The country has exported wheat worth Rs 11,728.36 crore during the April-January period of this fiscal year, the government said on Tuesday. In May last year, the government had banned exports of wheat to boost domestic availability and control prices

 

In a written reply to Lok Sabha, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said, 'At present, there is no proposal for lifting restriction on export of wheat before the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare'.

 

'During the current fiscal year (up to January 2023), Rs 11,728.36 crore worth of wheat has been exported,' he added.

 

Although the export was banned, the government had said wheat export will be allowed in case of shipments where the Irrevocable Letter Of Credit (ILOC) has been issued on or before May 13.

 

Tomar said, as per second advance estimates for the agriculture year 2022-23, the wheat production in the country is estimated at 112.18 million tonnes which is higher by 4.44 million tonnes than the production achieved during 2021-22 crop year (July-June).

 

In reply to a separate question, Tomar said, 'in the Northern Indian plain, the maximum temperature in February 2023 was hovering around 32-33 degree celsius in most of the area, and this temperature is unlikely to impact the wheat grain growth adversely as crop canopy temperature can be easily modulated by 2-3 degree celsius less than air temperature by irrigation.'

 

In central and peninsular India, he said the temperature always remains comparatively higher against northern plain throughout the crop growth period and crop phenology is naturally adjusted accordingly.

 

'Therefore, in these area also, the temperature as high as 35 degree celsius is also not going to impact wheat yield adversely,' he added.

 

Based on the surveys conducted by ICAR-Indian Institute of Wheat & Barley Research (IIWBR), Karnal in collaboration of State Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs), it is found that wheat crop situation is normal, he added.

 

'The scientists of ICAR have issued the advisory of giving light irrigation to modulate the crop canopy temperature favourably as and when required. ICAR-IIWBR issues weekly advisory to the farmers and the information is circulated to state agriculture departments, KVKs and SAUs,' the minister said.

 

The advisory is uploaded regularly on websites, Facebook and circulated to various stakeholders through WhatsApp group.

 

'Further, foliar spray of MOP @0.2 per cent (200 litres/acre) is recommended to minimise the heat shock,' he added.

 

All extension agencies from the Central and state governments along with ICAR/SAUs visit the farmers' fields regularly and provide timely advisories to the farmers, wherever heat stress conditions can have adverse effects, the minister said.

Union Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Minister Shri Narendra Singh Tomar has said that Farmers and Industry are complementary to each other, - industries cannot function without farmers and without the Industry, Farming cannot be remunerative. The role of the government is important towards both the Farmers and the Industry. It is the effort of the government that there should be maximum growth of industries, but at the same time, our 86 percent Small Farmers should be empowered because no matter how much progress we make, but unless these small farmers turn prosperous, the country will not develop. Industry should bear in mind which programmes will fetch farmers a good price and which path we should follow so that prosperity comes to the homes of the farmers, only then will such exchange of ideas be successful. Shri Tomar said this today in a special session organized during the 28th edition of the Partnership Summit-2023 of Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

 

Shri Tomar said that the government is fulfilling all the requirements to promote the Agriculture sector, increase production & productivity and ease the export of agricultural products and will continue to work in this direction in the future. Shri Tomar said that the industries have their own strong teams, which work till the bottom of the pyramid and they also have the right feedback systems. In this context, the Ministry officials should keep in touch with the stakeholders so that information exchange takes place in the interest of the farmers. By continuing to work on these principles, farmers and agriculture sector will benefit more. In this series, a dialogue programme of Industry with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was organized recently, so that practically the entire agriculture sector including the farmers can get the benefits. Shri Tomar said that agriculture is a priority sector for all of us, which needs the support of technology, research and industries to bring benefits and make farmers prosperous and to further strengthen the agricultural economy, so that when all these are combined, only then progress will accelerate.

 

Shri Tomar said that there was a period when one-sided thinking was used, but now Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has an integrated vision for the overall and balanced development of the country, which CII is also trying to take forward with great enthusiasm. Prime Minister Shri Modi constantly tries to rise beyond the departments because whatever programmes the government has, it is for India, for the people of the country, how those works can move forward, he himself thinks about many programmes. As a result, we see that whatever project is started, no matter how big it is, it is also completed within the same term. Along with monitoring through programmes like PM Gati Shakti, coordinated movement has been made. Shri Tomar said that whatever be the work of agriculture, Prime Minister Shri Modi never lets it be neglected. There was a time when we wanted to learn from the world, today the world wants to learn from India in the field of agriculture.

