South Korea is looking at concluding negotiations with India in 2022 to upgrade the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) without going in for an early harvest package, South Korean trade minister Yeo Han-koo said on Wednesday.

 

A day after holding talks in New Delhi with his Indian counterpart Piyush Goyal, Yeo said in an interview that South Korea and India have great potential to forge stronger partnerships for the post-pandemic era in key areas such as supply chains, emerging technologies, the climate crisis, digital, vaccines, and public health.

 

Goyal and Yeo agreed during their talks to expand trade by upgrading CEPA, which was finalised in 2009 and came into effect a year later, and by resolving industry-specific issues to achieve $50 billion in bilateral trade by 2030. Two-way trade crossed the $20 billion mark for three consecutive years since 2017 before being impacted by the Covid-19 crisis.

 

Noting that South Korea is eyeing the completion of negotiations for upgrading CEPA within 2022, Yeo said: 'I think CEPA unleashed great potential [but] despite all this potential, I think CEPA could be sort of the framework to build on and then expand. CEPA took effect in 2010, which was forever ago, and now the world is completely changed.'

 

He added, 'We need an upgrade to jump-start our bilateral cooperation. We launched these upgrade negotiations in 2016, but I think the progress has been sort of on and off. I think what we agreed on between the two ministers is that we really need to renew this momentum and then bring new spirit into this process, so that in 2022, we could really conclude a more upgraded and better CEPA.'

 

Though the Indian side raised the issue of an early harvest package that was decided in 2018, Yeo said there was 'some misunderstanding on both sides' on this issue.

 

'I think we cleared that misunderstanding [on Tuesday]. I think what I understand is that India took it as, okay, we agreed on the early harvest package, and [it came] into effect right away, and then the rest of the negotiations will continue. But at that time, what Korea thought we got into was that, okay, this is an early harvest package that we agreed on and this is sort of a first stage, but [it has] not [taken] effect,' he said.

 

'In our system, the ratification process in the National Assembly is quite stringent and very, very intensive. We’ve never done [things] just partially, you know, partially concluded [an] early harvest [package], and then ratify it in the National Assembly and then continue on with the rest of it. We never did it, our system doesn’t allow that,' he added.

 

Yeo said the global trading environment is going through a big paradigm change, with the traditional scope of trade policy expanding to cope with issues such as supply chains, emerging technologies and digital. 'In this sense, I think Korea and India have great potential to forge stronger partnerships in this rapidly changing era, for example, in supply chains,' he said.

 

The world was dependent on global supply chains developed decades ago, and now 'we realise that disruptions or even small and unexpected hiccups along the value chain can really have serious implications for global trading', he said. 'Korea has its New Southern Policy, which puts Asean and India at the centre of our diplomatic, economic and industrial cooperation...We value India as an important partner for complementing our supply chains. And in this sense, the CEPA could really bolster supply chains, this connectivity and cooperation,' he added.

 

Yeo acknowledged that complaints from both Indian and South Korean businesses related to issues such as barriers to market access figured in his talks with Goyal. 'I think in any healthy relationship, especially this trade relationship worth $20 billion, it’s natural that we have some sort of irritants, small or big on both sides. I think what matters is not those irritants, but how to bring this to attention and how to resolve them in a transparent, mutually trusted manner,' he said.

 

'We had a very intensive discussion on what Indian companies have issues with and also what Korean companies have issues with. I’m more confident that both authorities can keep the communication channels open and find a reasonable, win-win solution for those issues,' Yeo said.

 

It is understood that Goyal, during the talks, raised problems being faced by Indian firms to get market access in South Korea for commodities such as steel, bovine meat and agricultural products due to stringent regulations and practical barriers.

India's 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $367-$375 per tonne, a peak since the week of June 24 last year, up from last week's $359-$363.

 

'Mills are mainly focusing on milling white rice. Parboiled supplies are very limited, and that's why prices are moving higher,' said an exporter based at Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

 

Prices are also firming because of an appreciation in the rupee, he said, which trims traders' margins from overseas sales.

 

Thailand's 5% broken rice prices rose to their highest since mid-July 2021 at $404-$405 per tonne from $390-$402 last week.

