India’s pulses exports for the financial year will likely scale a new record on rising demand for chickpea and lentils from countries such as China, United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bangladesh.

 

During the April-January period of the current financial year, pulses exports in terms of volume were up 80 per cent at 5.39 lakh tonnes(lt). In the same period a year ago, exports were 3 lt. In terms of dollar, pulses exports during April-January were up 73 per cent at $476 million ($275 million in the same period a year ago). In terms of rupee, exports were up 85 per cent at ?3,784 crore (?2,048 crore), as per the latest data from APEDA. In the financial year 2021-22, pulses exports were 4.1 lt, valued at $379 million.

 

Demand from expats

'There’s a lot of demand for Indian pulses, especially desi chickpea, kabuli chana and lentils among others from countries such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal,' said Bimal Kothari, Chairman, India Pulses and Grains Association (IPGA), the apex trade body. From countries such as the US, Canada and the UK, the demand for Indian pulses is largely driven by the expatriates, Kothari said.

 

'Exports of chana is up due to the demand from Bangladesh and Nepal, while the demand for tur dal is mainly from Gulf countries,' said Punit Bachhawat, a miller in Ahmedabad, who supplies to exporters. Also, there’s good demand for masoor (lentils) from Bangladesh, which used to import from Australia. With crop damage in Australia this year, Bangladesh is buying more lentils from India this year and also due to the Ramadan demand, Bachhawat said.

 

Rahul Chauhan of IGrain India said the growth in pulses exports is driven by the demand for chikpea ( kabuli chana), desi chikpea and lentils. Other variety of pulses such as pigeon pea (tur), black matpe (urad) and moong have witnessed a decline, he said.

 

'Lentil exports have more than doubled to around 43,784 tonnes during the April-November period this fiscal against 20,891 tonnes a year ago. Similarly, exports of kabuli chana have increased to 85,661 tonnes during April-Dec compared with 45,691 tonnes in 2021-22. Exports of desi chickpea have increased to 68,808 tonnes during April-December compared with 50,773 tonnes a year ago,' Chauhan said.

 

Vegan preference rising

APEDA chairman, M Angamuthu said 'with the rising preferences for vegetarian and vegan foods globally and India being the largest producer of varieties of pulses, we can cater to meet the increasing global demand for pulses.'

 

India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses. As per the second advance estimates for 2022-23, India’s pulses production is estimated at a record 278.10 lt against 273.02 lt a year ago. The record pulses output is largely driven by chana and moong crops, while the production of tur and urad was impacted by bad weather across various parts of the country. To keep prices of tur and urad under check, the government has kept the imports open of these pulses varieties till March 2024.

 

As per the second advance estimates, chana production is projected at record 136.32 lt (135.44 lt last year), while moong output is expected to be at a new high of 35.45 lt (31.66 lt).

The state Food Processing Industries and Horticulture (FPI&H) department is doubling the variety of mangoes that will be exported to foreign countries this year.

 

The State will be exporting as many as 75 varieties of mango which will be dominated by Malda and Murshidabad districts. Last year about 34 mango varieties were exported to different countries abroad.

 

'This year, India is celebrating its 75 years of Independence and so we have planned to export 75 types of fruits. We have already held a meeting with the growers and the exporters of mangoes in association with APEDA (The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) which oversees the export. We are expecting that by the first week of June, consignments will be ready for export,' a senior official of State FPI& H department said.

 

Samanta Layek, deputy director of the Horticulture department in Malda, said that Qatar, Bahrain and some Middle East countries cherish the different varieties of mangoes that are exported from Bengal. Mangoes grown in Malda are the most abundant while in terms of variety Murshidabad tops among the districts. As many as 30 mango varieties from Malda have already been identified for export among which three mango varieties namely Fajli, Himsagar and Lakshmanbhog that have bagged GI-tag (Geographical Indication) will be top in the list.

 

The other types that will be exported from Malda include Gopalbhog, Brindabani, Aswina, Rakhalbhob, Funia Molayamjam to name a few. 'Work is on for finalising the mango varieties that will be exported from Murshidabad,' the official added.

 

Apart from Malda and Murshidabad, ‘Amrapali’ grown in Bankura as well as ‘Chatterjee’ grown in Hooghly are also under active consideration when it comes to export.

