Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal said that the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) of tomorrow will be a transformational engine across the world and not only in India during his address at 'Enabling Bharat 2.0', a one-day workshop conducted by ONDC today in New Delhi. The Minister said that he is optimistic about a significant growth of ONDC in the next few months. He invited all e-commerce companies, big and small, to join ONDC and be part of this new bazaar that reimagines digital commerce.

 

He mentioned that ONDC will promote local languages, products, and cultural heritage, and create opportunities for small businesses. He said that small artisans and workers can offer better quality through ONDC and also earn better without having to pay commission for their products. He emphasized that ONDC will foster healthy competition, benefit consumers and contribute to the overall growth of the digital commerce ecosystem in India.

 

He said that the Prime Minister believes that our ability to develop depends on our ability to leverage technology. He said that monolithic e-commerce platforms will never be able to provide the services of the kind that a network of platforms like ONDC can offer. The Minister highlighted the various sectors that may benefit from ONDC like farmers who can access bigger markets and demand better prices for their products, students who can compare prices of books and online courses, people who can avail health services at the best prices, etc.

 

He emphasized on the need to create systems that benefit everyone and create opportunities for all. He said that the efforts are being undertaken to ensure that e-commerce becomes an engine of growth that empowers both buyers and sellers. The Minister highlighted that ONDC will unlock doors of opportunities in an inclusive manner for both big and small businesses, benefitting the entire value chain of commerce. He said that ONDC will provide a much larger market for sellers, without any preferred or priority sellers, ensuring equitable and fair treatment for all stakeholders. He said that ONDC will foster economies of scale, competition, and better pricing and quality, ultimately benefiting consumers. He said that ONDC is customer-centric, keeping in line with the vision of Mahatma Gandhi, where the customer is king.

 

The Minister emphasized that India can only be defined as Bharat, as it thrives in villages and small habitations across the country. He mentioned that ONDC is targeting this ‘Bharat’ for inclusive growth, ensuring that the benefits of e-commerce reach every corner of the country. He said that the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi firmly believes in solving challenges the Indian way and trusts the people of India to come up with innovative solutions. He said that ONDC was born in such a manner when the e-commerce sector was grappling with multiple challenges and small businesses were under threat. He highlighted the need for alternate ways to address these challenges of the e-commerce ecosystem, while balancing the interests of small retailers and businesses led to the evolution of ONDC.

 

The Minister outlined the unique features of ONDC, which aims to provide a win-win solution for both buyers and sellers. He said that ONDC, with its concept of using interfaces between various platforms, will open up more options for buyers, enhance price discovery and market opportunities for sellers, and also empower consumers to make informed choices. He said that this will result in more competition in the market and will not be limited through algorithms. He emphasized that ONDC will enable speedy, efficient, and real-time settlement of transactions, catering to hyperlocal and global needs simultaneously.

 

During his address, the Minister said that ‘Enabling Bharat 2.0’ converges with the commitment of making India a developed nation by 2047 and it is desirable to plan for the future. He said that digital public infrastructure is the need of the hour. He said that all the efforts of the government have been citizen centric as was evident during the COVID pandemic with the development and production of vaccines and the launch of Co-WIN Vaccinator App to monitor the distribution of vaccines to everyone in the country.

 

He cited the success of initiatives like the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the financial services sector, which has brought about a transformational journey and encouraged hundreds of fintech companies to innovate and promote financial inclusion. He said that UPI has brought about innovation in the fintech sector at a pace never seen before and promoted startups and unicorns through socialising valuation. He drew parallels with ONDC, which is based on a similar concept of interoperable interface, opening up more options for buyers and creating more competition, while providing ease of operation for sellers across multiple platforms and also providing them a bigger market.

 

The ‘Enabling Bharat 2.0’ workshop has been organized to find potential synergies and deepen collaboration among the various open protocol-enabled initiatives and generate awareness amongst multiple stakeholders.

