The food regulator has once again extended the timeline for compliance with the Food Safety and Standards (Food Product Standards and Food Additives) 4th Amendment Regulations of 2019 related to the standards of packaged drinking water (other than mineral water).

 

Now the FSSAI has decided that the said regulation shall come into force from July 1, 2022.

 

The regulation specifies the limit of Calcium and Magnesium for packaged drinking water and the timeline for the compliance with the provision related to the limits of Calcium and Magnesium specified in the standards of Packaged Drinking Water (other than Mineral Water) was set to be implemented from January 1, 2022.

 

The regulation prescribes that the Characteristic Permissible Limit for Calcium (as Ca) is set at 20 to 75 mg/l, and for Magnesium (as Mg), 10 to 30, mg/l.

 

According to the FSSAI, it was in receipt of representation from the stakeholders asking for further extension of the timeline for compliance with the provisions.

 

Also, FSSAI admitted that the matter related to the limit of Calcium and Magnesium was still under consideration of the Scientific Panel on Water and Beverages.

 

“After due consideration, it has been decided to further extend the timeline for compliance in respect of the limits of Calcium and Magnesium specified in the standards of Packaged Drinking Water (other than Mineral Water) up to 1st July, 2022,” reads the order issued by the FSSAI.

 

Earlier, the timeline for compliance of this regulation was July 1, 2020, and subsequently extended till Jan 1, 2021.

Experts from India and Israel deliberated on widening the scope of the bilateral Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F), approved three joint research and development projects worth USD 5.5 million and suggested measures to create a broader collaborative ecosystem between the two countries, the science and technology ministry said on Wednesday.

 

The discussions took place virtually on Tuesday in the presence of officials from the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the Israel Innovation Authority (IIA), GITA and various industries partners.

 

The experts from the two countries deliberated on widening the scope of the India-Israel Industrial R&D and Technological Innovation Fund (I4F) at its eighth governing body meeting. They approved three joint research and development projects worth USD 5.5 million and suggested measures to create a broader India-Israel collaborative ecosystem.

 

'The I4F programme has a lot of potential. This board meeting will give us new thoughts, new directions on how to go forward,' said S Chandrasekhar, Secretary, DST and India Co-Chair, acknowledging the contributions made by Israel in the field of science and technology.

 

'So far, the priority areas have been agriculture, security and other important areas. There is further scope of increasing the quantum of projects received, which calls for the need to conduct more online meetings amongst the startup ecosystems of Israel and India,' he said in a statement.

 

Amiram Appelbaum, Co-Chair, Israel and chairman of the board, IIA, said despite the difficult times of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is critical to continue with the efforts of collaboration.

 

'I4F is one of the examples of collaborations which we want to carry forward. We look forward to go through interesting applications of projects submitted in this programme,' he said.

 

The governing body ratified the minutes of the seventh board meeting, which was followed by giving its approval to the three research and development projects with an overall budget of USD 5.5 million.

 

The projects were 'Centrally Monitored IoT Nanosensors for Molecular Diagnostics in Healthcare and Screening Applications', 'NoMoreMos – a mosquito control biological solution' and 'IoT-enabled satellite communication for real-time collection of agriculture and environment data across India'.

 

The members further discussed the status of the ongoing projects under the I4F since 2018. The Israeli side introduced the new I4F website and matchmaking platform developed as a measure to increase the popularity of the joint programme and presented a list of programmes planned for 2022.

 

The members mutually decided on a strategy for the new phase of I4F 2.0, which included widening the scope of the fund by determining technical feasibility and market acceptability of new products or technologies, co-developing products or technologies for commercialisation, co-testbed products or technologies for commercialisation in research and development and pilot areas.

 

It also included co-developing disruptive technologies in strategic sectors with the research performers involving academia as well.