 

Bengal produces over 400 varieties of mango and is one of the leading States in the production of table variety mangoes in the country amounting to over seven lakh metric tonnes. Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, Hooghly, East Burdwan, North Dinajpur, Purulia and Bankura are the districts where mangoes are grown.

 

Mango yield is expected to cross the 4-lakh metric ton mark this year in Malda.

 

As per the records, about 3.70 lakh metric tonne mangoes were produced last year in the Malda district.

The India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) has led to a 70 percent year-on-year growth in exports of essential oils, resinoids, perfumery, and cosmetic preparations from India to UAE, from $161.23 million in the period of June 2021 to February 2022 to $273.54 million in June 2022 to February 2023 period.

 

Exports of other commodities which grew during the same period were sugar & confectionary (44 percent); cereals (38 percent); coffee, tea & spices (37 percent); automobiles (33 percent), and miscellaneous chemical products (30 percent).

 

The union commerce ministry has projected that India's total exports to the UAE will touch a record $32 billion this year on the back of a 4.9 percent year-on-year rise in exports to the West Asian nation in February 2023 despite a 10 percent year-on-year fall in overall exports.

 

India's non-oil exports to the UAE rose 18.9 percent year-on-year in February 2023 to $2.14 billion, in comparison to a 4.2 percent drop in non-oil exports to the rest of the world to $28.84 billion in February 2023. India's exports to the UAE from June 2022 to February 2023 rose 10.4 percent year-on-year, amidst a 0.9 percent rise in exports to the rest of the world.

 

Sources privy to the developments indicated that there's no misuse of the India-UAE CEPA for the import of cheap scotch whisky, and the import duty on scotch whisky will continue to remain at its current level, irrespective of where it is routed from.

 

Further, sources in the know reiterated that the tariff exemptions in the CEPA with UAE were meant only for products majorly manufactured there. Also, sources added that many two-wheeler exports from India to Africa are also routed via UAE for a better after-sales service to consuming countries, stating that the bigger trade volumes in UAE ensure no losses for the export of two-wheelers manufactured in India.

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Govt. of India participated in the International Food & Drink Exhibition (IFE) held in London. The three day Exhibition that concluded on March 22, 2023 was aimed at promoting the export of agricultural products in the international market of London.

 

Turmeric yesterday settled up by 1.07% at 7002 on good domestic and export demand. Turmeric harvesting has started in the key growing regions and farmers and stockists are releasing their stocks, in the fear of further decline in prices. In the AP (Nizamabad) Turmeric market around 5,000-7,000 bags are arriving on an average daily basis. In the Erode spot market 400-600 bags are reported daily, In the Sangli district it is around 3500-7000 bags. Coupled with weak demand in the export and domestic markets prices are trading at lower levels (in the current season). 

 

Turmeric exports during Apr-Jan 2023, rose by 7.76 percent at 1,36,492.59 tonnes as compared to 1,26,659.01 tonnes exported during Apr-Jan 2022. In January 2023 around 12,484.25 tonnes of turmeric was exported as against 12,039.57 tonnes in December 2022 showing a rise of 3.69%. In January 2023 around 12,484.25 tonnes of turmeric was exported as against 10,558.26 tonnes in January 2022 showing a rise of 18.24%. Production of spices in India is likely to have declined 1.5% on year to 10.9 mln tn in 2021-22 (Jul-Jun), according to data from Spices Board India. The country had produced 11.0 mln tn of spices in the previous year. The Spices Board has pegged turmeric production at 1.33 mln tn, up 18.4% on the year. In Nizamabad, a major spot market in AP, the price ended at 6960.7 Rupees and gained 150.4 Rupees.

 

Technically market is under short covering as the market has witnessed a drop in open interest by -2.04% to settle at 11515 while prices are up 74 rupees, now Turmeric is getting support at 6934 and below the same could see a test of 6868 levels, and resistance is now likely to be seen at 7052, a move above could see prices testing 7104. 

Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched National Crop Insurance Portal’s digitized claim settlement module namely DigiClaim under the ambit of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) today at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi. With the launch of the module, claims will be disbursed electronically, which will benefit the respective farmers of six states. Now, the automated claim settlement process will be an ongoing activity to ease all insured farmers' lives and provide them with a sustainable financial flow and support.

