An official on Wednesday informed that Mizoram has exported locally grown bird's eye chili to the United States for the first time. The export was done as a part of an initiative to expand market and boost farmers' income of the state.

 

State Agriculture Minister C. Lalrinsanga flagged off 7.5 metric tonnes of typical Mizo chili (Bird's eye chili) to the US from south Mizoram's Lunglei district on Tuesday.

 

The official informed that the bird's eye chilies were harvested by farmers from three southern districts- Lunglei, Siaha and Lawngtlai.

 

The consignment was transported to Visakhapatnam in Andra Pradesh from where it will be sent to Nevada in the US.

 

The initiative was taken jointly by International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCD-NER) and Mission Organic Mizoram (MOM) of the agriculture department. Lalrinsanga congratulated the Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) for the successful completion of the project while flagging off the consignment.

 

The Minister said, the success of the project emphasizes the potential of cooperative farming in Mizoram. He motivated department officials and farmers to continue to focus on organic farming to ensure that more and more local agricultural products are exported abroad.

 

ICCOA executive director Manoj Menon said that the bird's eye chili from Mizoram had undergone stringent quality tests both in India and the US and has met the Organic Standards Protocol.

 

He further said that the farmers are making efforts to produce ginger and turmeric in Mizoram for export.

 

Last month, Lalrinsanga had informed the state legislature that the state government has obtained a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Mizo chili.

Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar Sunday said an initiative will be taken to start cargo flights from Maharaja Agrasen Airport here for exporting fruits and vegetables to the Arab countries.

 

Khattar was addressing a gathering during Haryana Krishi Vikas Mela at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University here.

 

Haryana Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister J P Dalal and Urban Local Bodies Minister Kamal Gupta were also present.

 

'New experiments are being done to increase the income of farmers. The government has also formed the Export Promotion Council.

 

Besides, an initiative will be taken to start cargo flights from Maharaja Agrasen Airport in the coming time, so that fresh fruits and vegetables grown by state farmers can be exported to the Arab countries,' said the CM.

 

He also stressed on the need for starting a new agricultural revolution.

 

'We are ready to give every possible encouragement and support to these universities so as to ensure that the said research work is smoothly carried out. This desired research work will not only ensure reduction in agricultural cost but will also improve the quality of crops produced, which will further play a pivotal role in increasing the income of the farmers,' said Khattar.

 

The CM urged the scientists working at the agricultural universities of the state to conduct research on the subject for adopting best ways to get a high yield at minimum cost.

 

The focus should be on improving the variety of seeds. Also, the marketing board should make proper arrangements for the marketing of food grains, said Khattar.

 

He once again highlighted that because of the constant exploitation of water, the underground water level is going down.

 

Farmers should adopt sowing cash crops including fruits, flowers, vegetables, along with shifting to beekeeping, animal husbandry and fisheries, he said.

 

'We also have to ensure optimum usage of water…for this micro irrigation has to be adopted for which a subsidy of up to 85 per cent is given to the farmers. Borewells are being installed for groundwater recharging. We have planned to install 1,000 recharging borewells in the first phase,' he said.

 

Earlier, Khattar addressed a gathering during the ‘Jan Samvad programme’ here.

 

'Taking a step further towards ensuring timely redressal of every grievance raised by the citizens, the state government has started another unique initiative ‘Jan Samvad’ to resolve the grievances of people at their doorsteps,' said Khattar.

 

He said complaints raised in these programmes would be uploaded on the Jan Samvad portal and monitoring of all these complaints would be done at the state level.

India’s soyameal exports jumped 87 per cent to 7.99 lakh tonnes (lt) during the October-February period of oil year 2022-23 on robust demand from countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Nepal. Exports stood at 4.26 lt in the same period last year.

 

'Prices are favourable and we should be able to achieve the projected soyameal exports of 14-15 lakh tonnes' said DN Pathak, Executive Director, The Soyabean Processors Association of India (SOPA). Supply crunch from countries such as Argentina on weather concerns has come in handy for India to boost its shipments.