 

The members also suggested the need to focus on partnership development activities like more business activities with Indian and Israeli companies and startups through a series of online events and follow-up B2B meetings. PTI UZM RC

After a gap of two years, mangoes will again be exportered to the United States from Lasalgaon’s irradiation plant this year.Mango export to the US from the irradiation plant could not take place over the past two years due to the pandemic. The plant, owned by the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) and currently operated by a private firm, is now gearing up to start processing mangoes for export again from April.

 

As per the norms, irradiation of mangoes is mandatory before exporting them to the US. The irradiation process is conducted under the supervision of quarantine inspectors from the US.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) had imposed restrictions on international travel for the past two years. As a result, quarantine inspectors could not visit India, and mango export could not take place.

 

However, USDA recently approved market access for Indian mangoes.Officials from an agency involved in the operation of the irradiation facility at Lasalgaon said, 'There were certain restrictions for the past two years, and the mangoes could not be exported to the US after the 2019 season. It will restart after two years.'

 

 

'We are expecting the quarantine inspectors from the US to reach India by March-end, and the processing of mangoes at the irradiation plant will begin in the first week of April if everything works out as planned,' said the officials at the Lasalgaon plant. 'We have set a target of irradiating about 600 tonne of mangoes that will be exported to the US this season,' they added.

There are two irradiation centres in Maharashtra — Vashi in Mumbai and Lasalgaon in Nashik district, — where the irradiation process on mangoes is done.

 

While the Vashi plant is owned by the Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB), the Lasalgaon plant is owned by BARC.

 

In 2019, the country had exported 1,300 metric tonne of mangoes, which were irradiated at Lasalgaon and Mumbai plants.

 

While Lasalgaon had processed 680 tonne of mangoes, the Vashi plant had processed 620 tonne of mangoes in the 2019 mango season.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held discussions with his Finnish counterpart Pekka Haavisto on a host of issues, including Afghanistan.

 

In a tweet, Jaishankar said in his wide-ranging discussions with Haavisto, he noted the steady growth of bilateral cooperation.

 

'Agreed that we would work to strengthen the ties further in 2022,' he said.

 

'Exchanged views about Afghanistan in detail. India and Finland have cooperated in the past on humanitarian support there,' Jaishankar said.

 

'Expect to work closely with each other in international organisations, including the UN Human Rights Council,' he added.

 

Later, in another tweet, Jaishankar said he had a warm conversation with Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard Casaubon.

 

'Looking forward to building on my visit there last year,' Jaishankar said.

 

'Discussed the Covid situation, our trade prospects, UN Security Council and G20. Hope to see him in India soon. Will help renew our traditional friendship,' he said.

The Food Corporation of India (FCI), celebrated its 58th Foundation Day. On this occasion Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles and Commerce and Industry, with his colleagues, MoS Ashwini Kumar Choubey and MoS Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti addressed all the staffs and officers of FCI spread across the country through video conferencing.

 

Goyal congratulated the entire FCI family on the occasion and said that FCI was founded on this very auspicious day in 1965 at an auspicious place i.e. the city of Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu.

 

Underlining the fact that FCI is the main central agency for execution of food policies of Government. Goyal said that FCI has come a long way in realising the dream of India being a self-sufficient nation.

 

Praising, the way FCI has carried out the world’s largest food supply chain system especially during the pandemic to ensure seamless supply of foodgrains under the ‘Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anya Yojana’, Minister has said that FCI has not only become an important organisation but also one of the most valuable organisations having stood in testing times.

 

'Today, FCI procures nearly 1,300 LMT of wheat and paddy annually against nearly 13 LMT procured during 1965. Similarly, distribution across the country has increased from about 18LMT in 1965 to nearly 600 LMT. Even the storage capacity from 6 LMT in 1965 has increased to over 800 LMT now,' Goyal said.

 

'The statistics reflects how FCI has taken responsibility but also indicates that there’s scope of bettering the transparency. He directed to prepare a layout on how to strengthen better delivery to the people of the nation. 'Our Vision and Mission should be Quality,' he said.

