Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been working with farmers and State governments to ensure a credible supply chain of honey for export to Europe and other countries.

 

'We are working in close collaboration with the State governments, farmers and other stakeholders in the value chain to boost exports to other countries and regions such as the UK, European Union and South-East Asia,' said M Angamuthu, Chairman of APEDA.

 

India is also renegotiating the duty structure imposed by various countries for boosting honey exports, he added.

 

India exported 59,999 tonnes of natural honey worth Rs. 716 crore ($96.77 million) in 2020-21, out of which the share of the US was 44,881 tonnes or 74.8 per cent. Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Canada are the other major destinations.

 

India’s place in global market

Though India’s honey export started in 1996-97, it was at the ninth position in global trade in 2020 with 7.36 lakh tonnes (lt) exports , APEDA said in a statement. India also ranks at eighth position in global honey production. China, Turkey, Canada, Argentina, Iran and US are major honey producers and together contribute half of the global output, estimated at 17.21 lt in 2019.

 

Angamuthu said APEDA has been facilitating honey producers in accessing export markets besides availing government assistance under different schemes, quality certification and lab testing.

 

The export promotion agency is also addressing issues like higher freight cost, limited availability of containers in peak honey export season, higher nuclear magnetic resonance test costs and inadequate export incentives on priority, he added .

 

Honey exports have huge potential following its acceptance as an effective immunity booster and a healthier alternative to sugar, APEDA said in a statement. The consumption has gone up globally particularly after Covid pandemic, it added . About half of the domestic production gets consumed internally while the remaining is exported.

According to Kerala Agriculture Minister P. Prasad, the Agriculture Department will launch an organic farming mission in 2022 to ensure the production of safe food.

 

Food production in 2022 will give emphasis to the protection of health, Mr. Prasad said while briefing the media as part of a two-day workshop on ‘Carbon Neutral Agriculture in Kerala’ organized by the Agriculture department on Thursday and Friday. 

 

By incorporating the workshop recommendations and suggestions, the department will give shape to programs targeted at attaining carbon neutrality in the farm sector. 

 

Farmers will receive training on carbon-reducing farming methods. Prasad stated that workshops on carbon neutral agriculture will be given in all panchayats. He also stated that the department intends to implement benchmarks at the unit level (individual agricultural holdings) as part of assessing the emission levels. 

 

Carbon Balance 

According to experts who attended the workshop, assessing carbon balance is the first step towards achieving carbon-neutral farming in the state. How to go about reducing carbon dioxide emissions forms the second. 

 

Prasant Kumar Swain, Additional Secretary (Agriculture), Government of India; S. M. Vijayanand, Chairman of the State Finance Commission; T. Vijay Kumar, Ex Officio Special Chief Secretary to the Government of Andhra Pradesh (Natural Farming); State Planning Board members, experts from various institutes, including the Kerala Forest Research Institute, Peechi; Kerala Agricultural University, and Forest Research Institute, Dehradun, attended the event. 

 

Benefits of Organic Farming: 

Organic farming in India is particularly cost effective since it does not rely on expensive fertilizers, pesticides, or HYV seeds to sow crops. It has no expenses.

 

A farmer can achieve a strong return on investment by using less expensive and more local inputs. This is one of the most important benefits of organic farming in India.?

 

Organic products are in high demand in India and throughout the world, and they may earn more income?through export.

 

Organic products are more nutritious, flavorful, and beneficial to one's health to chemical and fertilizer utilized products.

 

These are some of the benefits of organic farming, demonstrating that it is lucrative for everyone. To support organic farming in India, we need to raise awareness about the benefits of organic farming.

Mentha Oil yesterday settled up by 2.92% at 1035.1 as support seen after Exports of agricultural and processed food products, promoted by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), increased 22.1 percent to $15.03 billion during the April-November period of the current fiscal. This is against shipments to the tune of $12.31 billion in the year-ago period. Prices got support in the last few weeks as due to crop failure and low recovery of oil, availability of Mentha oil will be low and demand from industries is expected to improve ahead of the winter season. 

 

Speculation is also high that production this year will be lower as compared with last year because of two important factors. The major physical market player expects demand to sluggish for the next few weeks as cash crunch is seen in the spot market, while expectations are high about demand improvement ahead of winter season starts. Firstly damages due to rain in a key area and secondly farmers for the last 2 years were sowing mentha but due to not getting much profit at intervals there had been a shift to other crops also. In the Sambhal spot market, Mentha oil gained by 8 Rupees to end at 1112.2 Rupees per 360 kgs. 

