• India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in March 2023* is estimated to be USD 66.14 Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 7.53 per cent over March 2022. Overall imports in March 2023* is estimated to be USD 72.18 Billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 7.98 per cent over March 2022.

Table 1: Trade during March 2023*

* Note: The latest data for services sector released by RBI is for February 2023. The data for March 2023 is an estimation, which will be revised based on RBI’s subsequent release. (ii) Data for FY 2021-22 (April-March) and April-December 2022 has been revised on pro-rata basis using quarterly balance of payments data.

Fig 1: Overall Trade during March 2023*

• India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in FY 2022-23 (April-March) is estimated to exhibit a positive growth of 13.84 per cent over FY 2021-22 (April-March). As India’s domestic demand has remained steady amidst the global slump, overall imports in FY 2022-23 (April-March) is estimated to exhibit a growth of 17.38 per cent over FY 2021-22 (April-March).

Table 2: Trade during FY 2022-23 (April-March)*

		2022-23 (USD Billion)	2021-22 (USD Billion)
Merchandise	Exports	447.46	422.00
	Imports	714.24	613.05
pib.gov.in
	17 Apr, 2023 12th Session of India-Spain Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation in New Delhi. Commerce Secretary, Shri Sunil Barthwal, and Ms. Xiana Mendez, Secretary of State for Trade, Government of Spain co-chaired the 12th Session of India-Spain Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) on 13th April, 2023 in New Delhi. Both sides celebrated this Golden Jubilee edition of India-Spain Joint Commission mechanism which was established in 1972. During the past 50 years, a remarkable enhancement of bilateral trade and investment has taken place. With an investment of USD 3.7 Bn, 250 Spanish Companies are active in India and 40 Indian Companies are present in Spain working in different sectors such as IT, Pharma, Renewable Energy, Automobiles, Infrastructure etc.   Ms. Xiana emphasised  the importance of India-Spain relationship and the Spanish partnership in India’s development stories. Spanish side has reaffirmed the further cooperation in the various sectors including in the field of Civil Aviation such as Automation, Surveillance and NavAids, High Speed Railways, Railways networking, Signalling, Traffic management etc.   Both sides also agreed for further cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy, Shipping, Ports, Tourism, Infrastructure, Food Processing, Pharmaceuticals, Technology, Innovation, and Defence sector.   The status of various MOUs were also reviewed including those of important interest for bilateral relations such as MOUs on Migration and Mobility, Agreement on Social Security, Cyber Security etc.   Both sides also discussed various Market Access Issues faced by their exporters and agreed to resolve the same through bilateral discussions.   India and Spain are looking forward to a considerable progress in the ongoing India-EU FTA Negotiations during the upcoming Spanish Presidency of EU from July to December, 2023.   The Spanish side congratulated India on the excellent progress of the Indian presidency of the G20 so far and offered its support and cooperation for the success of G-20 TIWG.  Source:  pib.gov.in
17 Apr, 2023 Consultative Workshop on 'Technological Intervention & Innovations in the Honey / Beekeeping Sector'. Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare organized a Consultative Workshop on 'Technological Intervention & Innovations in the Honey / Beekeeping Sector' in New Delhi yesterday under National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM). Around 600 Beekeepers honey Startups/ FPOs, stakeholders in beekeeping, officials from various Ministries/ Government Organizations/ Institutes, State Departments of Horticulture, State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)/ Central Agricultural Universities (CAUs), etc. participated in the workshop physically and virtually.   In the opening remarks of workshop, Dr. Prabhat Kumar, Horticulture Commissioner briefed about the status and scenario of beekeeping in the country. He highlighted the importance of technological interventions in beekeeping. He explained the role of National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM) and its contribution to strengthen the beekeeping sector, including provision of promotion of Honey FPOs and Agri startups through NBHM. He highlighted that implementation of NBHM scheme is also intended to strengthen the infrastructure facilities for honey collection, storage, processing, testing & branding centres, which ultimately enhance the export potential of honey in the nation. He also stated that GI Tagging may also become a great weapon to stop adulteration and malpractices in honey sector and encouraged the beekeepers/ stakeholders for getting GI Tagging & Geo referencing for their produce.    