 

He gave 5 sutras to better FCI’s progress:

 

1. Change the public perception of FCI from being inefficient & corrupt to dynamic, inclusive & honest.

 

2. Focus on integrating end-to-end tech solutions right from procurement to delivery to achieve operational efficiency & leakage free, distribution - reduce PDS response time, beneficiary tracking.

 

3. Establish a grievance redressal mechanism to react rapidly to farmer/Farmer Producer Organisation in distress. Reaching out to farmers through 'Jan Jagrukta' programmes at grass-root level to spread awareness.

 

4. Plan for modern infrastructure & logistics. Upgrade warehouses to international standards. Improve storage capacity for the growing need- Power backup, CCTV, robust network facility.

 

5. Global best practices to make India a ‘Food hub’.

 

He said that it’s important that emphasis should be on improving India’s rating in the Global Hunger index. This could be achieved by adding more nutritional value in people’s diet.

 

He directed FCI to simplify the processes, free the organisation from discretionary power, make a robust testing mechanism of foodgrains, review sampling techniques & revise as per international standards.

 

Goyal said, 'We keep talking about the green revolution - I & II. But as Prime Minister said, the goal should be Evergreen revolution - Food security is not enough, focus should be on 'Nutritional Security.'

Indian manufacturers of alcoholic beverages have asked the government not to reduce customs duties on whiskey, wine and other spirits from the UK below a 'sustainable level’’ under the bilateral free trade agreement being negotiated and to bring it down gradually over a time window.

 

In a letter to the Commerce & Industry Ministry, which has started the first round of FTA negotiations with the UK, the Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies has proposed that the UK should be asked to remove non-tariff barriers for Indian alcoholic products in the country, including the freedom to sell ‘Indian Whiskey’ irrespective of whether it is made of wheat or molasses.

 

'We urge our government to ensure that Indian alcoholic beverage industry is permitted a truly level playing field by way of an effective customs duty that is reflective of the higher cost of production driven by the regulatory restrictions and capital cost in India,' per the letter addressed to the chief negotiator for India.

 

Equal opportunities

 

The association, which represents top companies such as Mohan Meakin, Sula Vineyards, Amrut Distilleries, Allied Blenders & Distillers and John Distilleries, also called for equal opportunities for export of Indian products to UK and measures to prevent dumping or predatory price exports to India.

 

Reduction of effective customs duty on Scotch whiskey and spirits, at a high 150 per cent in India, is one of the top demands of the UK in the FTA being negotiated as it is one of the top exporters of whisky to the country and believes that there is a lot of scope for growth.

 

India’s total import of whisky from the world increased four times in the last ten years to £168 million in 2020 from £36.5 million in 2010 with Britain supplying whiskey worth £110 million in 2019, according to a report compiled by the UK government. It is estimated that annual duties on UK whiskey exports to India were £164 million in 2019.

 

According to suggestion made by CIABC, India’s effective customs duty could be brought down from the current 150 per cent to 100 per cent immediately while it could be reduced further to 75 per cent after five years and to 50 per cent after ten years.

 

To prevent dumping or exports at `predatory prices’, the association has proposed that a Minimum Assessable Value (MAV) be imposed so that no product is taxed below the minimum value even if it is priced lower.

 

The suggested MAV for white and brown spirit is $5 per bottle (750ml) while for wines it is $3.5 per bottle (750ml), the submission said.) Bottled and bulk spirits may be treated as same for the purpose of tariff and MAV, it added.

 

At the same time, India must insist that the UK remove non-tariff barriers placed on Indian alcohol. 'Allow Indian whiskies to sell in UK as ‘Indian Whisky’ irrespective of whether they are made from malt, grain spirits or molasses-based spirits,' the CIABC letter stated.

 

The condition of minimum three years maturation period for whiskey as well as for rum should also be removed, it said.

Contrary to the initial expectations farmers across the country have brought more area under the rabi pulses crop, mainly chickpea or chana this season. Chickpea acreage has increased to a new high with record sowing in Maharashtra and Gujarat, while the traditionally largest producing State of Madhya Pradesh has seen a marginal increase in area.