 

Bangkok-based traders said an uptick in demand among exporters who had to fulfil orders made before the New Year's holidays raised prices slightly.

 

Thailand exported 5.39 million tonnes of rice between January and November 2021, up 2.6% from the same period a year earlier, according to the country's commerce ministry.

 

Vietnam's 5% broken rice was offered at $395-$405 per tonne, widening from a range of $395-$400 a week ago.

 

'Sales are slow, and local traders have scaled down their purchases from farmers,' a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

 

Government customs data released on Thursday showed Vietnam's rice exports in 2021 fell 0.2% to 6.24 million tonnes.

 

Exports in December fell 13.4% from November to 490,219 tonnes.

 

Meanwhile, in Bangladesh, domestic rice prices went up again this week despite good crops and huge imports, traders said.

 

Bangladesh, the world's third-biggest rice producer, imported nearly 1.36 million tonnes in the previous year that ended in June.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal launched the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom along with Rt. Hon. Anne-Marie Trevelyan, UK Secretary of State for International Trade in New Delhi today. The FTA is expected to facilitate the target of doubling bilateral trade between India and United Kingdom by 2030, set by the Prime Ministers of both the nations, Shri Narendra Modi and Mr. Boris Johnson in May 2021.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that both India and UK are vibrant democracies, with a partnership built on our shared history and rich culture. The diverse Indian diaspora in UK, who act as a “Living Bridge”, adds further dynamism to the relations between the two countries, he added.

 

The Minister said that the FTA with UK is expected to provide certainty, predictability and transparency and will create a more liberal, facilitative and competitive services regime.

 

Shri Goyal said that the FTA negotiations with the UK is expected to increase our exports in Leather, Textile, Jewellery and processed Agri products. He added that India is also expected to register a quantum jump in the export of Marine Products through the recognition of 56 marine units of India.

 

The Minister said that the Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on Pharma could provide additional market access. There is also great potential for increasing exports in service sectors like IT/ITES, Nursing, education, healthcare, including AYUSH and audio-visual services. India would also be seeking special arrangements for movement of its people, he added.

 

The Minister assured that subsequent to the unveiling of FTA, the two nations would proactively and regularly engage with each other, for deliberating on the scope and coverage of the trade deal. Observing that UK was a major trade partner of India with substantial bilateral volume of trade in goods and services, Shri Goyal said that the cooperation extended across areas like tourism, tech, startups, education, climate change, etc. and that the two nations were looking forward to a mutually beneficial trade deal with balanced concessions and market access package in a wide range of sectors.

 

Calling for the enhancement of sectoral cooperation by addressing market access issues and removing trade restrictions, Shri Goyal said that it would help generate direct and indirect employment in both nations.

 

The Minister said that the India-UK FTA will also contribute in integrating value chains and help augment our mutual efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains. Reminding that the leaders of both nations had envisioned launching the FTA Negotiations in early 2022, Shri Goyal expressed his happiness at the successful conclusion of discussions in a timely manner to announce the launch of our FTA negotiations today.

 

The Minister also informed that it was also agreed to explore during the FTA negotiations, the possibility of an Interim Agreement to provide quick gains for benefitting businesses in both nations. Our endeavour is to deliver a comprehensive, balanced, fair and equitable FTA, to benefit our small, medium and micro-enterprises in both nations, he said.

Karnataka is considering expanding its pioneering Rashtriya e-Market Services (ReMS) platform to sell agriculture and horticulture products of Farmers Producer Organisations (FPOs), a senior official said on Wednesday.

 

The ReMS electronic trading platform will connect markets with FPOs allowing the farmers’ collectives to sell their produce in bulk. 

 

'As a pilot sale, 37 lots of 4,661 quintals with a total trade value of Rs 1.41 crore of the FPOs have been traded on the platform,' ReMS managing director Manoj Rajan said, adding that Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai will soon chair a meeting to discuss the expansion of the platform to cover more FPOs. 

 

Karnataka has 700 FPOs with an average membership of 350-400 shareholders. 