 

Vietnam has been the largest buyer of Indian soyameal, so far, accounting for 3.36 lt, followed by Nepal at 64,759 tonnes and the US at 42,796 tonnes. Other major buyers include Japan at 42,776 tonnes, Sri Lanka 39,554 tonnes, Bangladesh 37,093 tonnes, Thailand 32,432 tonnes and Germany 16,225 tonnes among others.

 

Japan has been a major buyer of Indian soyameal and value-added products mainly in the food segment, Pathak said.

 

Poultry demand

Crushing of soyabeans has also gained momentum with the pick up in buying from the domestic poultry sector. Offtake from the poultry sector was higher by around 12 per cent at 28.50 lt during October-February over same period last year’s 25.50 lt. The domestic food demand for soyameal was up 37 per cent at 4.75 lt.

 

Soyabean crushing during October-February stood at 52.50 lt — an increase of around 48 per cent over same period last year’s 35.50 lt. The market arrivals have improved to 71 lt (55 lt).

 

SOPA estimates that the stocks with trade, crushing units and farmers at the end of February stood at 77.98 lt — higher than the same period last year’s 71.77 lt. The prices of soyabean have started easing over the past one month tracking the developments in the global edible oil complex. 'Prices have come down substantially by about Rs.8,000 per tonne over the past one month,' Pathak said adding that the government should increase the duty on imported oils to protect the domestic growers.

In the international year of millets, it was not surprising that grains like sorghum, ragi and bajra were dominating Aahar 2023, the mega food and hospitality fair held at New Delhi’s Pragati Maidan. From millet flakes to sorghum crisps to ragi dosa mixes and millet noodles, players big and small were showcasing their new ranges. But it was Hyderabad-based start-up Nourish You’s Millet Milk that caught the eye.

 

Nuggets

The nutty flavoured milk made from sprouted ragi, jowar and bajra that was being soft launched here will be commercially launched at the end of the month in the South, joining the growing basket of lactose free vegan milk alternatives. The one litre Tetra Pak is priced at Rs.299 while the 200 ml variant is for Rs.50. It also has a chocolate flavoured millet milk, and a barista variant that combines beautifully with coffee and will be pushed to cafes.  

 

'We were already in the superfood space with quinoa and nuts and seeds, now we are adding veganism to our USP,' said Krishna Reddy, Co-founder Nourish You, describing how heavy R&D went into the millet milk.

 

Going green

Plant protein seemed to be the flavour of the fair, going by many of the stalls at the fair, including those of the big food companies – Tata Consumer Products and Nestle. At the Nestle stall, which had a big crowd waiting to sample the rice being dished out by its chefs using Maggi Lucknow Biryani Seasoning, a giant poster talking about 'plant-based solutions for the future' caught the eye.

 

The Nestle stall also had a plant-based burger patty crumble for display and tasting and a person at the counter said by quarter four, we could expect a product in this space. Tata Consumer Products was a step ahead as at its stall, the packaged plant-based nugget products, advertised as 'tasting just like chicken' was already on display.  Mock meat products could be seen at several stalls. For instance, there was the Green Protein Co. with a range of plant-based Punjabi keema samosas and Lucknowi Shami Kebab.

 

Sringeri-based company with a brand called Fruit Treat

 Healthy, natural and local was the other big theme at the fair, especially in the snacks and juices segments. A whole host of beverages ranging from basil seeds infused coconut water, jamun, phalse and bael juices could be seen – many of them from start-ups. Agra-based Vinayak Enterprises was showcasing its brand Nattfru, which had woodapple, phalse and jamun juice in powder form as well as a vending machine. It had sugar free variants of the juices as well. 

 

Millet milk

In the snacks segment, foxnuts looked so last season as one saw newer varieties of crisps including those made with Jowar and beaten rice chips, served by a brand called Grain Storm. But it was Karanth’s Food, a Sringeri-based company with a brand called Fruit Treat that had everyone coming back for seconds for the samples it had laid out. From carrot chips to lady’s finger and bitter gourd chips, it was a finger licking range of crisps with locally sourced vegetables and fruit. 

NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand on Thursday said India will have to find market for milk in foreign countries as its production is growing by six per cent every year. Speaking at the 49th Dairy Industry Conference and Expo here organised by Indian Dairy Association (IDA), Chand said there is a need to make supply chains to foreign nations, in a way that has been done in the country.

 

'At one time we were producing less milk than the US. Today, we produce double the milk than what the US produces. Earlier in 1960s our milk production growth rate was around 1 per cent, but it is six per cent now,' he said.

 

In 1950-51, per capita consumption of milk in the country was only 124 gram per day and by 1970 this figure dropped to 107 gram per day, he said.

 

'The daily milk consumption in the country rose from a low of 107 gram per person in 1970 to 427 gram per person in 2020-21 as against the world average of 322 gram per day during 2021,' he said.

 

India is producing over 220 million tonne of milk every year and consumption of milk per person has saturated in the country, he said.

 

'So it is very important to find markets for milk that we are producing in the country,' he said, adding that India should create supply chains to foreign countries.

 

Chand said the Indian dairy and animal husbandry is contributing almost half of the total per year agriculture growth.

 

'The agri sector growth is 3.2 per cent, out of which half of the contribution is of the dairy and animal husbandry industry,' he said.

 

Listing the challenges faced by the dairy industry, Chand said milk productivity per animal, breed improvement and use of chemicals in the dairy industry are the challenges faced by the milk industry.

 

Union minister of animal husbandry and dairying Parshottam Rupala said India must focus on breed improvement and enhancing cattle productivity to emerge as the dairy of the world.

 

'The aim of our government is the emergence of India as a leading dairy nation of the world,' he said.

 

IDA President R S Sodhi said that from 1996 till date milk production has increased by nine times in Gujarat.

 

'The last time Gujarat hosted the Dairy Industry Conference was at Anand in 1996. The progress made by the dairy industry since then is unmatched. At the time, India's milk production was only 71 million tonne, which has gone up to 222 million tonne now. India's milk production has gone up by three times, but in Gujarat, it has grown by nine times from 30 lakh litres per day to 270 lakh litres,' he said.

 

National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) Chairman Meenesh Shah said they have prepared a plan for development of dairy industry till 2047.

 

'We have a blueprint ready for vision 2047 and it is time we all effectively collaborate synergies to achieve it. By 2047, we plan to increase bovine productivity by four times, increase Indian dairy exports to 15 per cent of total global dairy export, and build sustainable green practices to achieve COP26 targets. I invite you all to actively participate in this transformative expedition,' Shah said.

 

Taking place in Gujarat after a gap of 27 years, the three-day conference has brought together dairy experts and professionals from India and overseas, dairy cooperatives, milk producers, government officials, scientists, policymakers and planners, academicians and other stakeholders.

 

The theme of the conference is 'India Dairy to the world: Opportunities & Challenges'.

After two years of the lockdown, mango farmers in Maharashtra had much to rejoice, as their produce successfully reached US shores this summer. The consignment that had the involvement of government bodies such as the Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) marked the first successful shipment of mangoes to the US via sea. A highly perishable commodity, mangoes from India have sporadically found their way to the US only via air. This shipment – where 16,560 kg of mangoes left the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT) and safely made the 27-day journey to reach Newark port in excellent condition – was not only historic but a much-needed inflection point in the export of fresh fruits and vegetables from India.

 

Addressing gaps to realize the true potential of India’s agri exports

As one of the world’s largest producers of agricultural and food products, India occupies a leading position in global trade of marine products, basmati rice, buffalo meat, spices, non-basmati rice, cotton raw, oil meals, sugar, castor oil and tea. Yet, its total agri-export basket accounts for a little over 2.5% of world agritrade. This points to a glaring gap in realizing the true export potential of India’s agrarian economy. After all, India ranks second in the production of fresh fruits and vegetables, after China. And amongst fruits, the country ranks first in the production of bananas (26.29%), papayas (43.26%) and mangoes (45.14%).