He invited beekeepers/ other stakeholders to avail the facilities available under NBHM and to adopt beekeeping in a scientific manner to get additional income through honey & other beehive products. He assured full support to beekeepers across the country under the NBHM scheme.   Dr. N. K. Patle, Additional Commissioner Horticulture and Executive Director, National Bee Board (NBB) has given a brief presentation on role and achievements under NBHM, GI Tagging/ Geo referencing of honey in the country, success stories of beneficiaries assisted under NBHM, opportunities for beekeepers, agristart-ups/ stakeholders under NBHM, etc. Addressing the participants in the workshop, he stated that technological interventions in beekeeping are very much required. He stated that Government is committed towards increasing the overall potential of beekeeping industry in the country including supporting the honey startups and FPOs in beekeeping. He mentioned that 31 Mini Testing Labs and 4 Regional labs have been sanctioned under NBHM to assure the quality of honey in the country Madhukranti Portal is another initiative under NBHM to capture the data on beekeeping through registration of beekeepers/ other stakeholders.   He informed that NBHM is also supporting agri- entrepreneurs/ startups for their involvement in beekeeping/ Honey production. He mentioned that promotion & formation of FPOs is the first step for converting Krishi into Atmanirbhar Krishi and for this he assures that implementation of NBHM scheme will bring the revolutionary changes by strengthening the institutional framework in beekeeping sector and for formation & promotion of Honey FPOs and Honey Startups. He also invited all beekeeping stakeholders to come forward for obtaining GI tagging of their produce.   Shri Samuel Praveen Kumar, Joint Secretary (Extension), DA&FW mentioned that for successful mission, infrastructure, innovations and technologically sound strategies must to be adopted to boost the sector. He also mentioned that the extension outreach of the mission to reach at ground level is another key for successful operation of the mission.   Dr. Balraj Singh, Vice-Chancellor, SKN Agriculture University, Jobner, Jaipur, Rajasthan also interacted with the participants in the workshop and briefed about the role and support from Central and State Agricultural Universities for promotion and development of beekeeping sector. He stated that trainings & skill development and Bee breeding must be encouraged to strengthen beekeeping sector. Dr. V. Geethalakshmi, Vice-Chancellor, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, also highlighted intervention of university and suggested measures to boost up the sector.   Shri P. Chandra Shekara, Director General, MANAGE briefed about the potential of Agri Startups in beekeeping sector and mentioned that MANAGE is a one-stop solution for creating successful ventures in agriculture & allied sectors. He suggested working on literature on beekeeping and it must be available in different regional languages to make more outreach of the scheme. He suggested more capacity building program and setup ecosystem for startups and entrepreneurs in beekeeping sector.   Shri Nirmal Vasrshney from Only and Surely Organic Products company, Haridwar, Uttar Pradesh also shared their experiences in beekeeping and guided beekeepers/ small entrepreneurs to expand their business and come forward for availing the assistance under NBHM. Shri Noor Mohamad Bhatt, Valley Apiaries & Food Products, Pulwama, J& K suggested for providing support to old beekeepers and adulteration in honey should be restricted.   Shri Amit Dhanuka from Kejriwal Enterprises, New Delhi suggested regarding honey pricing stability and ask for awareness about the mustard honey crystallization and restriction on antibiotics in honey adulteration of C3 & C4 and antibiotics   Shri Jayakumar, Director Marthandam Honey FPO, Kanniyakumari, Tamil Nadu stated that as GI tagging of honey will help to enhance the economic prosperity of producers of GI tag by enhancing their demand in national and international markets. He encouraged all the stakeholders involved in beekeeping to come forward for GI tagging of their produce. He also informed that he had applied for GI tag for Marthandam honey, which is under active consideration by respective authorities.   Shri Nimit Singh from Madhumakkhi Wala, Barabank, U.P. introduced about their Honey startups and also encouraged the beekeepers/ other stakeholders to expand their profession by making honey-startups and availing assistance under schemes of Govt. of India.   Dr. Arjun Singh Saini, Director General (Horticulture), Govt. of Haryana, suggested integrated way for beekeeping sector to produce quality honey, wax-sheet manufacturing in the area, and quality honey production as the lab is approved for national facility and it will be operational in a year. He also highlighted the issues related to trust between exports and beekeepers. So, the trade centers should be required to provide common platform. NBB should target long term vision for this sector and focus should be given to other beehive products and bee diagnostic should be setup.   