 

In the early part of the rabi sowing season, it was widely anticipated that there would be a shift towards mustard at the expense of chickpea and wheat on remunerative prices for the oilseed. With sowing almost over now, mustard has definitely made significant gains. It is not at the expense of chickpea, but wheat and other crops. 

 

Pulses acreage flat

 

According to the Agriculture Ministry’s latest data, the total area under chana is up 3.5 per cent at 111.60 lh. Overall, rabi pulses acreage is almost flat at 160.23 lh compared with last year’s 160.13 lh.

 

Apart from chana, the area under lentils and lathyrus have increased, while coverage of other pulses such as field pea, kulthi, moong (green gram) and urad (black matpe) has declined.

 

In the case of chana, besides Maharashtra, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, other States such as Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh have also seen a rise in acreage. However, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Rajasthan have reported a decline in the area under chickpea.

 

This rabi, Maharashtra has surpassed Madhya Pradesh to emerge as the largest State to cultivate chana. The area under the pulses crop increased by 9.2 per cent in Maharasthra to 25.24 lh while Madhya Pradesh had 24.94 lh under chana.

 

Similarly, Gujarat saw a whopping 36 per cent increase in the area under chana at 10.94 lh from 8.03 lh the previous season.

 

In fact, the chana acreage, according to Ministry of Agriculture data, has increased from 1.69 lakh hectares (lh) in 2016-17 to 10.94 lh in 2021-22, a whopping 547 per cent increase, almost six times in the past six years

 

Favourable factors

 

Punit Bachawat, a pulses miller in Ahmedabad, attributes the rise in chana acreages in Gujarat this year to factors such as favourable weather and higher soil moisture among others. Also, the growing awareness about the chana crop in recent years among the farming community has contributed to the increase in area, Bachawat said.

 

Suresh Agrawal, President of the Indore-based All India Dall Mills Association (AIDMA), said the increase in water availability due to the improved irrigation facilities have also contributed to the rise in area under chana in Gujarat.

 

However, in Maharasthra, a majority of jowar farmers in Aurangabad and other districts, have turned to chickpea as prices for jowar are ruling low this season.

 

In Marathwada, farmers are completely dependent on jowar, chickpea and wheat for the rabi season. However, there is a sudden rise in chickpea cultivation, says Ramesh Thorat, a farmer in Aurangabad where the average area under chana is about 41,000 hectares. This season, the coverage has crossed 51,000 hectares. In other divisions of Maharashtra, there is a rise in chickpea cultivation.

 

Paddy to pulses

 

Similarly, in Telangana, the State government’s advice to farmers not to grow paddy this rabi keeping in view the Centre’s refusal to procure parboiled rice has proved to be a windfall for pulses.

 

As Telangana targets to cut the area under paddy by at least 50 per cent, there is an increase of 0.40 lh in the area of pulses at 1.8 lh.

 

'We are expecting this to go up by a bit more as there is still time for sowing to complete in the season,” a government official said. The area under chickpea has gone up to 1.30 lh from 1.14 lh, while that of blackgram has gone up to 25,800 ha from 9,700 ha.

 

Agricultural activists feel that there is a bigger scope for growing pulses. The State, they said, should have started early and prepared a plan for alternatives, allowing farmers to get ready for alternatives like pulses and oilseeds. Andhra Pradesh has also seen a steady pace in sowings of pulses.

 

Crop prospects 

 

S Chandrasekaran, a New Delhi-based trade analyst, said signs are positive for the rabi pulses crop with the situation being good for chickpea.

 

Sources said last year growers faced quality problems with regard to chana seeds, but this year the quality is reported to be good and it would help in better production. Growers feel the seeds this year are of better quality and hence, production will improve.

 

According to the pulses trade, the crop condition is good, so far, but freak weather patterns are a concern. The broader consensus among the pulses trade is that the crop this rabi would be around 90 lakh tonnes (lt), better than the previous year’s 85 lt.

