According to the DGCI&S data, the export of wheat touched an all-time high at $2,118 million in 2021-22, growing 273% from the previous fiscal’s $567 million.

 

 

India’s agricultural exports increased by about 20% to cross $50 billion for the year 2021-22, despite logistical challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of high freight rates, and container shortages, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said.

 

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which works under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, has scripted history by exporting agricultural and processed food products to the tune of $25.6 billion, which is 51% of India’s total agriculture exports of $50 billion, the ministry said.

 

It has also surpassed its own export target of $23.7 billion for the financial year 2021-22 by registering shipments of $25.6 billion.

 

Major exporting destinations were Bangladesh, UAE, Vietnam, USA, Nepal, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iran, and Egypt.

 

'The rise in export of agricultural and processed food products has been largely due to the various initiatives taken by Centre through APEDA such as organising B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns with the active involvement of Indian Embassies,' the ministry said.

 

As per the ministry statement, the government organised more than 300 outreach programmes in collaboration with state governments for enhancing the exports of agricultural produce.

 

'We have also created a products matrix for 50 agricultural products which have good scope for expanding our exports portfolios,' said Dr. M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA.

 

As per the provisional figures released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the agricultural exports have grown by 19.92% during 2021-22 to touch $50.21 billion.

 

The growth rate is over and above the growth of 17.66% at $41.87 billion achieved in 2020-21.

 

The cereal sector in APEDA exports contributes more than 52% share in 2021-22. Livestock products and other processed foods contribute 17 and 15% to APEDA export respectively in 2021-22.

 

According to the DGCI&S data, the export of rice was the top forex earner at $9,654 million during 2021-22, growing 9.35% from the previous year when it was $8,829 million.

 

The export of wheat touched an all-time high at $2,118 million in 2021-22, growing 273% from the previous fiscal’s $567 million, while other cereals registered a growth of 53% by fetching $1,083 million in 2021-22 compared to the previous financial year when it was $705 million.

 

Export of pulses reported a growth of 34% touching $358 million in 2021-22 from $265 million in 2020-21. Dairy products grew by 96% standing at $634 million in 2021-22 from $323 million in 2020-21, while buffalo meat registered a growth of just 4% as export of bovine meat increased from $3,171 million in 2020-21 to $3,303 million in 2021-22.

 

Export of poultry products rose to $71 million in 2021-22 from $58 million in the previous year and sheep/goat meat export was up by 34% to $60 million in 2021-22 from $44 million in the previous year.

 

Fruits and vegetables exports were up by 12% to touch $1,676 million in 2021-22 against $1,492 million in 2020-21, while processed fruits and vegetable exports were up by 7% to reach $1,202 million in 2021-22 against $1,120 million in the previous year.

 

Exports of other processed food items grew by 34% during 2021-22 to touch $1,164 million against $866 million in 2020-21. The cashew exports also grew by 7% to $452 million in 2021-22 from $420 million in the previous year. Floriculture products reported a rise of 33% when they touched $103 million in 2021-22 from $77 million in 2020-21.

The laity on around 47 churches in UK and Europe got the traditional ‘kuruthola’ (tender coconut leaf), which had arrived all the way from Kerala, on the occasion of Palm Sunday.

The leaves were couriered to 40 locations in different countries in EU and UK from the Cochin airport on April 3. 'We have been sending it to the UK and the Gulf for the past 20 years. The numbers have been increasing and this year we sent out more than 20,000 leaves, weighing around 263kg, from our facility at Irinjalakkuda,' said Gopalakrishnan Nair of Geekey International, exporters of vegetables and fruits.

 

This was facilitated through the Agriculture & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under the commerce ministry.

The palm leaf is an important part of the ritual. The distributed palm leaves are preserved till the next year and are burned into ashes on Ash Wednesday to apply on the forehead. 'We hope to reach them with fresh leaves in the coming years too,' Nair said.

 

'This product is processed in the packhouse recognized for export to the EU by APEDA and Directorate of Plant Protection & Quarantine under the agriculture ministry. Since the EU and UK have very strict rules, officials from those countries come and verify the facility themselves to ensure the standards and biosafety,' he added.

Thailand yesterday signed a memorandum of understanding to form deeper trade partnerships through a so-called mini free trade agreement (mini-FTA) with Telangana state in southern India.