 

Besides Shri Tomar, Union Minister of State for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Shri Kailash Choudhary, Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Union Agriculture Secretary Shri Manoj Ahuja, CEO, PMFBY Shri Ritesh Chauhan and other senior officials were also present. CMDs of Agriculture Insurance Company of India Ltd and SBI General Insurance were also present including representatives of National Insurance Company (NIC), HDFC Ergo, Bajaj Allianz, Reliance GIC, ICICI Lombard, Future Generali, IFFCO Tokio, Cholamandlam MS, Universal Sompo and TATA AIG. Representatives from SBI Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank were also present at the occasion.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that it is a matter of pride for our Ministry to have taken a revolutionary step in ensuring that farmers can receive claim amounts digitally in a timebound and automated manner, thereby making our farmers Aatmanirbhar and Sashakt.

 

With the launch of a DigiClaim Module, insurance claims totaling Rs 1260.35 crore have been disbursed on March 23, 2023 to insured farmers in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Uttarakhand and Haryana with the click of a button, and the process will continue as and when the claims are released. The Union Minister also mentioned that till date Rs 1.32 lakh crore claim amount has been disbursed to the insured farmers under PMFBY. He also took special note of ‘Meri Policy, Mere Haath’ ongoing campaign and observed that the campaign has been monumental in enhancing the awareness around PMFBY at the grassroot levels.

 

While speaking on the occasion, Shri Tomar said that the Government of India is closely working with all exited states from the scheme and have had discussions with their senior officials in which Andhra Pradesh and Punjab are making a comeback to the scheme, which shows a shining example of corporative federalism. Governments of Telangana, Gujarat, Bihar, West Bengal and Jharkhand have also been approached to rejoin PMFBY and several discussions have been underway. Out of these states, Telangana and Jharkhand have indicated their willingness to come back under PMFBY.

 

In the current system, there have been several instances of insured farmers' claims being delayed due to a variety of factors. Taking cognizance of farmers’ welfare and to expedite the claim disbursal process of valid crop loss claims, Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare has come up with the DigiClaim Module. With this, now farmers’ claims will be processed directly to their respective bank accounts in a transparent and accountable manner. This technology has been enabled through the integration of National Crop Insurance Portal (NCIP) and Public Finance Management System (PFMS).

 

This would directly impact the claim reversal ratio, which is expected to go down with DigiClaim. Another noteworthy feature of this digital advancement is that farmers would be able to track the claim settlement process on their mobile phones in real-time and avail the scheme’s benefits.

 

Shri Manoj Ahuja highlighted several other prolific achievements of PMFBY to mark the scheme's seventh year of conception under visionary leadership of the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The Union Secretary also appealed to state governments to show their participation in this endeavour by timely uploading yield data onto the crop insurance portal and releasing the states’ share on time so that claims could be transferred to farmers’ bank accounts in a hassle-free manner, assisting the Ministry in achieving its true purpose of developing this technology.

 

Agriculture Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Shri Surya Pratap Shahi, who joined the launch via video conferencing, also gave his valuable suggestions for better implementation of the scheme.

 

This technological advancement has taken PMFBY one step further towards modernization of the scheme. This falls in line with PM Modi’s vision of making India a digital powerhouse with more and more technology-driven innovations paving Ease of Living for the farmers.

 

In the era of rapid innovations, Digitization and Technology are playing a significant role in scaling up the reach and operations of PMFBY with precision agriculture. In last few years, various innovative technologies have been piloted and integrated with the scheme to make the process of yield estimation and crop loss assessment more accurate, like Yes-Tech, WINDS and CROPIC. Further, for timely redressal of farmers' grievances, Farmer Grievance Portal has been launched in the first phase for the state of Chhattisgarh, which has received a plethora of positive response and in the second phase, it will be implemented in the entire country.

 

DigiClaim is yet another feather in PMFBY's cap in its ongoing effort to usher in advanced technological solutions such as automated calculation and disbursement of crop insurance claims.

 

India expects to achieve its highest ever exports of $32 billion to the UAE this fiscal even as the two sides plan to integrate their customs and logistics portals for real time tracking of shipments for priority of entry in ports, as part of the bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

 

'India’s exports (to the UAE) are around $28.3 billion. We are hopeful to touch an all time high of $32 billion exports this year,' said an official.