 

A study mandated by APEDA some years ago revealed many challenges in the country’s agri exports and supply chain, especially in the case of fresh fruits and vegetables. This included an inefficient and unorganized backward integration model with our farmers that resulted in quality and longevity issues of the produce, not to mention the stricter norms enforced by importing nations with respect to production standards/traceability to farm etc.

 

On the logistics front, research body, CRISIL has pointed out to challenges across the value chain – from farm to port to final shipment. While shortage of reefer vans and unavailability of reefer plugs at the port are issues at the primary level, even at sea, maintenance of the optimal temperature and quality deterioration are huge obstacles. It is in this direction that the recent effort of MSAMB in transporting mangoes via sea needs to be recognized.

 

Innovation that opens a new world of opportunity

The full load of nearly 17 metric tons was divided into 5-6 lots, factoring in the MSAMB facility’s capacity to irradiate the fruit. Irradiation is a common technology that uses ionizing radiation to sterilize fresh produce or food. By reducing or eliminating microorganisms and insects, one can improve the safety and extend the shelf life of foods. The mango fruit was harvested accordingly, arriving at MSAMB at 8–12- hour interval gaps. On arrival, the fruit was put through a 52° celsius sodium hypocholride solution treatment for three minutes – a special chemical solution developed by BARC, and then irradiated. It was then precooled at 8° Celsius and stored in cold storage. Finally, the mangoes were loaded in a StarCool CA container set at 10° Celsius, 4% oxygen and 6% CO2 with two ethylene filters and three probes to monitor the cargo. Thanks to Maersk’s specialized reefer visibility digital assistant, Captain Peter, the exporter was kept abreast of the condition of the cargo throughout the journey. The final proof was the perfect condition of the mangoes after almost a month at sea – the longest transit time ever successfully achieved for mangoes from India via the sea route.

 

Shipments of mangoes from India by sea have gone as far as the UK, Netherlands, even New Zealand but never the US. Opting for sea versus air is more economical because air cargo rates are ten times higher than sea. But the longer journey via sea has deterred many an exporter in the past, especially in the case of perishable commodities such as mangoes. With the reopening of air travel after almost two years, air freight rates had reached an unimaginable high, with the charge from Mumbai to US jumping from INR 220/kg to INR 550/kg. The high cost of transportation coupled with the unavailability of cargo space in aircraft set the background to this summer’s successful US consignment by sea. It also unequivocally put the spotlight on how reefer exports can be fully leveraged to improve the fortunes of our farmers in the country.

 

Growing from strength to strength

Indeed, our farmers should be the focal point as we look to increase India’s share in global agri trade. Considerable work is underway in this area via farmer connect portals and even clusters spouting up across the country. As a result of the sustained efforts of the Department of Commerce and bodies such as APEDA, activation of clusters such as the Varanasi cluster for fresh vegetables, Nagpur cluster for oranges and Krishna and Chitoor clusters in Andhra Pradesh for mangoes, have solved transportation/logistics issues of these landlocked production areas.

 

Exports took place from many clusters like these for the first time, with produce finding their way from farms to supermarkets in the Middle East and even South Korea. This was a major contributing factor to India’s unprecedented growth in exports in 2020-21.

 

When it comes to exports of perishable commodities, upgrade of the current cold storage facilities in the country is the need of the hour. According to CRISIL Research, the Indian cold storage chain market can log a compound annual growth rate of 13-15% over fiscals 2019-2023, mainly driven by rising demand for processed food, fresh fruits & vegetables, seafood and biopharmaceuticals in export markets. This coupled with technology that enables fruits and vegetables to remain fresh after a 20+ day journey at sea, may just be the necessary fillip our farmers need to access newer, more distant markets.

 

The Indian Dairy Association’s (IDA) 49th Dairy Industry Conference and Expo, which will bring together dairy experts and professionals from India and overseas, dairy cooperatives, milk producers, government officials, scientists, policymakers and planners, academicians and other stakeholders, will take place in Gandhinagar from March 16 to 18.