Shri Deepak Jolly, Secretary General, Indian Honey Alliance (IHA) informed that his organization will provide a unified platform to ensure maximum benefits to the beekeepers, consumers and development of value chain in honey sector. Shri Pankuj Prasad Raturi, Head Bio-Resource Development, Dabur informed that Dabur is procuring honey from diverse locations in India. He also informed that Dabur has started a great initiative to provide a new stream of income, and to alleviate poverty through the training and support of local NGOs in the practice of beekeeping in Bihar and Madhya Pradesh Has informed that, Dabur has planned the same in the Sundarban forest area of West Bengal as well.   Shri Ramesh Mittal, Director, National Institute of Agricultural Marketing (NIAM), Jaipur, shared experience of start-ups in honey sector and given stress to promote honey sector. He suggested establishing Incubation Centre for Honey Sector as has been established under RKVY support. He has also extended support of NIAM for getting GI tag in Honey Sector with dedicated efforts.   Dr Rajeev Chawala, NDDB informed about 1st honey testing lab setup by NDDB. He has suggested various ways to address issues of testing of honey. Dr. Umesh, DGM, APEDA briefly described about role of APEDA in export of honey and future strategies for its promotion. APEDA plans to create awareness among the stakeholders of food export by highlighting its impact on human life through various online platforms, including social media platforms.   In his remarks, Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, Additional Secretary, DA&FW has mentioned to focus on nurturing potential budding Agristart-ups & FPOs through support under NBHM scheme and motivate them to choose beekeeping as an attractive career. He assures that implementation of NBHM will upgrade skill in scientific beekeeping, setting up of state of the art infrastructural facilities for processing honey and allied beekeeping products like bee’s wax, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, upgradation by quality control laboratories and create better supply chain by setting up of collection, storage, bottling and marketing centres. He also assures that collaborated approach of APEDA, MANAGE, NIAM, NAFED, NDDB, NBB and other related organizations will bring revolutionary achievements in beekeeping sector.   He also stressed to start the awareness campaign through Mass Media on uses of crystallized honey that the crystallized honey is a pure/non adulterated honey. Indigenous Species of bees needs to evaluate for further region wise popularity. He emphasized that GI tagging in honey will help to boost rural areas by increasing revenue of the producers and employment in the region through beekeeping and honey production. The good quality of the products opens the international door for the producers thus help to boosts the exports of honey & other beehive products.   Major suggestion received from the panelist and other participants of the workshops who highlighted to work on major action points like., technological interventions on traceability of Quality Honey, setup complaint Mechanism from exporters, create lab Infrastructure (should have adulteration and antibiotics test mechanism) along with the contact details.   Participants also suggested some revisions of assistance under National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM). Components of NBHM like lab infrastructure to be improved, capacity building for honey bee keepers for addressing adulteration in honey, consumer outreach plan need to be prepared and more focus should be given to bee products.  Source:  pib.gov.in
17 Apr, 2023 India to Supply 10,000 Tonnes Wheat to Afghanistan. India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the UN World Food Programme (WFP) for humanitarian food assistance of 10,000 tonnes of wheat for the people of Afghanistan reeling under a food crisis.   The MoU marks the fifth tranche, to be shipped through the Chabahar Port, of humanitarian food assistance that India has committed. Last year, WFP arranged support for 23 million food-insecure people across Afghanistan following the contribution of 40,000 tonnes of wheat from India.   The MoU was signed in Mumbai on Thursday between J P Singh, joint secretary, Pak-Afghan-Iran Division, ministry of external affairs, and Elisabeth Faure, representative and country director, World Food Programme in India. 'Sincere gratitude to the Indian government for food assistance to the people of Afghanistan. India's support has been a lifeline for families in need and is an important part of WFP's assistance to millions of people across Afghanistan,' said Faure.   'The fifth tranche builds upon assistance already delivered to those who need it most by WFP in Afghanistan. India has delivered on its commitment, ' Singh said on the occasion.  Source:  economictimes.indiatimes.com