 

Speaking at the State Credit Seminar organised by NABARD, Additional Chief Secretary-cum-Development Commissioner Vandita Sharma said FPOs help increase agricultural income in the long run. 'The pilot had 4,661 quintals. This isn’t enough. The sale of FPO produce should be brought to the ReMS portal. This will provide ease of doing business to the farming community,' she said. 

 

Sharma pointed out that Karnataka was the first state to start auctions in APMCs using the ReMS. 'The National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) came later,' she said.  Rajan said FPO produce like groundnut, maize, paddy, tur, ragi, jaggery, Bengal gram, green gram and soybean will get a market through ReMS. 

 

'The electronic trading platform provides transparent, secured and comprehensive trading features for conducting online trading for FPOs,' he explained. 'FPOs update details of lots available for sale, and buyers participate remotely by offering their bids. The platform supports online settlement and payments to bank accounts of FPOs/farmers.' 

 

The platform has 44,000 traders registered across 160 markets in the state. 'These traders have access to these FPOs enabling them to get fair returns on their farm produce through a transparent price discovery mechanism,' Rajan said.  

Union Government sees the need for Karnataka, to augment its millet production. The state which is the largest producer of millets accounts for the cultivation of all the seven varieities covering Foxtail millet, Pearl Millet, Barnyard Millet, Proso Millet, Little Millet and Amaranth Millet.

 

In fact, finger millet or ragi is the staple diet of the state along with rice. Hence the state should also look at marketing millets to other states in the country said Union Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey who was here in Bengaluru to meet up with the senior state officials.

 

Noting that it is important for Karnataka to partner with Hyderabad’s Indian Institute of Millets, Pandey said that it needs to enhance its market opportunity and encourage startups to take up processing of value-added products with millets.

 

With 2023 declared as the International Year of Millets, Pandey said that if millets were marketed to other states then the government would bear the logistics. It was since Karnataka was also known for rice consumption, he said that the state government should procure fortified rice locally and undertake fortification of rice at milling stage itself.

 

“FRK which is fortified rice kernels units need to be set up to garner the long-term objective of 100 per cent fortified rice. The State Health department can monitor health development of children to get benefits under the Integrated Child Development Scheme and Midday Meal Scheme under which fortified rice distribution is undertaken,” he said.

 

The Union government has also approved procurement of local varieties of paddy from Dakshina Kannada district. Following the state’s move to release the subsidy in advance, Pandey called to submit the provisional expenditure before commencement of procurement based on which advances can be released.

 

The state government also asked for one unified software for procurement operations which the Union food secretary said was under consideration.

Since Karnataka also was recognised as among the largest producers of sugar in the country, Pandey indicated the need to focus on ethanol production and blending as Karnataka was identified among eight states in the country for launch of 100 ethanol bunks in metros.

 

In addition, Pandey indicated the plans of ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ for migrant labourers, coffee plantation workers and other settlement workers engaged in construction activities to be taken up by the state government in a time-bound manner for the benefit of the poor.

 

Crops grown in Karnataka include rice, maize, pulses and oil seeds. Cashews, cardamom and chillies are also produced on a large scale in the state.

Assam Government will set up an Agricultural Commission with experts and agricultural scientist to explore options for commercial agricultural production.

 

Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma laid foundation stone of College of Agroforestry & Biodiversity and Bengal Florican Conservation, Research & Ecotourism Site at Naba Dihira in Baksa district. He also inaugurated 107 numbers of Anganwadi Centres constructed from MGNREGA fund 2021-22 at the programme.

 

'State Government will set up an Agricultural Commission with experts and agricultural scientist to explore options for commercial agricultural production in Assam. It will give recommendations for increasing production and farmers’ earnings' the Chief Minister said in his speech.

 

Saying that Kokolabari Agri Farm has a historical background, he stated that BTR administration has been making efforts to develop the farm. He also informed about steps taken by the state government to increase the per capita income of Assam and its GDP while striving towards maximum utilisation of state’s resources.

 

He also said Assam is still importing food products from outside despite having conducive climate here for agriculture and allied sectors. Only rhetoric cannot take a race forward if there is no willingness to work hard and vigorous agricultural activities are imperative for achieving self-reliance, he asserted.