 

Present on the occasion were Shri Sanjiv Puri, Vice President, Confederation of Indian Industry and CMD, ITC Ltd., Shri Salil Singhal, Chairman, CII Taskforce on Agrochemicals and Chairman Emeritus, PI Industries, other officials and a large number of industry representatives.

The government on Tuesday informed the Rajya Sabha that it is taking steps to make India a USD 5 trillion economy earlier than the International Monetary Fund's forecast year of 2026-27. The IMF's World Economic Outlook earlier said the size of the Indian economy will increase from USD 3.2 trillion in 2021-22 to USD 3.5 trillion in 2022-23 and cross USD 5 trillion in 2026-27.

 

'The government has been taking steps to make the country a USD 5 trillion economy at an early date,' Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said in a written reply to the Upper House.

 

Observing that the outbreak of the COVID pandemic in 2020 and the Russia-Ukraine conflict in 2022 has impacted the world output, increased inflation in several countries and raised uncertainty in the world economy, he said, 'lower uncertainty in the global economic outlook will help India become a USD 5 trillion-dollar economy earlier'.

 

Some of the important measures taken by the government in the past to boost economic growth include the making of the National infrastructure pipeline of projects, push to capital expenditure, implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme, finalisation of the National Monetization Pipeline of public sector assets and formulation of National Logistics policy, he said.

 

The minister further said that capital expenditure will be speeded up by PM Gatishakti for integrated planning of infrastructure and synchronised project implementation across all concerned central ministries, departments and state governments.

 

The Union Budget 2023-24, Chaudhary said, 'further sustains the growth momentum with an increase in capital investment outlay for the third year in a row by 33 per cent to Rs 10 lakh crore (3.3 per cent of GDP)'.

 

The other initiatives to boost the economy include enhanced outlay for PM Awas Yojana, the launch of the Aspirational Blocks Programme covering 500 blocks for saturation of essential government services; an increase in agriculture credit target to Rs 20 lakh crore with a focus on animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries; and setting up of Agriculture Accelerator Fund to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas, among others.

 

The minister also said that the direct capital investment by the Centre is being complemented by the provision made for the creation of capital assets through grants-in-aid to states.

 

The 'effective capital expenditure' of the Centre is budgeted at Rs 13.7 lakh crore (4.5 per cent of GDP) for 2023-24, he said, adding 'the newly established Infrastructure Finance Secretariat will oversee the increase in private investment in infrastructure'.

 

In order to improve logistics performance, he said, one hundred critical transport infrastructure projects for last and first-mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertiliser, and food grains sectors have been identified and will be prioritised for development.

Both countries also agreed to aim for USD 100 billion in bilateral trade. Don Farrell, Australia's Minister for Trade and Tourism, who is accompanying Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on an official visit to New Delhi, said the two countries 'can achieve' this goal.

 

On December 29, last year, India and Australia implemented an economic cooperation and trade agreement (ECTA) and are now negotiating to broaden the scope of the agreement for a comprehensive economic cooperation agreement (CECA). ECTA was the initial stage of our economic engagement.

 

'We are now entering phase 2 of our discussions, in which we are looking at a much broader range of subjects and taking this into a CECA,' Goyal told reporters at a joint press conference here. Both ministers have expressed 'dissatisfaction' with trade negotiators and stated that they 'will be much more ambitious and aim for a USD 100 billion trade between the two economies,' he said.

 

According to Farrell, the two countries 'can achieve' this goal. On the deadline for completing the CECA negotiations, Goyal stated that while anything done under a deadline is always 'dangerous' because 'you may end up making mistakes,' 'we' must do things quickly. He stated that both trade ministers are committed to expediting the negotiations.

 

Both the prime ministers have 'collectively tasked us to work towards closing the CECA negotiations within this calender year. That would be fantastic. We would work in the same spirit as ECTA and hope for quick results without sacrificing quality,' Goyal added.

 

He also stated that 'we are very dissatisfied' with the USD 30-billion bilateral trade, and that India and Australia have set a target of USD 45-50 billion over the next five years. According to Goyal, there are numerous opportunities to expand cooperation in areas such as education, technology, audio-visual services, and sports.

 

While Australia has some 'very' fine technologies, education institutes, and sports, he believes India can offer more in terms of talent pool, manufacturing base, and startup ecosystem. Concerning increased agri-trade with Australia, the Indian commerce minister stated that several areas of mutual interest are being considered by agriculture ministries on both sides to resolve sanitary and phyto-sanitary (plant and animal) problems.