India’s horticulture sector has proven to be more profitable and productive than the agricultural sector and has emerged as a rapidly growing industry. According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), India ranks second in fruits and vegetable production in the world after China. The country's advantage lies in being a low-cost producer of fruits and vegetables because of a combination of factors such as favourable agro-climatic conditions, availability of labour, and low input costs. As a result, fruits and vegetables account for almost 90% of the total horticulture production in the country.

 

Horticulture contributes around 30.4% to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) while using only 13.1% of the gross cropped area, making it a significant player in India's agricultural growth. In recent years, the total horticulture production in India has even exceeded the total production of food grains, highlighting the potential of the sector. Horticulture not only contributes to the nutritional needs of the country but also creates additional job opportunities in rural areas, expands the range of agricultural activities, and generates higher incomes for farmers.

 

The productivity of horticulture has increased significantly from 8.8 tonnes per hectare (TPH) in 2001-02 to 12.1 TPH in 2020-21, leading to a sharp rebound in production and acreage, far outpacing foodgrains production since 2012-13. In 2021-22, the total horticulture production was around 341.63 million tonnes, with fruit production at around 107.10 million tonnes and vegetable production at around 204.61 million tonnes. With its vast production base in horticulture, there is ample opportunity for export, with fresh fruits and vegetables being a major contributor. APEDA estimates that the country exported fresh fruits and vegetables worth INR 11,412.50 crore during 2021-22. Bangladesh, UAE, Nepal, Netherlands, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the UK, Oman, and Qatar are the major export destinations for fresh fruits and vegetables.

 

But despite the fact that India's horticulture sector is growing, the country's share in global trade remains insignificant, accounting for only 1% of the global trade in vegetables and fruits. Export growth is being undermined by production challenges, marketing challenges, inadequate transport infrastructure, fragmented supply chains, and insufficient storage facilities. These factors result in delays and wastage and discourage farmers from improving the quality of their produce.

 

The horticulture sector faces many production challenges that stop it from realising its full potential, such as small operational landholdings, lack of irrigation and poor soil management. Take for instance, small operational landholdings that limit the amount of land available for cultivation, which in turn limits the number of horticultural crops that can be produced. Limited land availability also affects crop rotation and the use of sustainable agricultural practices, as small farmers may not have the space to rotate crops effectively or implement sustainable soil management practices. This can lead to reduced yields and decreased soil fertility over time.

 

Insufficient access to water for irrigation, coupled with poor soil management practices such as over-tilling, over-fertilising, and monocropping, can reduce soil fertility, leading to lower yields and lower-quality produce. Lack of irrigation can be particularly detrimental during dry spells or droughts, where crops can quickly wither and die due to insufficient water supply. In contrast, excessive water can also be harmful, leading to waterlogging, root damage, and reduced yields. The Government is addressing the irrigation problem through the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY), which aims to promote the development of irrigation infrastructure, expand the cultivable areas, and enhance on-farm water efficiency. Pests and diseases are another constant threat to horticultural crops. Insect infestations, fungal infections, and other diseases can spread quickly, leading to lower production levels and crop losses.

 

The limited outreach of farm insurance and farm mechanisation, combined with a lack of access to institutional credit for small and marginal farmers, contribute to lower investment in the sector. To ensure the flow of adequate credit, the Government sets annual targets for the flow of credit to the agriculture sector, Banks have been consistently surpassing the annual target. Notably, the Government provides interest subvention of 2% on short-term crop loans up to INR 3 lakh.

 

Climate change, such as changing weather patterns, droughts, floods, and other natural disasters, is another significant challenge that can lead to crop failures and losses, which ultimately affects the sector's overall output. Land lease constraints also pose a challenge, particularly for small farmers who may not have access to adequate land for cultivation.

 

The horticulture sector also suffers because of weak Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), which typically play a vital role in the development of the horticulture sector by providing farmers with access to markets, financing, and technical assistance. The weakness of these organisations contributes to the sector's challenges, limiting farmers' ability to benefit fully from the opportunities available. Recognising the need to increase the bargaining power of farmers, the Government is implementing an FPO formation and promotion scheme with a budgetary outlay of over INR 6,300 crore. This scheme aims to promote the formation and strengthening of FPOs and agri-entrepreneurship development among farmers.