 

Technically market is under short covering as the market has witnessed a drop in open interest by -3.12% to settled at 900 while prices up 29.4 rupees, now Mentha oil is getting support at 1010.5 and below same could see a test of 986 levels, and resistance is now likely to be seen at 1051.7, a move above could see prices testing 1068.4.  

 

Trading Ideas:

# Mentha oil trading range for the day is 986-1068.4.

# In Sambhal spot market, Mentha oil gained by 8 Rupees to end at 1112.2 Rupees per 360 kgs.

# Mentha oil prices gained after exports of agricultural products, increased 22.1 percent to $15.03 billion during the April-November period of the current fiscal.

# Availability of Mentha oil will be low and demand from industries is expected to improve ahead of the winter season.

# Further production this year will be lower as compared with last year because of two important factors.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar has reviewed bilateral relations with his American and Russian counterparts this week ahead of planned interactions with both countries in a wide range of areas with both countries.

 

Jaishankar tweeted on Tuesday that he had a broad-ranging conversation on Monday night with US secretary of state Antony Blinken that covered 'current bilateral issues, Indo-Pacific and pressing global matters'.

 

The conversation came ahead of a planned 2+2 meeting of the Indian and US defence and foreign ministers. The meeting was initially slotted for last November but was put off for a variety of reasons. The dialogue will help guide cooperation in several key areas, including the Indo-Pacific and collaboration on defence research and manufacturing.

 

Jaishankar said in another tweet that he had spoken to Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday evening and discussed the follow-up to the annual summit and 2+2 meeting, which were both held in New Delhi on December 6. 'Agreed to remain in regular touch,' he added.

 

A statement issued by the Russian embassy said that during the phone conversation, which was initiated by the Indian side, Lavrov and Jaishankar discussed 'practical issues of bilateral cooperation' as a follow-up to the results of the India- Russia Summit.

 

The two ministers also 'confirmed the intention to consistently strengthen relations of the special and privileged strategic partnership between the two states in the spheres of economy and investments, nuclear energy, space, high technologies and healthcare', the statement said.

 

They discussed preparations for upcoming high-level contacts, including a meeting of the Inter-Governmental Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, Technological and Cultural Cooperation, and other meetings between the leadership of the two foreign ministries.

 

Jaishankar and Lavrov also agreed on steps to expand interaction in regional and international affairs, including cooperation at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, Brazil-Russia-India-China-South Africa (Brics) grouping, the Russia-India-China (RIC) grouping, the UN and the UN Security Council.

Australia has offered to give tariff concessions to 99% of its traded goods with India under the proposed bilateral free trade agreement in lieu of opening up of India's dairy and agriculture sectors through low or zero tariffs. Canberra is keen to export dairy products, grains, oilseeds and processed food to India. The two sides intend to complete the talks for an interim deal, called early harvest in trade parlance, by the end of this month.

 

'Australia has indicated to make their import duties zero on 99% goods at the time of entry into force of the agreement,' said an official.

 

In FY21, India's exports to Australia- comprising refined petroleum, medicaments, railway vehicles including hovertrains, pearls and gems, jewellery, and made-up textile articles- were $4.04 billion, while imports were $8.24 billion. Imports included coal, copper ores and concentrates, gold, vegetables, wool, fruits and nuts and lentils.

 

India's exports of chemicals, fabrics, apparel, footwear and machine tools, among others could get zero-duty benefits. 'Dairy and agriculture are sticking points. An interim package can include products where there is mutual consensus while the contentious issues can be taken up later,' the official said.

 

Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Monday said that the interim agreement with Australia will cover 'large areas of interest particularly our labour oriented sectors like textiles, pharma, footwear, leather products and agricultural products'.

 

The two sides have agreed to conclude a long-pending FTA called a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement by the end of 2022.

 

However, industry experts cautioned about opening sensitive sectors like dairy and agriculture as they are huge employers. 'Once sensitive sectors like dairy and agriculture are opened for Australia, others like the EU and the UK too will seek market access and make our products uncompetitive,' said an industry representative.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said Tripura had the potential to become the gateway of northeast to usher in all-round development of the region. The State had established road and water connectivity with Bangladesh and the government had been making efforts to complete the Agartala – Akhaura (Bangladesh) rail link soon to further boost the State’s position as an ‘economic corridor’.

