myanmar in tandem with the domestic prices. Tur lemon, which was quoting at around $835 per tonne as on March 1, 2022, has now moved up to $1,080 . Also, African exporters have raised their quotes by $50 for the upcoming crop, he said.

 

As per the second advance estimate, production of tur, a kharif crop, has dropped to 36.66 lakh tonnes in the 2022-23 crop year to June against 42.20 lakh tonnes a year ago, while urad output for both kharif and rabi season has been estimated lower at 26.82 lakh tonnes against 27.76 lakh tonnes a year ago on account of excess rains.

India exported basmati rice worth about Rs 38,524 crore (nearly $ 4.79 billion) in the 2022-23 fiscal (April-March, a jump of about Rs 12,109 crore from 2021-22, as per the data from the Kolkata-based Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS). In terms of value in rupees, Indian exports of the long-grained aromatic rice were about 45.84% higher in 2022-23 than the previous fiscal.

 

According to the DGCIS data, India exported about 39.47 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) basmati rice, valued at Rs 26,415 ($ 3.47 billion) in 2021-22. The country exported about 45.61 lakh metric tonnes of basmati rice in 2022-23, about 6.14 LMT (15.55%) more than 2021-22.

 

As per the DGCIS data, India had exported basmati rice to 149 countries in 2022-23 while in 2021-22 the country had sold the commodity to 153 countries.

Iran was the biggest importer of the Indian basmati rice in quantity at about 9.98 LMT followed by Saudi Arabia at 9.54 LMT and Iraq, a distant third at 3.64 LMT.

 

Other big importers include United Arab Emirates (3.15 LMT), Yemen Republic (2.89 LMT), United States of America (2.04 LMT), Kuwait (1.56 LMT), United Kingdom (1.43 LMT), Oman (1.12 LMT) and Jordan (1.05 LMT).

 

In terms of value in rupees, Saudi Arabia was the biggest buyer, paying Rs 8,362.25 crore for the Indian basmati rice followed by Iran (Rs 7,838 crore), Iraq Rs 3,032 crore), UAE (Rs 2,689.1 crore) and Yemen Republic (Rs 2,473 crore).

Other big buyers of the basmati rice in terms of value include US (Rs 1,920 crore), Kuwait (Rs 1,276 crore), United Kingdom (Rs 1,109 crore), Oman (Rs 1,013 crore) and Jordan (Rs 934 crore).

There is a huge potential for growth in the expansion of business and engagement between India and Canada, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

 

Goyal was addressing the Trade and Investment Promotion event for the agricultural and food processing sector with Indian companies and Canadian importers in Toronto on May 10, according to an official release.

 

He said that value addition of food products is a priority area and Indian businesses must focus on quality, scale, design, and packaging to earn the confidence and trust of consumers and businesses in Canada.

 

World Food India show in November 2023 can serve as the platform that can showcase the best of India and collaborate with businesses across the world, the minister said.

 

'There is multifold growth potential in the bilateral trade of India-Canada in this sector,' he said.

 

He also encouraged the Canadian companies to hold Board meetings in India.

The GI-specific products not only protect the unique identity and quality of these products but also create employment opportunities for local communities.

 

A central government agency has authorised 800 farmers and entrepreneurs to use the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for 13 agricultural products of the northeastern region, an official said.

 

The 13 produces are Arunachal Orange, Tezpur Litchi and Karbi Anglong Ginger of Assam, Kachai Lemon and Chak-Hao' Black Rice of Manipur, Khasi Mandarin orange and Memang Narang orange of Meghalaya, Mizo Chilli of Mizoram, Naga Tree Tomato and Naga Sweet Cucumber of Nagaland, Queen Pineapple of Tripura and Sikkim Large Cardamom and Dalle Khursani chilli of Sikkim.

 

The North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC), under the DoNER Ministry, will forward the 800 user authorisation applications for usage of these products from the eight NE states to the Geographical Indication Registry, Chennai.

 

NERAMAC Managing Director Commodore Rajiv Ashok (Retd) said on Thursday that the initiative is a significant step towards promoting and protecting the traditional agricultural practices and products of the NER region.

 

The initiative will provide recognition to the unique qualities and reputation of NER agricultural products and protect them from misuse and imitation, he said.

 

The authorisation process of farmers will enhance the competitiveness of the farmers in domestic and international markets and create opportunities for increased income and livelihood, he said.

 

Renowned GI expert Dr Rajni Kant Dwivedi has also pointed out the importance of Northeastern Region (NER) specific GI products and emphasised the need for a comprehensive approach to promote these.

 

The GI-specific products not only protect the unique identity and quality of these products but also create employment opportunities for local communities, he said.

After two successful editions in virtual mode, Startup India, Department of Promotion for Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce organized the third edition in the form of first-ever physical Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Startup Forum in New Delhi recently. The engagement aimed at expanding the startup interactions amongst the SCO Member States, nurturing the spirit of innovation, generating more employment and encouraging young talent to build innovative solutions. 

 

The forum witnessed physical participation from SCO Member States including a delegation of government officials, private industry players, incubators and startups. Union Minister of State, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Shri Som Parkash delivered the keynote address highlighting the role of Startup Ecosystem in boosting the economy of a nation. Joint Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Smt. Manmeet Kaur Nanda addressed the delegation about India’s startup journey and initiatives for promoting startups by the Government of India.

 

This engagement focused on the spirit of collaboration and entrepreneurship. It aimed at promoting innovation development, particularly through the creation of common platforms and the facilitation of ideas and best practices among the SCO Member States. Various startup-to-startup bilateral meetings were conducted in promoting and achieving this agenda.

 

In addition, the delegates also attended a workshop conducted by Startup India on the ‘Role of Bilateral and Multilateral Engagements in developing startup ecosystem’. The workshop included an interactive session to understand various models of engagements that can be undertaken to develop closer ties between these nations and boost the startup ecosystem in SCO nations.

 

Later, the delegation visited Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi, where a startup showcase was organised. The participants visited the facility to receive first-hand experience of the Indian startup ecosystem. During this tour, the participants were equipped with the know-how of entrepreneurship in India and opportunities for expanding their businesses to India. The incubator visit also focused on highlighting the nuances of funding, mentorship, and opportunities provided to support startups at the scaling stage in India.

 

By leading such engagements, India undertook an opportunity to share the opportunities of expanding the innovation footprint, knitting the whole ecosystem together and inspiring other SCO Member States to take up similar programs.

 

Previously, Startup India had organized various initiatives for SCO Member states including:

 

1.   SCO Startup Forum 2020: The SCO Startup Forum laid the foundation for multilateral cooperation and engagement for startups among the SCO Member States.

 

2.   SCO Startup Forum 2021: The two-day Forum was held virtually through a customized platform representing the Indian culture in augmented reality. SCO Startup Hub, a single point of contact for the SCO startup ecosystem, was launched in this forum.

 

3.   Focused Mentorship Program: A 3-month long virtual mentorship series ‘Starting-Up’ was organized for the nominated startups, to build capacity among the SCO Startup founders.