Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar on Wednesday stressed the need to increase productivity, production and processing of millets and said an adequate quantity of millets should be consumed for meeting nutritional requirements. The minister was addressing industry chamber CII's National Conference on Millets: Ensuring Climate Adaptation, Nutrition and Food Security.

 

The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYM) on the proposal of the Indian government.

 

'Millets is an Indian grain and it is full of nutritional value,' Tomar said.

 

However, he said, wheat and rice have occupied more space in our food plate.

 

Now, Tomar said, the time has come that there is adequate availability of millet in the food plate as this would help in meeting the nutritional requirement of people.

 

The IYM 2023 has provided a great opportunity to create awareness about the benefits of millets, he said, adding that the Centre has been taking steps in this direction for the last few years.

 

Tomar stressed that people should also eat millet frequently so that the challenge of nutritional deficiency could be addressed.

 

The minister highlighted that the government is focusing on increasing farmers' income.

 

He also said that the Centre in the last eight years has launched various programmes, such as PM-KISAN and the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, to boost farmers' income.

 

The government has also set an agriculture credit target of Rs 18 lakh crore for this fiscal year and it is also promoting the use of technology and cluster farming.

 

The UN declaration has been instrumental for the government to be at the forefront of celebrating the International Year of Millet. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also shared his vision to make IYM 2023 a 'People's Movement' alongside positioning India as the 'Global Hub for Millets'.

 

In India, millets are primarily a kharif crop, requiring less water and agricultural inputs than other similar staples. Millets are important as it has the potential to generate livelihoods, increase farmers' income and ensure food & nutritional security all over the world.

A group of importers in Thailand has issued an international tender to purchase up to 135,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat, European traders said on Wednesday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is also Wednesday, Jan 18.

 

One consignment of about 75,000 tonnes is sought for shipment between Feb. 15 and March 15, while another 60,000 tonne-consignment is sought for shipment between July 1 and July 31.

 

The wheat can be sourced from country worldwide, except Pakistan, Ukraine and Russia.

 

In the last reported purchase by Thailand on Jan. 4, an importer group bought about 75,000 tonnes of feed wheat expected to have been sourced from optional origins.

The newly-elected President of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce, Anat Bernstein-Reich, who has worked to promote Indo-Israel bilateral trade for more than two decades, has said the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Israel and India will act as a catalyst in fulfilling the huge trade potential.

 

The first woman to be elected President of the prestigious body since its establishment in 1984, Bernstein-Reich would be replacing Matan Vilnai, who in the past has served as the Ambassador of Israel in China, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Israeli Army, and a Minister in the Israeli government.

 

Vilnai served as the President of the Chambers for the past six years and will now serve as its honorary President.

 

'India and Israel trade relations have reached new heights but have still not fulfilled their potential. The long-awaited Free Trade Agreement will be a catalyst for the same', Bernstein-Reich told PTI.

 

'I call upon the two sides to break the current deadlock in discussions over FTA. I was recently in India and during my meetings with officials there have also requested to look into ways to move the process forward to boost bilateral trade', she said.

 

Bernstein-Reich was elected the new President of the prestigious commercial body last week by the Chamber's General Assembly that opened for 2023 recently.

 

The meeting was attended by representatives of the Israeli ministries and economic organisations.

 

Among those that participated in the General Assembly included Jonatan Zadka, former Consul General of Israel in Bangalore, and Shai Mozes, former Economic Attach in Bangalore and today Head of the Asia Pacific Desk at the Ministry of Economy.

 

Bernstein-Reich, who also holds the position of Chairperson of the Israel-India and Sri Lanka Chambers within the Israel-Asia Chamber, will continue in that role.

 

An investment banker and lawyer, Bernstein-Reich has been operating in India for the past 24 years and has been involved in dozens of transactions on the Israel-India axis, including the establishment of the Agribator, the centre for Israeli agricultural technologies in New Delhi.

 

In 2018, she managed the Israel-India Bridge for Innovation Program for the Israeli Innovation Authority. The Bridge was a joint initiative of Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu and Narendra Modi that assisted Israeli and Indian start-ups to access each other's markets.

 

She received the 'Friend of India Award' from WeSchool for her contribution to the advancement of the Indian economy in 2020 and in 2022 received an honorary doctorate from Jharkhand Rai University.

 

Dubbed by several local business persons as the 'Maharani of India', Bernstein-Reich, emphasised that the current figure of over 7 billion US Dollars in bilateral trade, not including defence, doesn't 'really present the right picture'.

 

'Indo-Israel bilateral trade has diversified so much over the past decades and continues to add new sectors into it. Recent collaborations in health tech, energy, water management etc. continues to provide new impetus to growing bilateral trade ties. The potential is huge and all efforts need to be made to close the Free Trade Agreement that will give a further boost to it', she stressed.