 

The Prime Minister was speaking at a public rally at the Vivekananda Stadium here after remotely inaugurating an integrated state of the art terminal building at the Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport. The complex has been built at a cost of Rs. 450 crore over an area of 30,000 square metres.

 

Mr. Modi appreciated Tripura’s bamboo-based economy, saying bamboo products were fast getting into market as they were a viable alternative to plastic items. Horticulture and farm products of the State have also attracted markets elsewhere in the country and abroad, he noted.

 

Also read | Northeast will become driver of India’s growth: PM

 

The new cargo facility at the airport would also help enhance exports from the State. “The spate of development is taking place, as the State has a double-engine (same party) government as in the Centre and development and welfare schemes are properly coordinated”, he said.

 

Citing an example, Mr. Modi stated that the previous government of the State could not properly implement the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana due to technical hindrance, but the present government headed by Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb persuaded the Centre to amend the rules to support people. “Due to this amendment, 1,80,000 poor families of Tripura became beneficiaries under the scheme’.

 

He claimed that the ‘double-engine’ government was sensitive to the poor and all sections of society. “It [government] understands the pain of the common people”, he claimed. He lauded the progress made in COVID-19 vaccination campaign in the State. The new vaccination programme for 15-18 age group would equally be successful, he stressed.

 

‘Hugely corrupt’

Without naming the erstwhile CPI(M) led left front government, he held it as hugely corrupt. “The previous government used to ride on the vehicle of corruption and the current government rides on the vehicle of development. Our government works for the development, progress and welfare and has a strong commitment for people,” he observed.

 

Before delivering his speech, he interacted with a group of people who had benefitted from different government schemes. He spoke to a mother and her son, who got cured from cancer, on support from the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana.

 

Mr. Modi also remotely launched the State-level Project Mission 100 of Vidyajyoti Schools and Mukhyamantri Tripura Gram Samriddhi Yojana.

 

Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Debbarman and Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia also spoke.

 

Also read: Police stall Trinamool Congress meeting in Tripura

 

After arrival, Mr. Modi enquired about the facilities at the new building. Mr. Arya, Mr. Deb, Mr. Scindia and senior Civil Aviation Ministry officials welcomed him.

 

The Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport was originally built by the US Air Force during the Second World War in collaboration with King Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Debbarman of the erstwhile princely State. It was formerly known as the Agartala Airport and renamed after the BJP-led coalition government came to power in 2018.

 

Airport officials said the large terminal complex was supported by latest IT network, sophisticated equipment and all modern amenities. The work of airport expansion and the new terminal building was launched in 2016.

 

Proximity to Bangladesh

The inauguration of the new terminal is seen as a first step to make the airport operational as an international airport owing to the State’s proximity to Bangladesh and accessibility to southeast Asian countries.

 

In February 2019, Mr. Modi unveiled a statue of Maharaja Bir Bikram outside the old terminal building. The king, who is credited with several development projects and establishment of educational institutions, died at an early age of 39 – two and half years before the princely State merged with the Indian Union.

Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Tuesday said that giving boost to agriculture is the Union government‘s top priority, while chief minister Pramod Sawant assured farmers of installing food processing units at every taluka.

 

Speaking after inaugurating Krishi Mahotsav 2022, a district level agricultural festival organised by the directorate of agriculture at sports complex, Borimoll Quepem on Tuesday, Tomar outlined the steps taken by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to aim for the top world ranking in agriculture. Currently, India ranks 10th in the world in agriculture industry, he said.

 

Tomar said that under the Centre, the state government and farmers are working unitedly to boost and stengthen agriculture. He said agriculture’s contribution in the GDP is remarkable, but this needs to be boosted further. The country should not be dependent on imports to make the agriculture sector self-sufficient, he said.

 

'The Union government has increased the loan budgeted for farmers from Rs 6 crore to Rs 16 crore. Even though the country is in the Covid pandemic, our government managed to issue Kisan Credit Cards to over 2.4 lakh farmers,' he added

Chief minister Pramod Sawant assured the large number of farmers who were present that the government will install food processing units in every taluka to encourage farmers to sell their daily products, and the government will buy their products at higher than usual rates.

 

Agriculture minister Chandrakant Kavalekar said that many people from Salcete who abandoned farming and agriculture long ago due to various reasons are returning to farming only due to the number of schemes launched by the government.