 

Satish Upadhyay, executive committee member of the Indian Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), expects the crop to be between 85 and 90 lt this year. Upadhyay said though the area has gone up, the recent unseasonal rains in some part of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Maharashtra are seen to have had some impact on the crop.

 

The carryover stocks with the Government would be around nine lakh tonnes and the private trade is around 16.5-17 lt as of December 31. With an estimated consumption of 6 lt per month, the carry-forward stocks with the trade till February end would be around five lakh tonnes and the Govt around four lakh tonnes.

 

AIDMA’s Agrawal expects the overall chana crop to be around 90 lakh tonnes. 'The crop condition has been good so far. A clearer picture would emerge over the next two to three weeks by February 1st week, as a normal weather would boost the prospects,” Agrawal said.

 

Weather watch

 

Recently, some districts in Madhya Pradesh such as Ashoknagar and Harda, while parts of Maharashtra and Rajasthan have also received unseasonal rains in some areas, Agrawal said.

 

Sources said the extreme cold weather and rains need to be watched. Rain forecast over the next fortnight in the growing areas could have an impact on the crop. In particular, if there are hailstorms then it could affect the crop, sources said.

 

Rahul Chauhan of Igrain India said the chana crop condition is largely stable, except for some damages in Maharasthra and Karnataka. 'The chana crop seems to be promising and production can top 90 lt,” Chauhan said adding that carryover stocks with NAFED may be around 10-12 lakh tonnes and around 5-10 lt with traders

 

The Centre has increased the minimum support price (MSP) for chana by 2.5 per cent for the 2022-23 marketing season at Rs5,230 rupees a quintal against Rs5,100 rupees in the previous year. However, the current prices are trading around Rs4,800-5,000 per quintal in various mandis.

 

'The crop condition is good and there’s unlikely to be any price rise issue going forward,” Upadhyay said, adding that chana prices are expected to stay range bound between Rs4,500 and Rs5,500 in the season ahead. Also, the lack of buying interest by traders and stockists, due to the curbs imposed on stocking pulses could weigh on the prices.

 

On the prospects for Kabuli chana, Upadhyay said the crop condition looked better as the weather was conducive. The crop and yields are likely to be better this year, he said.

 

Imports of desi chickpea have seen a marginal increase in the current financial year. During April-October 2021, shipments into the country stood at 53,593 tonnes compared with 48,886 tonnes in the year-ago period. 

 

Igrain’s Chouhan said imports during the November-December period were estimated at 55,919 tonnes taking the overall imports during April-Dec to 1.09 lakh tonnes. Chana imports are only from LDC (least developed countries) of Africa. Chana imports from Australia attract 66 per cent Customs duty.

 

Lentis area up

 

Like in the case of chickpea, the area under lentils or masur has also seen an increase this year to around 17.32 lh from 16.7 lh the previous year. In Madhya Pradesh, the area under lentil has increased to 6.19 lh (5.4 lh last year), while in UP the acreage has risen a tad to 6.14 lh (5.99 lh). However, West Bengal has seen a marginal decline in the area at 1.32 lh (1.48 lh).

 

'The area under lentils has increased and we expect the crop to be between 10-11 lakh tonnes, better than last year” IPGA’s Upadhyay said. The lentil crop is expected to hit the markets from February end.

 

Lentil stocks with the trade, including at ports, is estimated at four lakh tonnes, while Nafed is holding around 55,000 tonnes. Upadhyay said the annual consumption of lentils is around 18-19 lt and the country still depends on imports of 6-7 lt to meet the requirement.

 

Trade sources expect lentils imports from Russia from March onwards, which could have some impact on the domestic market.

 

Chandrasekaran said there may not be any shortage of pulses in the coming days.

Jordan's state grain buyer has issued an international tender to buy 120,000 tonnes of milling wheat which can be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Wednesday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is Feb. 1.

 

A new tender had been expected by traders after Jordan made no purchase in its previous tender for 120,000 tonnes of wheat which closed on Tuesday. 