 

As per the official, the two sides are also working on customs facilitation wherein their logistics and customs portals would get integrated and help in real time data exchange and tracking of ships for priority of entry in ports. A review of the CEPA, which came into force on May 1, 2022, is likely in May.

 

On a monthly basis, around $1.3 billion of India’s exports are going on zero duty as against $2.72 billion of total outbound shipments.

 

Almost 6,944 certificates of origin were issued in February as against 5,754 in November last year as exports of gems and jewellery, automobiles coffee, tea, and articles of iron and steel, among others rose in June 2022-February 2023 on-year.

 

'There is an increase in the CEPA utilisation,' the official said.

 

However, India’s exports of apparel, and iron and steel to the UAE shrank in the period.

 

Apparel exports declined due to the global headwinds while shipments of iron and steel fell despite the government removing export restrictions on them. As per the official, their exports are expected to pick up in the next fiscal.

 

India’s overall goods exports to the UAE rose 10.4% on-year in June 2022-February 2023 at $23.03 billion while imports increased 12.9% at $38.95 billion.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar recently held bilateral meetings with agriculture ministers of various countries participating in the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference. An MoU was also signed with the World Food Programme  (WFP) of the United Nations. Meanwhile, Tomar thanked the ministers for being a part of the global conference organised by India with the aim of promoting Shree Anna, under the International Year of Millets (IYM). He said that the International Year of Millets is being celebrated so that the Indian Shree Anna, its recipes and value-added products are accepted globally as a people's movement. He hoped to further strengthen India's agricultural ties with various countries.

 

In a meeting with Guyana's Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustafa, Tomar recalled the visit of the President of Guyana, Dr. Mohammad Irfan Ali, and Vice President Bharat Jagdev to India and said that agriculture is a very important area of cooperation between the two countries. Expressing happiness over the steady progress in India-Guyana relations, he hoped for concrete cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors. Tomar congratulated Guyana for the huge crude oil discovery, saying that this would enable Guyana to establish itself as a major energy exporter, which has the potential to transform the lives of its people. Expressing immense potential for cooperation in agriculture and agro-processing industries between India and Guyana, he said that the two countries complement each other as Guyana has vast arable land and water availability and India has the technology, expertise and skilled manpower, which will mutually benefit both the countries. India is keen to share its expertise and experience in the development of agriculture and allied sectors in Guyana, for which an MoU is under finalisation. He assured that Guyana's request for deputation of two experts to ITEC from India for three years to support the Guyana Sugar Corporation management and revive the sugar estates/plants in Guyana would be considered at the earliest.

 

Tomar, in a meeting with Suriname's Minister of Agriculture Parmanand Prahlad Sewdien, said that India and Suriname share close, warm and friendly relations, which have been strengthened by cultural and people-to-people contacts over the course of 150 years. He wished success to the celebrations of the 150th anniversary of the arrival of Indians in Suriname, and expressed confidence that the official visit of President Santokhi to India in January 2023 would take our bilateral relations to a new high. Expressing happiness and pride, he said that Hindi is spoken on a large scale in Suriname. Like India, Suriname is also a country of multi-ethnicity and diversity, where people live in peace and harmony. As per the discussion held during the second meeting of the Joint Working Group on Agriculture, Tomar hoped that the draft Joint Action Plan for five years (2023-27) would be ready soon and said that we will provide wood export facility from Suriname to India. India's exports of agri-related goods to Suriname in 2021-22 was US$4.34 million. There are more possibilities to increase trade and investment, especially in agro-food processing. Under India's flagship programmes, development partnership, India is committed to provide technical assistance to Suriname as needed, contribute to capacity building and skill development of human resources. Shree Anna is the ideal solution to make countries self-reliant and reduce dependence on imported grains. India can start agricultural cooperation projects, if offered by Suriname, as well as depute agricultural scientists under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) programmes to conduct studies for the cultivation of Shree Anna in Suriname.