 

The horticulture marketing chain faces its own set of challenges due to the perishable nature of fruits and vegetables, which makes it difficult to store and transport them efficiently. Poor logistics and lack of equitable cold storage and warehousing facilities contribute to delays and wastages. The cold storage distribution among the states is inequitable, with around 59% of the storage capacity (i.e., 21 MMT) present in the four states of Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Gujarat, and Punjab, and most of it is only for the potato crop. Top crops have a short shelf life because of the absence of storage and warehousing facilities, which causes price rises in the same months every year. There is also a lack of guidance for farmers on which crops to plant, resulting in overproduction of certain commodities and shortages of others.

 

The horticulture sector will have to take measures to improve its production and value chain system. To address the issues faced by the horticulture sector, Bayer and The Economic Times have come together to organise a national seminar called the India Horticulture Future Forum 2023 on 26 April 2023. Grant Thornton Bharat LLP is the Knowledge Partner for the event. The forum aims to deliberate on the future of Indian horticulture, focusing on developments, opportunities, and challenges in the sector.

 

Despite the numerous constraints faced by the horticulture sector, there are several opportunities for improvement. One such opportunity is the Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index, launched by the NITI Aayog, which ranks states and union territories based on their implementation of provisions proposed under the model APMC Act, joining the e-NAM initiative, providing special treatment to fruits and vegetables for marketing, and tax levies in mandis.

 

The Government is also working on reducing crop losses through the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY), which provides comprehensive crop insurance coverage from pre-sowing to post-harvest losses against non-preventable natural risks. Another key initiative is the Centre's Cluster Development Programme which has the potential to revolutionise the value chain by enhancing its scale. The programme aims to promote the integrated and market-led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding, and marketing activities by leveraging the geographical specialisation of horticulture clusters.

 

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries has launched several schemes aimed at promoting the food processing industry in India, including the creation of cold chain infrastructure, agro-processing clusters, backward and forward linkages, preservation infrastructure, Operation Greens, and Mega Food Parks. These schemes provide various facilities to food processing units, such as storage, testing labs, and logistics, while also stabilising the supply and prices of perishable commodities and promoting their value addition. The Government has also introduced post-harvest infrastructure schemes to reduce post-harvest losses, a Land Lease Act to help legalise leasing and allow tenants access to insurance and credit, and Soil Health Cards to promote soil health.

 

India is globally recognised as one of the top producers of fruits and vegetables, and the horticulture sector has consistently performed well in terms of production. By implementing these measures, the horticulture sector can expand even further and generate increased profitability for farmers. This growth can also help meet the rising demand for fruits and vegetables, both domestically and internationally.

India will give continued protection to its sensitive agriculture and dairy sectors against tariff cuts under the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) being negotiated with Australia and limit market access offers only to items where producers would not be affected, sources have said.

 

'In India, agriculture is high-density and the farming conditions are very different from those in Australia, the peculiarity of which make the sector very sensitive. That is why in the India-Australia interim ECTA, India did not commit on agriculture. Although, Australians are looking for more market access under the full-fledged India-Australia CECA now being negotiated, our sensitivities remain,' a source tracking the matter told businessline.

 

While India is not going to say no to discussions on opening up the farm sector, it will see if there are items where opening up could benefit consumers without harming producers, and offer market access only for such products,' the source said.

 

Limited commitments

For instance, in the India-Australia interim Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), implemented on December 29, 2022, India extended limited commitments in agriculture for just a few items. It agreed that over the next six years it would eliminate tariffs for avocados, certain peas and beans, onions, leeks, asparagus, cherries, berries, macadamias, cashews in-shell, shelled pistachios and hazelnuts and reduce tariffs for apricots, garlic and strawberries.