 

Albanese stated that both countries are looking at firming up the ambitious CECA by 2023 following the first India-Australia summit talks here on March 10 on a range of key issues, while a joint statement stated that the two prime ministers tasked the concerned officials to expedite the conclusion of a Migration and Mobility Partnership Arrangement (MMPA) within the next three months. Goyal praised Australia for addressing Indian concerns in the agricultural and dairy sectors, which involve small and marginal farmers.

 

'We are looking at win-win opportunities in many areas, such as space technology, Australian education systems and critical minerals, energy storage systems developed in Australia, and sports. 'Our focus has been on capitalizing on each other's comparative competitive advantages to increase trade,' he added. According to Farrell, Australia possesses all of the critical minerals required to manufacture batteries for electric vehicles.

 

He also stated that Australia shipped goods worth USD 2.5 billion to India in the first month of the ECTA. Farrell went on to say that the Australian wine industry can come to India and help the Indian wine industry by sharing knowledge and quality. 'I hope that in the coming months, we will be able to send our teams from the wine sector from India and invite teams from Australia to come in forging alliances with mutual cooperation,' Goyal said.

 

Goyal added that because Australia has a long coastline, India can learn various water sports from it. Farrell responded to a question about whether Australia is considering including gender and sustainability issues in the CECA by saying that the country is considering these issues as part of the CECA. According to Goyal, India is open to negotiations and wants to engage with the rest of the world from a position of strength, learning from best practices.

National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED), on the direction of Government of India, will initiate procurement of Kharif Onion to address the issue of falling prices of onion in Gujarat. This move of Government of India will provide stability to the onion market in the State.

 

Taking stock of the situation due to depressed prices of Onion in late Kharif season in the State, Department of Consumer Affairs has directed NAFED to start procurement of Onion from three major markets in Gujarat. NAFED will start procurement of onion in Bhavnagar (Mahua), Gondal and Porbandar.

 

This intervention has been planned by Government of India in order to give immediate relief to the farmers from crashing prices of onions in the State. Farmers are requested to bring their good quality and dried stock to the procurement centres to avail of better rate at these centres. Payments to the farmers will be done online.

 

More centres will be opened from time to time as required.

The potato, known as the king of vegetables, is in high demand in countries outside India. While potatoes are common in India and are easily available, the vegetable is purchased at exorbitant prices abroad.

 

According to information obtained by India Today, approximately 6,000 quintals of potatoes are being exported from Agra in response to demand from hotels and homes in Malaysia, Qatar, and Dubai.

 

After flagging off trucks loaded with potatoes today, Agra's Chief Development Officer A Manikandan told India Today that farmers have been paid Rs 900 per quintal for export potatoes, while the government's procurement price is set at Rs 650 per quintal. Exporting potatoes is proving to be a profitable business for these farmers in this situation.

 

Kaushal Kishore, Deputy Director Horticulture, told India Today that in collaboration with the Horticulture Department and the Uttar Pradesh State Horticulture Cooperative Marketing Federation, Siddhi Vinayak Agro Processing Khandauli (Agra) has exported 6,000 quintals of potatoes abroad to ensure that potato farmers get the best price for their produce. Around 3000 quintal potatoes have been sent to Malaysia, and 3000 quintal potatoes have been sent to Dubai and Qatar.

 

Many trucks of potatoes have also been transported from Agra to Himmatnagar in Gujarat, where they will be exported to other countries via the Mundra Port. This LR variety potato was exported at a cost of Rs 900 per quintal.

 

Potato farmer Murarilal told India Today that potatoes are being sold at the weekly haat in Agra's Midhakur town for Rs 4 per kg, while lemon prices have skyrocketed.

 

Nirauti Lal, a Nagla Laldas resident who sells vegetables in the market, stated that such apathy towards potatoes has not been seen in several years. At the moment, a kilogram of potato costs only Rs 4 while a kilogram of lemon costs Rs 200. The price of green chillies is Rs 100 to 150 per kg and ginger is Rs 800 to 100 per kg.

 

Vishal Sharma, Vice Chairman of Hindustani Biradari, stated that the time has come for farmers to reduce potato cultivation and focus on growing other vegetables because it is difficult to recover the cost of potato cultivation at the current prices. If the area of potato cultivation is reduced, the demand for potatoes will increase, as will the price. Aside from that, there is a need to focus on the cultivation of advanced potato varieties. Such varieties should be grown that are in high demand in foreign countries, because good prices for potatoes in the Indian market are not available, whereas potatoes exported abroad fetch good prices.