 

'Our chamber has signed MOUs for collaboration with the leading Indian chambers of commerce including FICCI, CII, ASSOCHAM, and SICCI (SOUTH INDIA)', she noted.

 

In a new initiative, Bernstein-Reich pointed out that together with FICCI Ladies League, her organisation has also formed the IIBWF- Israel-India Business Women Forum to promote women-led businesses collaborations.

 

Bernstein-Reich received the Woman of the Decade award as part of the Women Economic Forum (WEF) that convened in New Delhi in December 2022.

 

A graduate of the Faculty of Law at Tel Aviv University and an MBA in Finance from the University of San Francisco, she also holds a teaching position in Haifa University's Asian Studies department.

 

The Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce is a multinational chamber of commerce that promotes trade between Israel and 15 countries in Asia, including countries with which there are no diplomatic relations such as Indonesia and Malaysia.

 

India and China are the most prominent countries in the activities of the commercial body.

 

The chamber is part of 48 bi-national chambers of commerce that operate in Israel.

 

The Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce was established in 1984 by the Israeli government and the economic organizations to promote trade with Asia which was, at that time, in its nascent stage.

 

Following the establishment of full-fledged diplomatic relations with India and China in 1992, Israel's trade with Asia has grown tens fold in the past 30 years.

 

The role of the President of the Israel-Asia Chamber of Commerce has been held by prominent public figures since its inception.

 

Ambassador Amir Hayek, the Israeli ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, also served as its President between 2005 and 2010.

 

Vilnai, in his farewell speech, was quoted in a press release as saying that 'today Asia accounts for 60 per cent of the world's population and includes the largest economies, creating a global power shift towards the East with India and China being major players in the world arena'.

 

Bernstein-Reich also serves as CEO of the Israel-India Investment Banking Company in the BDO Group Israel.

Apples from Moldova, an east European nation, will now be available in India taking on the likes from the US, New Zealand, Turkey, Iran, Chile, Italy and other such exporting nations. 

 

'We have brought 100 tonnes of Moldovan apples for the first time to India on a trial basis through Chennai and Mumbai ports. Once the government gives the go-ahead after these trial imports, we will be getting more from that country,' said Nishanth Yeddanapalli, Managing Director of Chennai-based Purecrop Agro Pvt Ltd. 

 

Trial shipments 

Purecrop Agro Pvt Ltd is an arm of the 85-year-old Vaduvammal Group that has diversified business ranging from steel to metal recycling to chemicals to agriculture.

 

Moldova, a part of the erstwhile Soviet Union, got permission to ship its apples to India in 2018 on a trial basis. It was given a five-year window to complete the trial shipments. 'Our first shipment failed in 2018 as we did not know how to meet Indian regulations. We are better prepared now with many agencies coming forward to help us,' said Ana Taban, ambassador-at-large for economic diplomacy, Moldovian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and European Integration.

 

Competitors

'Once we decided to bring apples from Moldova, it took less than 40 days to get them to India,' said Yeddanapalli, adding that the fruit will be competitively priced. 'Moldovan apples are sweet and will compete with those from Turkey, Italy and Poland,' he said.  

 

Currently, the wholesale price of imported apples is ?2,500-600 for an 18-kg box. In the domestic market, apples, grown in Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, now cost between ?80 and ?100 a kg. 

 

Modern cultivation

Ion Tulei, Commercial Director, Moldova’s FarmProd Ltd, said his country produces nearly 5.5 lakh tonnes of apples and exported 2.45 lakh tonnes during the August 2021-July 22 marketing season. 

 

Andrei Cumpanici, food safety, quality and sustainability manager, said Moldovan producers implement good agricultural practices to meet global quality standards, particularly since they export to Europe. 

 

The agricultural practices meet the integrated farm assurance standard, the most widely used food safety certification for fresh produce across the world.  

 

Cumpanici said apples are cultivated using modern techniques and it helps orchards get a yield of 55-70 tonnes a hectare. 'We grow Gala, Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Jonagold and Granny Smith varieties,' he said. 

 

Tulei said most of the varieties are of Italian origin but the erstwhile Soviet Union member’s better soil gives Moldova an advantage. 

 

Ukraine War impact

Taban said the Ukraine war has forced Moldova to look at other markets. 'Russia imports over 90 per cent of our apples. In August, it announced an embargo on our apples. It has been lifted but you never know. So, we are looking at other markets,' she said. 

 

The war has deprived apple growers of access to the nearby Odesa Port which is hardly 60 km from their orchards. 'We now take our produce to Romania’s Constanta Port which is 600 km away,' said Obrejanu.