 

Informing that both State Government and BTR administration would take steps for setting up a national level institute at Kokolabari Agri Farm. Allotment of increased funds to Soil Conservation Department would also be made for taking up schemes for river erosion protection in the area and all other demands of local people would also be considered, he announced.

 

Later, the Chief Minister also held a meeting with local community members, NGOs and forest officials of Manas National Park. He also handed over certificates of appreciation to forest guards, foresters and those who have rendered exemplary service towards protection of MNP. State Government is also going to look at options to implement ecotourism and other livelihood schemes for the local communities, he said.

On the 13th of January 2022, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the virtual flagging off of the first shipment of GI tagged 'Marayoor Jaggery' from Marayoor, Idukki, Kerala to Dubai, UAE.

 

Dr. M Angamuthu IAS, Chairman, APEDA flagged off the first consignment of Marayoor Jaggery to Dubai. He mentioned promoting Marayoor jaggery in all parts of the world as being a unique GI product that is chemical-free. He also thanked the Govt of Kerala & farmers of Marayoor Jaggery for all the support.

 

Plan to Promote Marayoor Jaggery:

 

T V Subhash IAS, Director of Agriculture, Govt of Kerala, Representatives from Fair Exports India Pvt Limited along with other officials of APEDA took part in the flag-off ceremony. He specified that a detailed action plan to promote exports from Kerala will be developed soon focusing on the airports & ports.

 

GI tagged Marayoor jaggery is exported from Marayoor, Idukki by Fair Exports India Pvt. Ltd to Dubai. Fair Exports India Pvt. Ltd. belonging to the Lulu Group International is a leading exporter registered under APEDA. This initiative to promote GI-tagged products from India is ultimately paving the way to achieve PM’s target of 400 billion USD of merchandise export by 2021-22.

Karnataka is just months away from securing the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for a rare variety of lemon largely grown in the northern plains of the state, especially in the Indi taluk of Vijayapura district. Often referred to as 'Kagzi Lemon', this is the second lemon variety in India to get the label after Manipur's 'Kachai Lemon'.

 

After five years of efforts, the Karnataka State Lime Development Board (KSLDB), supported by scientists of the Horticulture University of Bagalkot, is awaiting the final clearance from the GI Registry of India in Chennai.

 

The cultivation of 'Kagzi Lemons', a distinctive variety of Central India, was started across Vijayapura as early as 1900. However, the ones cultivated in Indi are known for their unique texture and high acidic value.

 

Yashvantharaygouda V Patil, MLA of Indi, told DH that all necessary documents pertaining to the history and uniqueness of the crop had long been submitted. 'However, in the absence of follow-up action by the state government, the issue had taken a back seat. But now, scientists from Bagalkot have offered insights into the uniqueness of the fruit and relevant documents have been submitted for final clearance,' he said. 

 

Santosh Sappandi, Managing Director of the KSLDB, told DH that the GI registrar had raised asked questions in the past and an expert committee was appointed for clarifying doubts over the quality of the fruit. 'In the last few months, the Board has cleared more than 20 objections that were raised by the GI office in Chennai. They had sought information pertaining to the history, cultivation area, studies on the acidic values along with other technical details. We are expecting the GI tag for Indi lemons in a month or two,' Sappandi said.

 

Compared to other popular varieties, Kagzi Lemons of Indi have a thinner rind and have more juice, adding to the overall weight of the fruit. 'The ascorbic acid content is the highest in these varieties,' Sappandi said.

 

Karnataka has been the fourth-largest contributor of lemons at the all-India level while Vijayapura produces 60% of the state's lemons. Indi taluk alone contributes to 30%-40% of the lemon production in the district with over 15,000 farmers engaged in lemon cultivation.

The World Bank has retained India's economic growth forecast for the current fiscal at 8.3 per cent as the recovery is yet to become broad-based.

 

As per the first advanced estimates of the national income released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) last week, the economy is projected to grow at 9.2 per cent in 2021-22, surpassing pre-COVID level in actual terms, mainly on account of improved performance, especially in farm, mining and manufacturing sectors.

 

'India's economy is expected to expand by 8.3 per cent in fiscal year 2021/22 (ending March 2022), unchanged from last June's forecast as the recovery is yet to become broad-based.