 

The theme of the 49th Dairy Industry Conference is 'India Dairy to the world: Opportunities & Challenges'. It is being organised physically after a gap of three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, by IDA in collaboration with its Gujarat State chapter.

 

The inauguration ceremony of the Dairy Industry Conference & Expo will be held at 10:00 am on March 16. Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Parshottam Rupala will be the chief guest at the inauguration. Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying Dr Sanjeev Kumar Balyan, NITI Aayog member Prof Ramesh Chand, Gujarat’s Co-operation Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma, International Dairy Federation president PiercristianoBrazzale, and IDF director-general Caroline Emond will be the guests of honour at the inauguration. Meenesh Shah, Chairman, National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) will deliver the keynote address.

 

Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah will be the chief guest at the Indian Dairy Summit at 10:30 am on March 18. Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, Union Minister Parshottam Rupala, State Minister Jagdish Vishwakarma, Animal Husbandry & Dairying Secretary Rajesh Kumar Singh, NDDB Chairman Meenesh Shah and IDF President PiercristianoBrazzale will be the guests of honour.

 

'The Dairy Industry Conference is the biggest conference of the $10 billion Indian dairy industry. From being a milk-deficit nation, India has come a long way to become the largest milk-producing nation in the world. India has the potential to become the dairy to the world. The conference will discuss how India can make the most of the immense opportunities and the challenges it needs to overcome. What makes the conference even more special is that it is taking place in Gujarat after a gap of 27 years,' said RS Sodhi, president of Indian Dairy Association, the apex body of the dairy industry in India.

 

Meenesh Shah, Chairman, NDDB, said, 'From humble beginnings to contributing almost one-fourth of the global milk production today, India's journey has been phenomenal. We aim to become the dairy to the world but this can only be achieved through sustainability and ensuring dairying as a tool for nutrition to our customers and a source of livelihood for millions of dairy farmers. I am confident the deliberations at the 49th Diary Industry Conference will help us in charting a path to meeting these objectives.'

 

The conference will be a platform for dairy industry professionals to come together and discuss the global dairy trends, farm innovations, sustainability within the sector, climate change, nutrition, and health in India with the singular objective of making India a thriving hub of dairy innovations and solutions.

Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been tasked with promoting Indian cereals in the international market, said Anupriya Patel, Minister of State in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

 

The following steps are being taken to meet export demand during the International Cereal Year 2023.

 

APEDA has published e-Catalogs for 30 major millet importing countries and 21 cereal producing Indian states. 

 

E-Catalogs contain information on individual country profiles:

* Indian Cereal and Cereal Value Added Basket * Cereal Production Scenario

 

* India's Cereal Exports * International Standards of Cereals

 

* And contact list of exporters, startups, FPOs, importers and Indian missions in the country.

 

APEDA has identified three knowledge partners

1. Indian Institute of Millet Research (IIMR); 2. Center of Excellence on Cereals - University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore

and 3. Yes Bank.

 

These knowledge partners collaborate to prepare content for publication of cereal promotion material.

 

Identification of participants for cereal-promoting programs organized by Indian missions abroad; and cereal value chain development.

 

APEDA plans to promote Indian cereals at international trade fairs and conduct B2B (Business to Business) meetings for the year 2023.

 

A cereal-specific web portal has also been launched. The portal covers cereals, their health benefits, production and export statistics, millet exporters' directory and other related information.

 

APEDA is conducting capacity building programs across the country to facilitate the export of cereals and cereal products. 

 

Cereal start-ups are being mobilized for export promotion of ready-to-eat (RTE) and ready-to-serve (RTS) categories of value-added products including noodles, pasta, breakfast cereal, biscuits, cookies, snacks, desserts. and other cereal based products.

 

A knowledge book titled 'Superfood Millets: A USD 2 Billion Export Opportunity for India' has been published by APEDA, in association with Knowledge Partners. This book will help prospective exporters of food grains.