 

The Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Moldova’s Foreign Ministry and its Agriculture Ministry came together to ensure the current shipments. 'We have never had any diplomatic relations till now. But we will use trade to build our relations. The first step is to export apples. We would like to import pharmaceuticals from India,' the ambassador-at-large said.

 

The Centre’s decision to impose a 75 per cent Customs duty on apples from the US as part of its measure to retaliate against Washington’s move to impose a higher duty on Indian steel will likely give Moldovian apples an edge. For apples from other countries, the import duty is 50 per cent.

 

Moldova is trying to become a member of the European Union. 'We have to meet at least nine norms. The EU will see if we have met these norms at the end of this year. Then, the process to make an EU member will begin,' Taban said.

The newly-approved National Co-operative Exports Limited (NCEL) will cover agriculture and allied activities as well as handloom and handicrafts items by enrolling a large number of co-operatives under its fold with a target to double its revenue by 2025 from the current level of about Rs.2,160 crore among 10 major co-operatives that will be its members.

 

NCEL will have an authorised share capital of Rs.2,000 crore in which the initial paid-up share capital will be Rs.500 crore to be contributed equally by Indian Farmers Fertilizer Cooperative (IFFCO), Krishak Bharati Cooperative (KRIBHCO), National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED), Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) and National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC), sources said. The Cabinet last week approved its creation.

Algeria’s state grains agency OAIC has bought milling wheat in an international tender which closed on Tuesday, European traders said in initial assessments.

 

Initial purchases reported were around $334.50 a tonne cost and freight (c&f) included, they said. Estimates of tonnage bought ranged between 510,000 tonnes to 600,000 tonnes.

 

Traders said a large part of the volume was expected to be sourced from the Black Sea region.

 

More detailed assessments prices and tonnage bought are expected later.

 

The wheat is sought for shipment in two periods from the main supply regions including Europe: March 1-15 and March 15-31. If sourced from South America or Australia, shipment is one month earlier.

 

Algeria is a vital customer for wheat from the European Union, especially France. Algeria does not release results of its tenders and reports are based on trade estimates.

One pint of a beer, known as Malayali, is helping to close the distance between Kerala's Palakkad and Poland. Malayali, a beer created by Chandramohan Nallur using Indian rice and European hops, is gradually displacing other beers on Polish bar shelves.

 

As per a report by The New Indian Express, when Palakkad native Chandramohan Nallur got the idea of creating a beer, he didn’t have an iota of doubt about the name.

 

The beer's name, according to the 38-year-old, is a reflection of his love for fellow Malayalis. He is the first Malayali director of the Chamber of Commerce in Poland. The beverage was created out of necessity, and the Russia-Ukraine war played a role in its development.

 

According to the report, Nallur's father was having difficulty selling five containers of rice flakes that he had purchased before Russia invaded Ukraine.

 

'I was trying to find different ways to help an African friend who was struggling to sell five containers of rice flakes he had bought before the invasion. As the conflict escalated, there was nothing we could do to save the rice flakes,' he told the newspaper. 

 

'Because of the lack of storage facilities, we decided to convert them into pet food, but the plan was scrapped. We read about Komban beer, which was produced outside India. This was our inspiration to find use for the flakes,' Nallur recalled.

 

But Nallur isn't the only one making global waves. Komban, a beer created by Kochi native Vivek Pillai, is extremely popular in the United Kingdom. Nallur hopes to replicate its success in Poland, where Malayali was launched in November.

 

He had already sold 50,000 bottles of the beer after two months. In the coming days, he will deliver more than 5,000 litres of Malayali beer.

 

According to Nallur, beer was created before they decided on a name. He and his partner, Sargheve Sukumaran, experienced numerous failures during the protracted process of developing the beverage before tasting success.

 

'Making a new brew was never an easy task, and we faced failures on the way. It was on the third try that the ingredients all fell in place,' Nallur recounted.

 

He stated that a Polish restaurant approached them about brewing the craft beer, which gradually gained popularity. He claimed that the smoothness of the beer impressed customers.

 

'The next question before us was a name for the beer. We started looking for unique names that could connect us to where we belong. Without much ado, the name Malayali stuck and we applied for a trademark,' added Nallur.

 

In future, the Kerala native hopes to expand his business to other European countries.

The shortage of eggs in Malaysia was reduced to one million in December last year, Agriculture and Food Security Minister Mohamad Sabu said on Tuesday (Jan 17), following the import of the product from foreign countries. 

 

This is compared to the shortage of 157 million eggs in November and 118 million eggs the month before.

 

Mr Mohamad said that the reduced shortfall was because the government had temporarily allowed the import of chicken eggs from foreign countries to help reduce the shortage faced by the country for the past few months. 

 

'I reported for duty at MAFS (Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security) on Dec 5. After getting a briefing on the latest situation in egg supply, the top management of MAFS and I met several major egg producers to seek the best ways to restore supply.