17 Apr, 2023 Exports can boost GI-tagged pickling mango Appemidi growers income. Appemidi — the Geographical Indication (GI) tagged, unique tender pickling mango variety from Karnataka — holds great export potential, which needs to be tapped to boost the growers’ income, experts said.   At the Appemidi Mango Diversity Fair, 2023, R Ravindra, General Manager, APEDA Southern Region, said campaigning and promotion were required to promote this unique variety overseas. APEDA proposes to showcase the Appemidi mangoes along with the other GI products to the global consumers, he said.   Though exports of Appemidi pickles are taking place, there is no separate data for the product as it is clubbed with other pickles, he said.   The Appemidi Mango Diversity Fair, 2023, was organised by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticulture Research in collaboration with the Society for Promotion of Horticulture, APEDA, Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Authority (PPV&FRA), Karnataka Science and Technology Academy.   SV Suresha, Vice-Chancellor, UAS-Bengaluru, appreciated the efforts of IIHR scientists in preserving this important natural gift. Appemidi, being GI-tagged, natural, and organic, through value addition, can double the income of farmers and generate off-time employment for farm women.   The demand for these pickling mangoes, which are largely grown in Sirsi, Sagar, Siddapur and Thirthahally region of Karnataka, varies from 4,000-5,000 tonnes per year, translating into more than Rs.100 crore per year.   Since the supply of Appemidi meets just 10 per cent of the market demand, they are often mixed with the ordinary tender mangoes. Considering the huge market potential and the dearth of fruit supply, the Appemidi mangoes need attention for their long-term conservation. ICAR-IIHR, Bengaluru, has surveyed, collected and conserved more than 250 accessions of Appemidi mangoes.   VB Patel, ADG-Horticulture, ICAR, emphasised on the area expansion of Appemidi in Karnataka to meet the market demand and focus on research for product diversification.  Source:  thehindubusinessline.com
17 Apr, 2023 US emerges as India's biggest trading partner in FY23 at $128.55 bn; China at second position. The US has emerged as India's biggest trading partner in 2022-23 on account of increasing economic ties between the two countries. According to the provisional data of the commerce ministry, the bilateral trade between India and the US has increased by 7.65 per cent to USD 128.55 in 2022-23 as against USD 119.5 billion in 2021-22. It was USD 80.51 billion in 2020-21.   Exports to the US rose by 2.81 per cent to USD 78.31 billion in 2022-23 as against USD 76.18 billion in 2021-22, while imports grew by about 16 per cent to USD 50.24 billion, the data showed.   On the other hand, during 2022-23, India's two-way commerce with China declined by about 1.5 per cent to USD 113.83 billion as against USD 115.42 billion in 2021-22.     Exports to China dipped by about 28 per cent to USD 15.32 billion in 2022-23, while imports rose by 4.16 per cent to USD 98.51 billion in the last fiscal. Trade gap widened to USD 83.2 billion in the last fiscal as against USD 72.91 billion in 2021-22.   Experts believe that the trend of increasing bilateral trade with the US will continue in the coming years also as New Delhi and Washington are engaged in further strengthening the economic ties.   Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President A Sakthivel said that increasing exports of goods such as pharmaceutical, engineering and gems and jewellery is helping India to push its shipments to America.   'The trend of increasing trade with the US will continue in the coming months also,' he said.   FIEO Vice President Khalid Khan said India is emerging as a trusted trading partner and global firms are reducing their dependence only on China for their supplies and are diversifying business into other countries like India.   'The bilateral trade between India and the US will continue to grow as our exporters are getting good orders from that country,' Khan said.   Rakesh Mohan Joshi, Director of the Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM), Bangalore, too said that India provides huge trade opportunities for the US as India is the world's third largest consumer market and the fastest growing market economy.   'Major export items from India to the US include petroleum, polished diamonds, pharmaceutical products, jewellery, light oils and petroleum, frozen shrimp, made ups etc. whereas major imports from the US include petroleum, rough diamonds, liquified natural gas, gold, coal, waste and scrap, almonds etc,' Joshi said.   America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. In 2022-23, India had a trade surplus of USD 28 billion with the US.   The data showed that China was India's top trading partner since 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country's largest trading partner.   In 2022-23, the UAE with USD 76.16 billion, was the third largest trading partner of India. It was followed by Saudi Arabia (USD 52.72 billion), and Singapore (USD 35.55 billion).  Source:  economictimes.indiatimes.com
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