 

It also agreed to tariff reduction for lentils, almonds and oranges and mandarins, but within a fixed annual quota. 'Australia produces and exports a wide variety of farm products, including wheat, pulses, nuts and meat, that Australian farmers would want included in the CECA without quota restrictions. India will be very careful while weighing demands,' the official said.

 

While India largely insulated its agriculture and dairy sectors from tariff cuts in the ECTA, wine was an important sector where an exception was made. For wine bottles valued over $5, India agreed to immediately cut import duties to 100 per cent from 150 per cent and phase it to 50 per cent over nine years. For wine bottles valued over $15, import duties were immediately reduced to 75 per cent from 150 per cent with a commitment to phase it to 25 per cent over nine years.

 

'There is a possibility that more demands will be made in the area of wines. Decisions will be taken by India after consulting its domestic industry,' the source said.

 

The ECTA covered most of the goods traded between the two countries. While Australia agreed to provide zero-duty access to 100 per cent of Indian goods in five years time, India will provide zero-duty market access to 91 per cent items over ten years. However, the ECTA’s coverage of other areas such as e-commerce, IPR, government procurement, financial services and investments has been minimal. 'The India-Australia CECA is expected to move beyond goods for a more comprehensive coverage of other sectors including services, government procurement and investments,' the source said.

 

India and Australia are hoping to conclude the CECA negotiations by the year-end and have set the target of increasing bilateral trade to an annual $100 billion from $30 billion over the coming years.

A trade delegation from India is on a four-day visit to Russia to explore opportunities of boosting Indian farm and processed food exports from $750 million to $3 billion in three years to balance burgeoning Russian goods imports that saw over 369% year-on-year growth in 2022-23 to $46.33 billion, mainly on purchase crude oil.

 

Sensing robust demand for food and food products in Russia, a 50-member delegation of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is visiting the country between April 24 and 27, which will 'further deepen the economic ties' between the two countries, director general and CEO Ajay Sahai told HT from Moscow.

 

There is a 'massive push' from governments of the two countries to enhance bilateral trade, he said. The Indian exporters are in Russia close on the heels of Russian deputy prime minister Denis Manturov’s India visit last week that revived a dormant free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations involving Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU). Manturov is also Russia’s trade minister.

 

'We see significant demand for India food items, soy, animal feed and processed food,' Sahai said. 'Indian exporters can supply these items. We are also discussing the possibility of rupee-rouble trade.' Other potential areas of exports are automobiles and auto components, he said. The demand for these items have jumped in Russia because many foreign manufacturers and suppliers have shut Russian operations.

 

The delegation is taking part in buyers and sellers’ meetings in Moscow and St Petersburg, he said. FIEO signed a memorandum of understanding with Business Russia to promote trade and investment between the two nations. Business Russia is an apex industry association representing the private sector.

 

'The two organizations will cooperate to arrange exhibitions, buyer-seller meetings, workshops, seminars and encourage enterprises to work in tandem with their counterparts for joint ventures,' Sahai said. 'We are looking to increase our agro and processed food exports from about $750 million to over $3 billion in next three years,' said FIEO board member NK Kagliwal, who is leading the Indian delegation.

 

India can diversify exports to other areas such as electronics, medical devices, solar cells and textiles to reduce the trade deficit, Sahai said.

 

During the India visit of Manturov, external affairs minister S Jaishankar had highlighted the urgent need to address the trade imbalance created by the recent increase in two-way trade to over $45 billion.

 

India-Russia trade saw a jump since 2022, mainly driven by India’s increased purchases of discounted Russian crude oil after the producers’ cartel – the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) -- and its allies resorted to unprecedented output cuts to keep international oil prices high. Due to Western sanctions on Moscow over the invasion of Ukraine, India and China have emerged as two preferred buyers of crude from Russia.

 

The two countries have also agreed to revive the FTA negotiations. 'The EAEU FTA is being renewed, which could not progress much due to pandemic,' a government official said, requesting anonymity. Russia-led five-member EAEU includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan. A joint statement to launch negotiations for FTA between India and the bloc was signed on June 3, 2017.