 

Shipment in the new tender is sought in a series of possible combinations in 60,000 tonne consignments. Possible shipment combinations are between July 1-15, July 16-31, Aug. 1-15 and Aug. 16-31.

 

Jordan on Wednesday also issued a separate tender to purchase 120,000 tonnes of animal feed barley closing on Jan. 26. 

According to a recent report published by IndexBox, the flow of foreign supplies into China's rice market has sharply increased due to spiking demand for broken rice for animal feeding. From January to August 2021, China imported record 3.2M tonnes of rice, whereas broken rice represented half of the total volume. India became the largest supplier to the country, exporting unprecedented 1M tonnes of broken rice during this period with competitive prices relative to domestic ones in China. In value terms, purchases from India amounted to over $225M. Broken rice is primarily used for feed, snack and liquor manufacturing. 

 

Broken rice purchases from other leading suppliers, namely Myanmar, Vietnam, Pakistan and Thailand, have also increased. Shipments from Pakistan soared from $24M to $90M in 2021 for January through August. Imports from Viet Nam jumped from $131M to $150M over the same period, while Thailand's supplies soared from $25M to $44M. Myanmar boosted its broken rice exports to China from $41M to $81M. 

 

China’s Rice Imports by Country

 

In 2020, rice imports into China skyrocketed to 2.9M tonnes, picking up by 16% compared with 2019. In value terms, purchases soared to $1.5B. 

 

Myanmar (911K tonnes), Viet Nam (788K tonnes) and Pakistan (475K tonnes) were the leading suppliers of rice imports to China, together comprising 75% of the total volume. These countries were followed by Thailand, Cambodia, Taiwan (Chinese) and the Lao People's Democratic

Republic, which accounted for a further 25%.

 

In value terms, Viet Nam ($452M), Myanmar ($324M) and Thailand ($242M) were the largest rice suppliers to China, with a combined 70% share of total imports. Pakistan, Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic and Taiwan (Chinese) lagged somewhat behind, together comprising a further 30%.

 

In 2020, China's average rice import price amounted to $501 per tonne, flattening from the previous year. Prices varied noticeably by the country of origin; the country with the highest cost was Thailand ($746 per tonne), while the price for Myanmar ($356 per tonne) was amongst the lowest. In 2020, the most notable rate of growth in terms of prices was attained by Lao People's Democratic Republic, while the prices for the other major suppliers experienced more modest paces of growth.

 

About IndexBox

 

IndexBox is a market research firm developing an AI-driven market intelligence platform that helps business analysts find actionable insights and make data-driven decisions. The platform provides data on consumption, production, trade, and prices for more than 10K+ different products across 200 countries.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has stepped in to help exporters of agricultural products in solving the issue of a shortage of rail rakes, but the situation is likely to be tight for some more time. 

 

APEDA is following up the issue continuously with the Railways Ministry after the issue was brought to its notice, though some exporters of rice and sugar are moving their consignments by trucks to ports due to a lack of other options.

 

The shortage of rakes cropped up as the Railways is giving priority to move coal and fertiliser. Also, priority is accorded to the movement of foodgrains meant for public distribution by the government on fears that the spread of the Omicron variant of Coronavirus could result in shutdowns. 

 

Stark situation

 

'The situation is in contrast to what happened three months ago when Railways allowed us to load in 21-box rakes than the usual 42-box rakes. Now, you have demand from coal, fertilisers, foodgrains, cement and other such sectors,' said BV Krishna Rao, President, The Rice Exporters Association (TREA). 

 

Besides looking at options such as transporting export consignments by road, exporters are also looking at nearby destinations for shipments as it will help them overcome the problem of lower margins, said VR Sagar, Director, Bulk Logix. 

 

APEDA Chairman M Angamuthu, when contacted, told BusinessLine that his office held a meeting with TREA, which had complained of the non-availability of rakes affecting the export of non-Basmati rice from Chhattisgarh over the past month. 