The Minister for Commerce & Industry, Textiles, Consumer Affairs and Food & Public Distribution Shri Piyush Goyal today exhorted the youth to 'dream big and aim high.' Addressing a group of university students affiliated to Vadodara based ‘Chhatra Sansad’ who are on the ‘Intern Nation Leadership Tour 2022’, a ten-day Good Governance tour, Shri Goyal said youth are the agents of positive change.

 

Citing their role in the Independence Movement and the Fight Against Emergency, Shri Goyal said, 'Mass movements are created on the back of the youth of the times.'

 

'Students bring energy that brings great changes. We need to give up on ‘Chalta hai’ (Let It Go) attitude to ‘Kuchh karna hai’ (Let’s do It). The Josh and excitement that youth bring to the table is vital to achieve great results. Please dream big…Don’t think in terms of small aims,' said Shri Goyal, in his address during the video conference. 'Koshish karne walon ki kabhi haar nahin hoti,' he quipped.

 

'When we aspired for $400 billion exports, people would laugh away at us  But now here we are at $300 bn in the first nine months (of the current Financial Year.),' said Shri Goyal, adding, 'Even in the pandemic we dreamt big about exports and  making India vibrant with bound less business opportunities.'

 

Shri Goyal said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi is an inspirational leader for the nation’s youth, who has brought about sweeping changes in India’s history such as ‘Swachh Bharat’ and ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ by involving all the people with his motto of 'Sabka Prayas.'

 

 

 

Shri Goyal said we are having the world’s biggest Food Security programme, - NFSA, and food grains are being given to almost 80cr people to ensure no one goes hungry.

 

Shri Goyal said the civil society should not only work on improving social conditions but also work towards improving political processes as well which encourages honesty in Governance.

 

'Integrity, transparency and honesty is the need of the hour which the civil society is now beginning to see from initiatives of Government.  Civil society should always be proactive and bring dignity to vulnerable sections of society. We must decide about the positive outcomes and go all out with full force about it,' he said.

 

Responding to a question by one of the participants about how he manages to arrive at good management solutions, Shri Goyal said it's important to hear and listen to all the views with honest intentions without getting biased and prejudiced about anything. 'Solutions emerge when such an approach is implemented,' he said. The Minister gave the example of implementation of the jewellery hallmarking which was stuck for many years for the lack of deeper insights.

 

Shri Goyal said the Indian Youth has made a great impact on the global scale. International organizations now look up to India and Indian youth to make changes and bring growth.

 

'We are celebrating 75 years of Freedom, Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, and it's time the nation achieve the global status it rightly deserves,' said Shri Goyal.

 

Pointing out that India has started leaving its mark on the global stage including the Olympics and Paralympics, Shri Goyal said, 'Today no international organisation or event is possible to be conceived without India.'

Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Tuesday that Sharbati wheat is the identity of Madhya Pradesh and efforts should be made to increase its sowing area in the state. Chouhan was reviewing the functioning of the agriculture department in Mantralaya.

 

He said soil testing laboratories should be started on priority.

 

Chouhan asked to do better work for the development of storage processing infrastructure. We are number one in the country in custom hiring centres. They should be operated properly, he said.

 

He also inquired about the vision of the department for the year 2022. He asked to promote diversification of crops, promote organic and natural farming and coarse grains, promote agricultural exports and use of modern technology in agriculture.

 

Chouhan said work should be carried out in mission mode for agriculture export. Work on creating a roadmap for the purpose, he said.

 

He said that better work should be done under the ‘Ek Zila Ek Utpad’ scheme. Promote startups in the field of agriculture. Work to assess crop production and ascertain quality. There should be no shortage of manure in the state. Plan now itself for the next year as well. Promote demand based agriculture, he said.

 

The chief minister said that natural farming should be promoted. Organic farming is necessary to save the country and the earth. Madhya Pradesh is number one in the country in organic farming and this needs to be maintained.

Agricultural export has jumped by 43.4 per cent to Rs. 16,229.3 crore during 2020.

 

In response to the pandemic, the Centre has encouraged investment in building storage and infrastructure for the agri produce with a fair degree of certainty. The Cabinet has also recently approved a provision of Rs. 1 lakh crore for agri-infrastructure as an integrated part of the Rs. 20 lakh crore package that will help agrarian economy.