 

In fact, a meeting between India and EAEU was scheduled on March 16-18, 2020, in Moscow after a report of a joint feasibility study group was prepared to launch the negotiations. The meeting could not take place due to the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, the official said.

 

The FTA will help the two partners to collaborate in key areas such as oil and gas, gold and diamond, timber, pharmaceuticals, agriculture, aviation, railways and logistics, he added.

The President Smt. Droupadi Murmu graced the 19th convocation ceremony of the National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal in its centenary year. Governor of Haryana, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal Khattar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Kailash Choudhary, Director General of ICAR, Dr. Himanshu Pathak were the special guests at the convocation. The President Smt. Murmu said that women power is playing an important role in the management of dairy industry in India. More than 70 percent participation in the Dairying sector is by women. It is heartening to note that today more than one-third of degree awardees are girls, 50 per cent of gold medalists are also girls.

 

President Smt. Murmu said that the Dairying sector has special significance in making women self-reliant as well as in bringing changes in their social and economic status. We need to ensure that these women have equal rights and opportunities to make decisions and provide leadership. For this, there is a need to provide more opportunities for education, training and skill development to these women. Along with this, there should be facility of easy loan and market access to women to make them entrepreneurs in dairy farming. She congratulated the farmers of Punjab and Haryana while mentioning the special role played by them in the success of Green Revolution as well as the White Revolution. She said that milk and milk derivatives have always been an integral part of Indian food and culture. Along with mother's milk, cow's milk is also considered nectar for health. In the Rigveda it is said ‘???? ??????? ????? ????????’, meaning, cow milk is like nectar, which protects against diseases. Milk is considered holy, so it is also used for the consecration of the deities. Even today, women in the country are blessed with '???? ????-???? ???' by the elders. Cow and other livestock have been an integral part of Indian society and traditions. In Indian tradition, livestock including cow is considered a symbol of prosperity and good fortune. The stories of Shri Krishna's love for the cow, Shivji and Nandi are included in our culture. Animal Husbandry is the main means of livelihood in the agro-based rural economy.

 

The President said that the dairy industry plays an important role in ensuring food and nutritional security of the country. It is a matter of pride that India is the largest milk producing country in the world. India accounts for about 22 percent of the global milk production. Dairy sector contributes about 5 percent to the country's GDP and dairy industry provides livelihood to about 8 crore families, therefore institutions like NDRI have an important role in the inclusive development of the country. NDRI, established in the year 1923, has made a significant contribution to the development of the dairy industry in India. The institute's research has helped in improving productivity, efficiency and quality in the dairy production sector. She expressed happiness that the technology to produce clones of high milk yielding buffaloes and cows has been developed by the NDRI. With this, the milk production capacity of the cattle will be increased and the income of the farmers will rise. She said that due to the increasing population of the country, the demand for milk related products is increasing. Also, the dairy sector is grappling with problems such as management of good quality fodder for cattle, changes in weather due to climate change and cattle diseases. Making milk production and dairy farming sustainable is a challenge before us, for which it is the responsibility of all stakeholders including the government to find a solution to meet the needs of the country. It is our responsibility to develop the dairy industry by adopting environment friendly and climate smart technologies, keeping animal welfare in mind. She also expressed happiness that NDRI is promoting various technologies to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from dairy farms. Along with this, emphasis is also being laid on sources of clean energy like biogas production. She told the students that you are moving towards a new chapter of life, you should always try to learn new things and work for the welfare of the people. Some of you students must become job providers and entrepreneurs in the dairy industry. There are immense possibilities of growth in this industry and you should take advantage of these possibilities. Efforts are being made by NDRI to promote entrepreneurship and startups in the dairy sector in different parts of the country. It is expected that you will start as an entrepreneur by taking advantage of this and other schemes of the government and make the best contribution to the progress of the nation.