 

'APEDA had a meeting with the TREA for taking stock of the situation and the difficulties faced. The traders informed that they are not able to get the required number of rakes on a daily basis and as a result, they are not able to get a sufficient quantity of rice for fulfilling their committed orders,' he said.

 

The traders also highlighted the issues related to infrastructure at the railway stations, he said.

 

Railways’ assurance

 

Following this, APEDA organised a video conference of TREA representatives with the Railways Ministry in which the trade difficulties were explained. 'The Railways Ministry was requested to resolve the current issue of insufficient availability of rakes on a priority basis so that the export is not affected. Railways officials said due to increased movement of fertilizers and coal that in demand, this problem is taking place,' the APEDA Chairman said.

 

Railways officials have assured to resolve the issue as per the availability of resources even as APEDA is following it up, he said. 

 

Bulk Logix’s Sagar said with crude oil prices increasing, moving shipments by road was proving to be costly.

 

'Moving consignments by rail is cheaper, but rakes will have to be available. We have no other option than road now,' he said.

 

'For rice, road transportation is not possible given the volume of the consignments,' said TREA’s Rao. 

 

Risks of losing money

 

Shippers are facing problems in moving consignments from Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. 'Our contracts are time-bound. For example, we have to deposit a certain amount of money to sugar mills in Karnataka when we sign deals to buy sugar. If we don’t move them by the stipulated time, we will end up losing our money,' Sagar said. 

 

Trade analysts said practically, no rakes were available over the past fortnight. Exporters are facing transportation bottlenecks mainly in Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Maharashtra. 

 

'There are some 5,000 rakes available in the country. But besides coal and fertilisers, priority is for the Food Corporation of India to move its stocks as planned,' said an analyst.

 

Though the private sector has rakes, they are not available, the analyst said. Sagar concurred with the view on the availability of private sector rakes. 

 

Threat of business shifting

 

Rao said the non-availability of rakes could force rice buyers to shift to other exporters such as Thailand and Vietnam. 'We cannot allow our business to shift to other countries. It will cost us additional money to bring them back,' he said. 

 

'We are even planning to load in open wagons, though we will not get insurance cover,' the TREA President said. 

 

The Bulk Logix director said exporters were signing new deals despite the problems.

 

'Even yesterday, we signed deals to export sugar to Djibouti. We have got deals to export white rice, parboiled rice and even wheat flour,' he said, adding that shippers are having to settle for a lower margin of 1-2 per cent. 

 

'For many rice exporters, moving by road will not get them any margin,' Rao said. 

 

'The wise thing would be to export to destinations such as Djibouti rather than any West African ports. It takes 10 days to send consignments to Djibouti and 45 days to West Africa,' Bulk Logix’s Sagar said. 

 

By shipping to Djibouti, the gateway to reach countries such as Ethiopia, exporters can complete two cycles of shipments compared with sending consignments to West African ports. 'So, even if we settle for a lower margin, we can gain by doing these short duration destinations,' Sagar said. 

 

Though sugar exports are facing a hurdle in view of the non-availability of rakes, exporters have actually slowed signing new deals as global raw sugar prices dropped below 19 US cents a pound (?31,500 a tonne) after having ruled above 20 US cents a few weeks ago. White sugar prices, too, have dropped to $509.10 a tonne. 

 

According to the Indian Sugar Mills Association, sugar exports have increased by 277 per cent during the first three months of the current season that began on October 1, 2021. 

 

Rice exports during the April-October period of the current fiscal have increased to 9.63 million tonnes against 6.17 million tonnes in the year-ago period as neighbouring countries have found it competitive to import from India. 

 

Currently, rice exports are under pressure since the Centre’s procurement of parboiled rice has resulted in the rates for shipments rising by $20-30 a tonne. 

 

Trade analysts see the rail rakes problem as a temporary blip that could be set right soon. 

 

'We are told the problem could continue till March, but some concessions in allotment of rakes are needed for rice, lest we lose our market share,' Rao said.