 

Present scenario

India’s total share in world trade is only 2 per cent, making agricultural exports as low as 2 per cent of the domestic GDP. While the country is a food surplus one, supply chain inefficiencies hurt exports. Further, the choice of seeds and cultivation practices makes only a select range of Indian crops competitive in the global market. Looking closely at each category of products, and the production and consumption pattern, certain inefficiencies and reliability issues need to be corrected before the country takes its place as a powerhouse of food exports.

 

Numbers game

India being the second-largest agricultural producer in the world with 98 per cent of agricultural commodities seamlessly complying with the legally-permissible upper limits for pesticide residues makes its food products among the safest commodities.

 

Agricultural export during 2020 has improved by 43.4 per cent, to Rs. 16,229.3 crore, when compared to the 2019 figures. The jump in the export can be split up (in percentage) as groundnut (35 per cent), refined sugar (104 per cent), wheat (206 per cent), Basmati Rice (13 per cent), and non-Basmati Rice (105 per cent).

 

During the same period, rice export has risen by 13.7 per cent from $3,359 million in April-August 2020 to $3,820 million in April-August 2021, and fresh fruits and vegetables exports registering a 6.1 per cent growth in dollar terms.

 

Apart from this, the most significant contributors to change have been cereals, followed by poultry products. Figures estimate a considerable jump of 142.1 per cent in the export of cereals, while meat, dairy and poultry products saw an increase of 31.1 per cent from April-August 2021. In absolute terms, the export of cereals increased by $222 million in a year-on-year comparison, and the export of poultry and dairy products shot up by $369 million in the same period.

 

However, the surprise element was dry fruits with cashews cashing in a growth of 28.5 per cent as its export rose from $144 million in April-August 2020 to $185 million in April-August 2021.

 

On the other side of the gamut, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries suggests that India’s total exports have an 11 per cent contribution from agricultural and processed food products. In five years, the value of agricultural and processed food increased pointedly from $17.8 bn to $20.65 bn. This goes on to show that the agrarian economy is taking a proactive stance towards developing various processed foods.

 

The vast scope for Indian brands, value-driven products and homegrown quality is very likely to increase this share. The increasing penetration of Indian food into global palates is further contributing to this, as the market for value added Indian products is now starting to extend beyond the diaspora and entering many mainstream segments.

 

Road to future

However, the country needs to address the following elements of the agri-food supply chain to emerge as a top global exporter:

 

- Agri-production practices

 

- Supply chain and logistics

 

- Streamlining regulatory compliance practices

 

- Delivering transparency and traceability using technology

 

- Developing products suited to the global palate.

 

The quality regimen in the agri production system needs to be strengthened end to end, from the choice of seeds, to production practices, to better planning and storage, to ensure reliable and unbroken supply to global clients.

 

On logistics, whether it is transportation bottlenecks, farm gate storage infrastructure, or the facilities and turnaround time at the exit port, poor logistics are estimated to add 6-8% to the Free On Board (FOB) cost when compared to developed countries like Germany, Singapore, and Hong Kong. These need to be removed step-by-step. Further, evolving the right sea protocol for perishables is critical to increasing agricultural exports. Philippines and Ecuador have already developed such regulations for 40 days and 24 days respectively for banana transportation, whereas India struggles for even short trips of 3 to 4 days. Furthermore, due to the logistics cost of ocean freight going through the roof, the government support needs to be extended across more commodity categories

 

There is a need to think right about a unified body that can handle all Sanitary-Phyto Sanitary (SPS) issues from a single window. The USDA and USFDA in the US and the FSVPS in Russia are examples of how international authorities deal with market access requests for imports and exports, keeping them in a dominating position to make an adequate quid pro quo.

 

Policy alignment

Domestic policies and schemes would need to align with the disruptive modifications that Artificial Intelligence, IoT, and Blockchain will bring to the field in the coming days for the legislation changes to work in favour of the potential rise. The policies relating to Minimum Support Price (MSP) will also have to be made WTO compliant. Further, the administration of agriculture sector will have to recognise the reality that global clients require reliable, predictable supply that cannot be disrupted by sudden actions such as stock controls.

 

Lastly, tweaking of products to meet specific consumer tastes, scouting potential markets, and understanding the requirements will also need to be taken up scientifically.

 

Being a developing country, the government will continue to streamline its produce towards domestic consumption. However, if the Centre can push through reforms along the above lines, while maintaining the support to farming communities, it can create a space for widespread improvements in agri-exports.