 

Union Minister Shri Tomar said that the NDRI is a very important institution of the country, which has completed a glorious journey of 100 years. ICAR affiliated NDRI has secured First position for five consecutive years in the competition among agricultural universities across the country, which is a matter of pride. He said that the contribution of scientists in the Animal Husbandry-Dairying sector, where the country is standing today, is also a landmark. India is an agricultural country, in which it is not possible to imagine the Agriculture sector without Animal Husbandry and Fisheries. Especially the livelihood of small and landless farmers also depends on Animal Husbandry. Animal Husbandry has a significant contribution in the GDP of Agriculture. There is a need to keep moving forward while solving the challenges in this area. He said that the per capita availability of milk in the country in the year 2021-22 was 444 grams per day, while the global average during 2021 was 394 grams per day. There has been an increase of about 44% in the per capita availability of milk in the country between 2013-14 to 2021-22. Shri Tomar said that for any student, the convocation ceremony is an unforgettable moment in his life, it is even more a matter of pride that this occasion coincides with the centenary celebrations of the institute. Congratulating the students who received the degree, he said that they are going to be of great service to the country.

 

Governor of Haryana, Shri Dattatreya, Chief Minister Shri Manohar Lal and Union Minister Shri Rupala also addressed the ceremony. During the convocation, undergraduate-postgraduate & Ph.D. degrees were presented and Gold medals awarded to the best students. The Director and Vice Chancellor of the Institute, Dr. Dheer Singh and other dignitaries were present.

 

Union minister Piyush Goyal on Sunday said the world is now looking up to India and its industries and this is the right time for entrepreneurs and industry players to grasp the opportunity and grow exports. Entrepreneurial abilities in the country with innovation, new ideas, new ways of marketing and branding products can unleash the true potential of the country, the Commerce and Industry Minister said while addressing the 49th India Gem and Jewellery Awards.

 

'On April 24, I have a meeting with ministers of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), consisting of four countries including Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, who are keen to negotiate with India.

 

'Other Gulf countries and Russia are also keen to negotiate with India. The world is now looking up to India and its industries, and this is the right time for the industries and entrepreneurs to grasp the opportunity and grow exports,' Goyal said.

 

Further, Goyal said jewellery exporters have shown good promise and good results and the gem and jewellery industry is the diamond of India's exports.

 

'The industry's talent is spread across every zone and this industry can generate lots of jobs commensurate with the talent. The future is bright but we seek a collective commitment from every exporter to contribute to increasing exports despite headwinds and challenges,' said the minister.

 

The government is working towards ease of doing business honestly and efficiently and expects the industry players to engage in ethical practices, he said.

 

Talking about the mega Common Facility Centre (CFC) in Santacruz Electronics Export Processing Zone (SEEPZ), Goyal said it is on track and is expected to be ready by 'Ganesh Chaturthi' this year.

 

Meanwhile, the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) chairman Vipul Shah, who was present on the occasion urged the government to have dialogue with the US and the G7 to avoid imposing sanctions, which may cripple the Indian natural diamond cutting and polishing industry.

 

'We met the top officials of the US and EU governments recently to deliberate and put forward our viewpoint on this,' he added.

 

Shah emphasised that time has also come to grow exports of plain gold and silver jewellery from India as only 10-15 per cent of gold and silver, which is imported is used to manufacture jewellery for exports.

 

'We require the minister's direct intervention in the implementation of the Ad Valorem scheme for gold and silver, whereby the effective import duty on gold and silver procured from domestic market - just like GST - should be put into exporters' accounts at the rate prevailing on the day of exports to have a level-playing field with exporters from Singapore, Italy and Vietnam,' Shah added.

 

In 2022-23, the overall gem and jewellery exports grew 2.48 per cent to Rs 3,00,462.52 crore, as compared Rs 2,93,193.19 crore in the year-ago period.

Indian watermelons are earning a premium over those from Iran in Dubai with a few farmer producer organisations (FPOs) beginning to ship the fruit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) following initiatives taken by exporters. 