The World Food Safety Day 2023 campaign has started recently, with the theme 'Food standards save lives'. The theme coincides with the 60th anniversary of Codex Alimentarius this year and encourages food safety advocates around the world to focus on the importance of applying standards in every aspect of food production - from the source to the table.

 

The launch saw the publication of this year’s guide in all six UN languages, which provides information on the theme and Codex Alimentarius, as well as some tips on the kinds of activities people could organise and the key messages being promoted this year. In addition, the World Food Safety Day website has been updated in anticipation of the 2023 celebrations that will take place on (or around) June 7.

 

This will be the fifth observance of World Food Safety Day. Since the first celebration in 2019 World Food Safety Day has grown every year in terms of the number of countries where it is celebrated, and the number of events organised. This year, then, is likely to be bigger than ever, as people become increasingly aware of the need to apply good food safety practices all along the food chain.

 

In a video message, Tom Heilandt, Codex Secretary, underlines the World Food Safety Day slogan saying: food safety is everyone’s business. Foodborne illness is almost entirely preventable and can be significantly reduced if we all raise awareness and inspire action on food safety.

Farm fresh kesar and Alphonso from Gujarat will be transported directly to the US, without having to go through the inspection facility through Maharashtra. It also means farmers will now be able to increase exports to the US. With the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) having approved the agro radiation processing facility at Bavla in July 2022, there’s good news for mango lovers in the US.

 

The facility at Bavla, near Ahmedabad, has been developed by Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation Ltd (GAIC). 'USDA-APHIS approved the Bavla radiation processing facility last July. The coming mango season will be the first in which Gujarat will directly export mangoes to the US market. Currently, mangoes from Gujarat are sent through Maharashtra, which means higher logistics costs. Our facility was ready in 2014 but the approval was delayed. If the weather does not play spoilsport, we expect nearly 400 tonnes of mangoes to be exported between mid-April and June.'

 

According to the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), last year India’s mango exports to the US was 813 tonnes, valued at Rs 33.68 crore.

 

Hiren Gandhi, former chairman of GCCI’s food committee, explained: 'The US mandates that mangoes and other food products undergo irradiation, which kills insects on the fruit. The irradiation facility will help Gujarat farmers get better prices for their kesar mangoes in the international market. The US is a big market for mangoes. The Australian market will also open for direct exports from Gujarat with this facility. Irradiation also increases the shelf life of mango by at least 25 days.'

 

Adding further, Ashish Guru, chairman, of Gujarat Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Agriculture Committee stated: 'Gujarat is a leading mango producer. Our mangoes are of better quality than the Mexican varieties being sold in the US. The irradiation facility will help expedite the exports and augur premium returns for the harvesters.'

Kamalam or Dragon Fruit, a herbaceous perennial climbing cactus widely known as Pitaya, has its origin in Southern Mexico, Central America and South America. It is widely cultivated in South-East Asia, India, USA, The Caribbean Islands, Australia throughout the tropical and sub-tropical world. Pitaya, called as Dragon fruit in English, is popular by different names such as Pithaya in Mexico, Pitaya Roja in Central and Northern America, Pithajah in Thailand and Kamalam after the Sanskrit name lotus in India. It is also known as 'Wondrous Fruit of the 21st century'.

 

The Kamalam (Dragon fruit) has recently drawn much attention of the growers worldwide, not only because of their red purple colour and economic value as food products but also for their enormous health benefits. The skin of the fruit is covered with bracts or scales which may have attributed the fruits resembling the mythical creature 'dragon', hence the name dragon fruit. Pitaya or dragon fruit is a climbing, fast growing perennial vine cactus species which originated from the tropical regions of Mexico and Central and South America. From its centers of origin, dragon fruit has spread over tropical and sub-tropical America, Asia, Australia and Middle East. Currently it is being cultivated in at least 22 countries of tropics. Historical evidence indicates that the French introduced the crop to Vietnam about 100 years ago and it was grown for the King. Later, it became popular among the wealthy families of the entire country.

 

In India, the cultivation of Kamalam Fruit is fast picking up and farmers of Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Mizoram and Nagaland have taken up its cultivation. Presently, the total area under cultivation of Dragon Fruit in India is more than 3,000 ha. which is not able to meet the domestic demand, hence majority of the dragon fruits available in Indian market is imported from Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam and Sri Lanka.