 

'The economy should benefit from the resumption of contact-intensive services, and ongoing but narrowing monetary and fiscal policy support,' the World Bank said in its latest Global Economic Prospects report released on Tuesday.

 

Further, the report said that growth forecast has been upgraded for 2022-23 and 2023-24 to 8.7 per cent and 6.8 per cent, respectively. The upward revision reflects an improving investment outlook with private investment, particularly manufacturing, benefiting from the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, and increases in infrastructure investment.

 

'The growth outlook will also be supported by ongoing structural reforms, a better than-expected financial sector recovery, and measures to resolve financial sector challenges despite ongoing risks,' the report said.

 

It also noted that consumer inflation in the major economies of South Asia has been above central banks' targets since late 2019.

 

In India, easing supply disruptions related to COVID and deficient demand contributed to a return of inflation toward the mid-point of the 2-6 per cent target range since mid-2021. Core inflation, however, remains at the upper end of the target range.

 

The report said that following the major setback to health and economic activity caused by the mid-2021 second wave of COVID in South Asia, economic activity has recovered.

 

New cases of COVID stabilised at lower levels last year but are again accelerating in parts of the region as the Omicron variant spreads rapidly in early 2022.

 

In India, the economic damage caused by the second wave has already been unwound with output effectively back to levels reached prior to the pandemic (2019 Q4) as COVID cases and restrictions subsided, it added.

 

As per the Global Economic Prospects report, following a strong rebound in 2021, the global economy is entering a pronounced slowdown amid fresh threats from COVID variants and a rise in inflation, debt, and income inequality that could endanger the recovery in emerging and developing economies.

 

Global growth is expected to decelerate markedly from 5.5 per cent in 2021 to 4.1 per cent in 2022 and 3.2 per cent in 2023 as pent-up demand dissipates and as fiscal and monetary support is unwound across the world.

Bangladesh emerged as the top destination of wheat exports from India, having the largest share of more than 54 percent in both volume and value terms in the financial year 2020-21, according to Commerce Ministry data released today.

 

India exported 11,57,399.35 tonnes of wheat worth USD 299.4 million to Bangladesh in 2020-21 constituting 55.4 percent in terms of total volume of India's total wheat exports and 54.5 percent in value terms, reports our New Delhi correspondent citing Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS)data.

 

Apart from Bangladesh, the other top nine importing countries of Indian wheat in 2020-21 are Nepal, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, Indonesia, Oman, and Malaysia.

 

In 2020-21, India entered new wheat markets like Yemen, Afghanistan, Qatar, and Indonesia.

 

According to DGCIS data, the top ten countries, which accounted for more than 94 percent of India's wheat exports in 2016-17, now have 99 percent share in exports in 2020-21 in both volume and value terms.

 

In the first seven months (April-October) of the current financial year (2021-22), India's wheat exports in terms of volume rose by more than 527 percent to 3.2 million tonnes from 0.51 million tonnes reported during April-October period of 2020-21, said the official data.

 

In terms of value, India's wheat exports in the current fiscal (April – October) rose by 546 percent to USD 872 million from USD 135 million reported during the same period of the previous fiscal.

 

In the current financial year (2021-22), India's wheat exports is expected to achieve an all-time high as it has already surpassed the shipment achieved during 2020-21.

 

India's wheat exports have witnessed a 48.56 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) during 2016-2020. The country's wheat exports touched USD 243 million in 2020 against USD 50 million in 2016, according to ITC Trade Map, 2021 data.

 

The rise in India's wheat exports has been achieved because of the Agricultural Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) taking up various initiatives such as organizing B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets and initiating marketing campaigns with active involvement of Indian Embassies.

 

“We are giving thrust on building infrastructure in the value chain for giving boosts to cereal exports in collaboration with the state governments and other stakeholders such as exporters, farmer producer organizations, transporters, etc,” M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, said.

 

India accounts for less than one percent in world wheat export. However, its share has increased from 0.14 percent in 2016 to 0.54 percent in 2020.

 

India is the second largest producer of wheat with a share of around 13.53 percent of world total production and produces around 107.59 million tonnes of wheat annually with a major chunk of it catering to domestic consumption.