 

'We exported two containers of black watermelon to Dubai on a trial basis. It fetched a premium in the markets there.  FPOs fetch double the domestic price in the Gulf,' said Mukesh Singh, Director of Mumbai-based MuBala Agro Commodities Pvt Ltd.

 

M Angamuthu, outgoing Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), another company, IG International, took up the initiative to export watermelon produced by an FPO, Swasangharsh Organic Farmer Producer Organisation. It shipped 25 tonnes of seedless watermelon to Dubai.

 

Holding advantage

'It was the first consignment sent and the FPO got Rs.10/kg, which is almost the double of what they get in the domestic market,' he said. 

 

Tarun Arora, Director, Single Family Office, IG International, said, 'Indian watermelon enjoys a premium in the Dubai market due to its quality and taste. Our watermelons are known for their sweetness, juiciness, and excellent texture.'

 

'The size of Indian watermelon is small, weighing between 3 and 5 kg. It, thus, holds an advantage over Iranian ones that weigh up to 10 kg, which is better for, probably, mass consumption,' said MuBala’s Singh. 

 

Singh said multinational retailers were ready to pick Indian watermelons and willing to pay a premium over Iranian watermelons. 

 

Landed cost vs return

Indian watermelon commands over 4 UAE dirham (Rs.89.25) in super stores, whereas Iranian ones, which till now enjoyed a monopoly, cost around 3 dirham (Rs.67) at retail outlets. In the wholesale market, the Indian fruit fetches at least 1.7 dirham (Rs.38).  

 

Exporters are sourcing watermelons from FPOs on a commission basis. 'We charge a small commission for this. Once you land the watermelon in Dubai, you can be sure you will not make any loss. If you can get to sell directly to multinational retailers such as Carrefour your margins can increase more,' Singh said. 

 

The landed cost of watermelon in Dubai could come to about Rs.20. According to exporters, the daily demand for watermelon in UAE is about 15 containers and at least a couple of containers are landing from India everyday. 'Iran’s advantage is that it can reach its watermelon in Dubai in four hours,' Singh said. 

 

'Exporting watermelon to Dubai has been a positive experience for us. We have received a good response from the Dubai market, and our watermelons have been well received. We have been able to fetch a good price for our produce,' said IG International’s Arora. 

 

Opportunity missed

Many exporters missed out on the opportunity to cash in on the Ramzan demand this year, when the demand could rise to about 30 containers a day. 'This time, we did not tap the opportunity as we tested the waters. Probably, next year we could fully take advantage of the Ramzan season' said Singh.

 

'We are likely to export around 500 tonnes of watermelon to Dubai in the upcoming season. However, the amount may vary depending on the demand and supply dynamics of the market,' Arora said.

 

Angamuthu said IG International has signed an agreement with Swasangharsh for cultivating watermelon on 50 acres of land. 'It is providing all support to the FPO to develop new varieties of watermelons. Such efforts are likely to bring  watermelon as a potential fruit in the export basket of horticulture produce,' he said. 

 

Arora said exporters are complying with all the necessary regulations and certifications required for exporting fresh produce such as watermelon.

 

The APEDA Chairman said cucurbits such as watermelon hold excellent potential for international trade. 'The export process has to be strengthened with proper sea and air protocols. We are working on it,' he said. 

The Agriculture Production Department (APD) of Jammu and Kashmir on Monday kick-started the four-month orientation programme for the farmers under a holistic agriculture development programme across the Union Territory.

 

The Holistic Agriculture Development Plan (HADP) has been rolled out with 29 proposed projects with an outlay of Rs 5,012 crore to be implemented over a period of next five years.

 

'The department today kick-started the 4-month orientation programme for the farmers under HADP, simultaneously across all the districts of the UT,' additional chief secretary, APD, Atal Dulloo told reporters here.

 

He said that the orientation programme was held across 264 venues engaging close to 14,000 farmers across the Union Territory on the first day of the programme.