 

An e-platform for Virtual Trade Fairs (VTFs) has been created specifically for ragi. The platform is designed to invite buyers and visitors from around the world to interact with exhibitors showcasing millet-based products.

 

APEDA has ventured into brand building of Indian cereals. Various sampling and tasting camps are being organized at important locations to promote the consumption of 'Sri Anna' millet and create a niche market for the Indian cereal worldwide. 

 

Cereals and cereal-products are being promoted using sophisticated integrated campaigns. Includes social media and digital branding.

 

The government has approved the restructuring of APEDA to realign APEDA and effectively pursue market access, provide commercial intelligence, promote quality and compliance in agricultural exports and deal with sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS) issues.

 

Creation of 20 new posts has been approved under the restructuring plan. The restructuring plan will enable APEDA to recruit subject matter experts in various fields for a specific purpose and time.

The 37th edition of international food, beverage and hospitality trade fair Aahar, kickstarted on Tuesday here at Pragati Maidan, with the theme  ‘Atithi Devo Bhava’.

 

Pradeep Singh Kharola, CMD, inaugurated the fair. Speaking on the occasion, he said that the Indian food processing industry is among the largest in the nation in terms of growth, production, consumption and exports and has been growing substantially over the years.

 

The inauguration ceremony was graced by key Government officials as well as officials from partner countries including Alessandro Liberatori, Trade Commissioner, Italian Trade Commission, and Euardo Uziel, Charge’D Affairs, Brazil to India.

 

Rajat Agarwal, ED, ITPO, highlighted that the fair was spread in an area of 1,00,000 sq.m approximately with participation from 1,500+ exhibitors.

 

The event has witnessed 100 overseas participants from 18 countries.

 

Agarwal added that foreign exhibitors see India as a mega hub for food and hospitality sector.

 

He further emphasised that ITPO has worked very hard to make this fair a success and will prove to be a milestone in forging business partnerships and linkages amongst stakeholders.

 

The fair is organised by the ITPO with support of the Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India, APEDA along with other apex bodies such as AIFPA, ARCHII, HOTERMAI, FHSAI, FIFI, KREMAG, FAIC, FIFHI, FIWA and PBFIA for the fair.

 

The fair will remain open till March 18, 2023, for business visitors from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm daily.

As a part of Govt of India initiative for market intervention to control the price of wheat and atta, in the sequel of weekly e auctions of wheat, the 6th e-auction was conducted by the Food Corporation of India on 15.03.2023. Total quantity of 10.69 LMT wheat was offered from 611 depots across 23 Regions of FCI and 4.91 LMT of wheat has been sold to 970 bidders.

 

In the 6 th e- auction, against the all India weighted average reserve price of Rs. 2140.46/qtl, weighted average selling price received was Rs 2214.32 /qtl. In the 6 th e auction Quantities ranging from of 100 to 499 MT had maximum demand followed by quantities of 500-999 MT followed by 50-100 MT quantity bracket.

 

The first auction was conducted on 1 st and 2 nd February 2023 in which 9.13 Lakh MT was sold to 1016 bidders at weighted average price of Rs. 2474/Qtl. a quantity of 3.85 LMT was sold in the second auction on 15 th February 2023 to 1060 bidders at weighted average price of Rs. 2338/Qtl. ,5.07 LMT sold to 875 successful bidders during the 3 rd e-auction saw weighted average price of Rs 2173/Quintal and 5.40 LMT sold to 1049 successful bidders during the 4 th e- auction at a weighted average of Rs 2193.82/qtl. In the 5 th e-auction, 5.39 LMT was sold to 1248 bidders at weighted average price of Rs. 2197.91/qtl.

 

Till 5th e- auction, 28.86 LMT wheat stock has been sold against which 23.30 LMT has been lifted as on 14.03.2023.

 

After the 6th  e- auction, the cumulative sale of wheat under OMSS (D) has touched 33.77 LMT against the overall allocation of 45 LMT. The sale has brought significant effect in cooling down the price of wheat and atta all over the country which is likely to remain stabilized with the future tenders for open sale of wheat under OMSS (D).