 

In India, Kamalam import started during 2017 with a quantity of 327 tonnes, which has increased sharply to 9,162 tonnes in 2019 and the estimated import for 2020 and 2021 is about 11,916 and 15,491 tonnes, respectively. The projected import value was about Rupees 100 crores for 2021. Dragon fruit provides fast return with economic production in the first year after planting and full production is attained in 3-4 years. The life expectancy of the crop is about 20 years. Average economic yield after 2 years of planting is 10 tonnes per acre. At present the market rate is Rs 100 per kg fruit, so the revenue generated by selling fruits per year is Rs 10,00,000. Benefit Cost Ratio (BCR) is: 2.58.

 

With focus on Atmanirbhar Bharat, there is need to reduce import and increase our own capacity for production. In this endeavor under Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a roadmap is being prepared for cultivation of this crop in the identified potential area to increase the production of exotic and niche area fruits including Kamalam. The target for area expansion under MIDH for Kamalam is 50,000 ha. in 5 years. The cultivation of this fruit has started recently and a plantation of this healthy fruit is established at ICAR-Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port-Blair, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and IIHR, Bengaluru, Karnataka.

 

Under MIDH, the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has approved a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Kamalam Fruit to be established by Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, Karnataka at Hirehalli, Bengaluru, Karnataka on 09-03-2023 to focus on production, post-harvest and value addition of Kamalam.

 

The Centre will work for development of latest production technology as per the international standard & off season production and demonstration of these technologies for high yield production. The Centre will aim to achieve self-sustenance in Kamalam fruit production, value addition and enhancing economic development of the farming community.

 

The Centre of Excellence will focus on developing high performance variety with improved yield, nutrient use efficiency, nutritional quality, tolerance against biotic & abiotic stresses, Standardization of propagation techniques, distribution of quality planting material through public participatory approach, development of protocol for post-harvest handling and storage to reduce post-harvest losses and promote export to distant markets, development of value-added products and processes for product diversification & higher revenue realization, dissemination of developed technologies to the farmers & other stakeholders through training, field visits, etc.

 

 With the growing interest in farmers and the quick returns that they are getting from cultivation of Kamalam in agricultural and marginal lands, it is expected that the new areas will come up under Kamalam and the import will be totally substituted through domestic cultivation.

An Export outreach program was organized at Nava Raipur on Monday by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, Government of India to explore the possibilities of export potentials in Chhattisgarh.

 

The exporters and investors participating in the programme discussed the action plan to enhance exports from the landlocked state.  According to officials, vital information was also given about exportable products from Chhattisgarh and government facilities given to the exporters, who shared the loopholes and suggested for its redressal to surge shipping volume from the state.

 

Representatives of Shefexil, TREAC, ECGC, Industries Department, Minor Forest Produce Federation, APEDA, SIDBI as well as Bank of Baroda participated in the programme, conducted by the Directorate of Foreign Trade, Government of India.

 

Chhattisgarh’s Raipur and Durg districts are among the 75 districts in the country shortlisted for promoting exports.

 

Raipur Collector Dr Sarveshwar Bhure said that Chhattisgarh had been the main exporter of many products including rice. The state government has provided numerous facilities to the exporters to encourage exports from the state, he said. The government has made special provisions for exporters in the industrial policy ranging from exemption of five percent in ‘mandi’ fee along with formation of promotion committee, Bhure added.

 

Asserting that Chhattisgarh was rapidly moving towards developing as an export hub due to the industry friendly policies of the state government, the Raipur District Collector said due to the policies and facilities of the government, there has been an average increase of more than 22 percent in the exports from the state in the last five years. He also informed that special efforts are being made to promote the export of rice, construction machinery and materials and processed spices from Chhattisgarh.

 

Bhure stressed on the possibilities of the export of wire, rods, bars, coils, TMT bars, crude steel as well as forest produce like tamarind, mahua, lac and small grain millets like Kodo Kutki Ragi etc.

 

Officials said exporters and investors present in the program described Chhattisgarh as a state of immense potential from the point of view of exports. The exporters demanded to continue the exemption of 5 per cent in mandi fee notified to increase the export of rice. Presently, Chhattisgarh government is giving 5 percent exemption of market fee to rice exporters for one year.

 

The exporters demanded concession for transportation to the exporting units saying that Chhattisgarh is a landlocked state. Some exporter groups demanded government assistance for the modernization of processing plants.