 

'The programme shall be held on first three days of every week. The mammoth exercise beginning from today shall be completed in 4 months, which will cover all the panchayats of the all the districts and shall culminate on 31st August 2023,' Dulloo said.

 

He said that during the programme an exhaustive district specific calendar has been issued by the government.

 

'An innovative tool of describing the schemes using short films has been put in place. A total of 49 videos of schemes under HADP and other centrally-sponsored schemes were shown across the venues in J&K,' the additional chief secretary said.

 

'Besides this question answer session after each screening session of videos was held to clear the doubt of farmers,' he said.

 

For skill development of the farmers, the participants were apprised about the DAKSH KISAN- the learning management system developed by APD, where 118 skilling courses as per the agro-climatic zones of the UT are available for free.

 

The popular Basmati rice of Bundi is aiming for the prestigious Geographical Indication (GI) tag with the joint support of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) and the Consortium for Industry Development and Awareness (CIDA) which held a one-day workshop for rice millers and other stakeholders to discuss the registration of the produce in Bundi on Friday.

 

CIDA and NABARD have jointly decided to file an application for the GI tag of the Basmati variety. At the workshop, a presentation was made on the history of the Bundi rice, evidence and documentation required for the GI tage to millers, district industry officials and other stockholders, said CIDA secretary Prasun Jain.

 

'No efforts made earlier by millers to apply for GI tag'

Due to the absence of the geographical marker, local millers were unable to export the product directly and had to depend on exporters from Haryana and Delhi, reducing the brand value. However, no efforts were made earlier by local millers to apply for the GI tag and CIDA initiated the process, he said.

 

The rice is produced in over 67,000 hectares in Bundi and is exported to Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia as well as big businesses in India and abroad, CIDA president Dr Rohit Jain said. The rice recorded a business of Rs 1,800 crore in 2022, including Rs 1,400 crore through exports. Over 6,000 people were directly or indirectly employed in rice production in the district, he said. Famed as 'Dhan Ka Katora', production has increased from 52 lakh quintals last year to 80 lakh quintals in the current district, Jain said. The rice bears similar characteristics and quality of popular Basmati variants available in the country, he said. Neeraj Goyal, who presides over a Bundi rice business association, said that there were 26 millers currently operating in Bundi.

Ramesh Rajah, President of the Coffee Exporters Association said, 'The higher value because of the profit in the global market has made up for the decrease in volume.' Prices in the international market rise due to the lower crop outlook in prominent yielding nations like Brazil in view of torrential rainfall.

 

For the next two quarters, India’s coffee exports are expected to go up by 10% year-on-year in value terms due to a shift to mid-premium coffee from expensive premium-quality coffee amid firm international prices, Rajah said.

 

Rajah predicted Arabica coffee prices to be approximately 200 cents per pound on the New York exchange, and $2,300 per tonne for the Robusta variety on the London exchange because of likely shortfall in supply in main producing countries such as Vietnam and Brazil as El Nino weather phenomenon are expected to disturb monsoon rainfall.

 

Globally, Brazil is the largest coffee producer followed by Vietnam, and Colombia, while India’s contribution to the global market is approximately 2.5-3.0%. India is an importer of raw coffee and an exporter of instant coffee.

 

Coffee exports for the last financial year ended March hit a record high for the second consecutive year at $1.126 billion against the $1.088 billion target fixed by the commerce ministry.

 

Ajoy Thipaiah, Chairman of the Coffee Committee of the United Planters Association of South India said, 'Exports are expected to be on par with the last financial year in value terms,' However, the volume of exports may remain low.

 

Data from the Coffee Board of India indicated that the exports of coffee diminished by 3.6% in volume to 398,000 tonnes in FY23 against 413,000 tonnes in FY22.

 

The market for Indian coffee is niche and preferred by countries such as Germany, Italy, and Russia.

 

Exports in 2023-24 (April-March) will depend on prices and coffee production in India. Globally, the prices are good. However, the delayed blossom showers in major plantations in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka may weigh on India’s coffee production this season significantly which raises concerns over export volumes.