 

In a meeting with Agriculture Minister of Zambia Reuben Mtolo Phiri, Tomar said that India and Zambia have had cordial relations for a long time. The leaders of Zambia's freedom struggle drew inspiration from the leaders of India's freedom struggle, especially Mahatma Gandhi. Gandhiji continues to inspire its leaders and the younger generation in Zambia. Zambia is one of the few African countries that has benefited greatly from India's development cooperation programme. India provides scholarships for various higher education courses and ITEC training slots as well as special capacity building programmes under the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) along with Exim Bank credit, Railway Wagons, Flood Relief Grant and Line of Credit. Zambia, with its rich natural resources, has become an important destination for Indian investments in various sectors. India is one of the leading investors in Zambia with committed investments of over US$5 billion. Bilateral trade between India and Zambia has been growing steadily. In recent years, there has been renewed interest in India for trade and investment with Zambia, but again logistics and the small size of Zambia's economy remain the main constraints and limiting factors.

 

In a meeting with Mauritius' Minister for Agri-Industry and Food Security Manish Gobin, Tomar said that India shares close, long-standing ties with Mauritius for historical, demographic and cultural reasons. People of Indian origin comprise about 70% of the island's population of 1.2 million. Mauritius is one of the few important countries with which independent India established diplomatic relations even before the Independence of Mauritius in 1948. There is a high level of trust and mutual understanding between the leaderships of the two countries, which is reflected in continued high-level political engagement. This special relationship has resulted in exceptionally close cooperation in maritime security, development partnership, capacity building and cooperation in international fora. The enduring cultural and people-to-people relations between India and Mauritius are nurtured by the Indian Cultural Center in Mauritius (India's largest in the world) and the World Hindi Secretariat, a bilateral organisation for the promotion of Hindi. India is among the largest trading partners of Mauritius. Bilateral trade grew by 69% to reach US$786.72 million in 2021-22.

 

The topics of agriculture were discussed in the meeting between Tomar and Mahinda Amaraweera, Agriculture Minister of Sri Lanka. Tomar said that a significant proportion of the population in India and Sri Lanka depends on agriculture and both sides have very similar priorities for taking this sector forward. Thus cooperation between the two sides in the agriculture sector becomes natural. India has traditionally been one of Sri Lanka's largest trading partners and Sri Lanka is one of India's largest trading partners in SAARC.

According to the dream of PM Narendra Modi, the agriculture sector will play a major role in making India a developed country by the year 2047. For this, special attention will have to be given to higher education in the agriculture sector.

 

Need to focus on agriculture education

In this work, the World Bank is already running a project NAHEP in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), which is set to be further expanded. The intention of the World Bank and ICAR is that India should become a major hub for providing higher education in the agriculture sector globally.

 

Inauguration of three day seminar

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the three-day seminar in this regard with the help of ICAR and World Bank. On this occasion, Tomar said that to overcome the kind of challenges arising in the agriculture sector, more attention has to be given to higher education in agriculture. Only then India will be able to become a developed country.

 

Need of digital era in agriculture sector

Regarding the National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP), he said that more expectations have risen from it considering its achievements in the last five years. Speaking on the occasion, Bekjod Shamsiev, Senior Agricultural Scientist, World Bank said that all the targets under NAHEP have been met. Now more emphasis will be laid on the inclusion of digital in the agriculture sector.

Preparations are underway to send Bhagalpur's famous Zardalu mango abroad. Through APEDA, both Zardalu mango and Katrani Chuda will be sent abroad. Preparations have also started for this. Last year it was sent to England, Belgium and Bahrain. Will be shipped to many more countries this year. The District Magistrate told that after marking the farmers, their mangoes are sent abroad.

 

Mango reaches many dignitaries

 

Bhagalpur in Bihar has become world famous for Zardalu Mango and Katrani Chuda. Every year this mango reaches many big personalities including His Excellency the President, the Prime Minister. Jardalu Mango Secretary Ved Vyas Chaudhary said that Bihar's Bhagalpur is known throughout the country for Jardalu Mango and Katrani Chuda. Maintaining its identity will be our first priority.

 

This mango has many benefits

 

Zardalu mango has many benefits. According to experts, even diabetic patients can eat this mango. Zardalu mango proves to be helpful in digestion. Especially its taste is different from all mangoes. This mango can last for more days.

 

Mango crop is grown in many hectares

 

Zardalu mango is cultivated on more than 1000 hectares in and around Bhagalpur. Especially in Sabour, it has the highest yield. Now along with the country people from abroad will also be able to taste the taste of mangoes.