 

'The data I obtained from the Veterinary Services Department showed a critical shortage of eggs in October and November 2022. Alhamdulillah (Praise be to God), now the supply of chicken and eggs is beginning to recover and will be stable again soon,' he was quoted as saying by Bernama, adding that it was a 'commendable achievement'. 

 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security on Dec 16 said that it allowed the import of chicken eggs from India by air as a trial phase in order to help meet the domestic needs. 

 

Local media previously reported that several states in Malaysia have seen a worrying shortage of eggs in recent months.

 

Bernama reported in December that the supply of chicken eggs in supermarkets and retail stores in five states - namely Perak, Penang, Kelantan, Selangor and Melaka - was seen to be depleting. 

India has contracted to export about 5.6 million tonnes of sugar since the government said late last year that mills could ship up to 6.1 million tonnes of the sweetener by May, government, trade and industry sources said.

 

Dealers have already shipped about 2.5 million tonnes of the total contracted quantity, said the sources, who asked not to be named because they are not authorised to talk to the media.

 

Indian mills have exported almost an equal amount of raw and white sugar, with the raw variety sold between $480 and $510 a tonne free on board (FOB) and white sugar at $485-$540 a tonne FOB, they said.

 

India, the world's biggest producer of sugar and the second biggest exporter, sells the sweetener to countries across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

 

After record exports of more than 11 million tonnes in the previous season to Sept. 30, 2022, the government allowed mills to export only 6.1 million tonnes of the sweetener in the current season.

 

Authorities said they could take a view on the second tranche of sugar exports after getting a clearer idea about local production.

 

The government will assess production next month, the sources said.

 

The Indian Sugar Mills Association said that mills have produced nearly 4% more sugar since the current season started on Oct. 1.

 

Production this season is likely to fall 7% after erratic weather conditions cut cane yields, farmers, millers and traders told Reuters last month.

 

Lower output could curb further exports, potentially pushing up global prices and allowing rivals Brazil and Thailand to increase shipments.

 

Mills are earning at least 20% more by shipping out rather than selling in the domestic market, but lower output could make it difficult for the government to allow additional exports, said one Mumbai-based dealer with a global trade house.

 

'India was in a sweet spot due to attractive global prices, and that's the reason we have nearly hit the 6 million tonne ceiling for sugar exports,' said Rahil Shaikh, managing director of exporter MEIR Commodities India.

Saudi Arabia is open to discussions about trade in currencies other than the US dollar, according to the kingdom’s finance minister.

 

'There are no issues with discussing how we settle our trade arrangements, whether it is in the US dollar, whether it is the euro, whether it is the Saudi riyal,' Mohammed Al-Jadaan told Bloomberg TV on Tuesday in an interview in Davos.

 

'I don’t think we are waving away or ruling out any discussion that will help improve the trade around the world,' Al-Jadaan said.

 

The world’s largest oil exporter, which has maintained a currency peg to the dollar for decades, is seeking to strengthen its relations with crucial trade partners including China. The kingdom is a pillar a petrodollar system established in the 1970s that relies on pricing crude exports in the US currency.

 

During President Xi Jinping’s visit to Riyadh last year, the two countries agreed to boost coordination on energy policy and exploration. During that trip Xi said that China would make efforts to buy more oil from the Middle East and also wanted to settle that trade in the yuan.

 

Read: Xi Visit to Saudi Arabia Brings Pledge of More Oil Trade

 

'We enjoy a very strategic relationship with China and we enjoy that same strategic relationship with other nations including the US and we want to develop that with Europe and other countries who are willing and able to work with us,' Al-Jadaan said.

 

Saudi Arabia is also working with multilateral institutions to provide support to Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt, as part of the kingdom’s largesse to nations it deems 'vulnerable,' Al-Jadaan said.

 

'We are investing heavily in these countries and will continue to look for opportunities to invest,' Al Jadaan said. 'It’s very important to bring stability.'

 

Read: Saudi Arabia to Support Pakistan, Eyes Deals in Egypt and Turkey

 

The minister said his country is looking to invest $10 billion in Pakistan. It already extended the term of a $3 billion deposit to boost its foreign-currency reserves late last year, and Saudi Arabia is now exploring the possibility of increasing the amount.

 

 'We are providing even oil and derivatives to support their energy needs,' Al Jadaan said. 'So there is a lot of efforts, but we wanted this to be conducted.'

 

The kingdom is also discussing with the World Bank and other institutions how can it be 'more creative to provide that support' to Pakistan, the minister said.

 

Saudi Arabia is also 'providing a lot of support to Egypt and we’ll continue to — not directly through just grants and deposits, but also through investments,' Al-Jadaan said.