 

According to Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit, the deepened partnership covers the mutual exchange of relevant market information and best practices regarding policies and programmes; policy design and capacity building support for business sectors; trade and investment opportunities; industrial cooperation; and the establishment of joint ventures.

 

It also includes business linkages and cluster development to enhance the creativity and innovation of business sectors, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), in Thailand and Telangana. In addition, the mini-FTA will facilitate business programmes such as seminars, symposiums, workshops, business delegations, business meetings, business matchings, trade fairs, and trade missions, along with other relevant cooperative events organised by each participant or jointly organised by both participants.

 

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Each participant's website or digital platform, such as thaitrade.com for Thailand's Commerce Ministry, or the Telangana State GlobalLinker, would also be linked. The core objective of this would be to connect the participants' startups and SMEs to the global community, in order to help their businesses grow beyond local boundaries.

 

In addition, Telangana would provide support to Thai investors to acquire necessary approvals to set up their facilities in the Indian state, whereas Thai entrepreneurs would endeavour to maximise local employment and local procurement for their manufacturing and service industry units and work with Telangana to establish forward and backward linkages.

 

Telangana is situated in India's south-central region. It is the 28th newly formed state, formally established on June 2, 2014, with a total population of about 40 million people and Hyderabad as its capital.

 

Between 2020 and 2021, its gross state domestic product (GSDP) was equivalent to US$132 billion, contributing 5% to India's overall economy. Telangana has become India's sixth largest state in terms of GSDP, with a GSDP growth rate of 2.4% over the past year. Telangana is the economic hub of various business sectors, especially IT and pharmaceutical products, and is also known as "Cyberabad" and "Genome Valley".

 

Mr Jurin said the ministry forecasts that two-way trade between Thailand and India will expand by 4-5 % this year, from 474 billion baht in 2021, which increased by 55.8% from 2020.

 

According to Mr Jurin, apart from Telangana, the Commerce Ministry also plans to pursue similar mini-FTAs with five other Indian states, namely Maharashtra, Karnataka, Kerala, Gujarat and Assam.

 

Thailand has signed mini-FTAs in other countries. Previous deals were one with Kofu city in central Japan and one with China's Hainan province. The ministry is scheduled to sign another mini-FTA with China's Gansu province on April 27.

lgeria’s state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy soft milling wheat for shipment to two ports only, European traders said on Sunday.

 

The tender sought a nominal 50,000 tonnes but the shipment to two ports generally indicates a small purchase is planned, traders said.

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is Tuesday, April 12, with offers having to remain valid until Wednesday, April 13.

The wheat is sought for shipment in several periods from the main supply regions including Europe: May 1-10, May 11-20, May 21-31, June 1-10, June 11-20 and June 21-30.

 

If sourced from South America or Australia, shipment is one month earlier. The wheat should be unloaded in the two ports of Mostaganem and/or Tenes.

 

Algeria is a vital customer for wheat from the European Union, especially France.

Source: Reuters (Reporting by Michael Hogan)

Andhra Pradesh is expected to produce more bananas in the coming days as National Horticulture Board (NHB) has selected three districts, Anantapr, Kurnool and Kadapa of Rayalaseema region in the state, for the implementation of pilot project of Cluster Development Programme (CDP).

 

The ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare has identified 53 horticulture crop clusters in the country.

 

The project expects export of more than 75,000 MTs of banana from Anantapur cluster. Necessary steps have been taken at filed level for production of quality bananas and enhancing export infrastructure facilities in banana clusters.

 

NHB has approved additional funds for the project costing Rs. 269.95 crore as suggested by Andhra Pradesh. Of this, pre-production and production would get 116.5 crore, post-harvest management and value addition 74.75 crore, and logistics, marketing and branding 78.7 crore.

 

As the first instalment, the NHB will be providing 100 crore funding as its share of 40 per cent. Sixty per cent will be invested by the private implementing agencies. Recently, additional secretary, ministry of agriculture and farmers welfare, Dr Abhilaksh Likhi, along with commissioner of horticulture, SS Sreedhar,visited the banana cluster in Anantapur district and interacted with farmers.

They said the CDP will leverage the geographic specialisation of horticulture clusters to promote integrated and market-led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding and marketing activities for making them globally competitive.

 

Apart from the support, the NHB is also making efforts to rope in some of the top corporate firms to collaborate with the local farmers to enhance the productivity, quality, post-harvest treatment, packing, market linkage and higher prices with a regular increase in income.

 

A total of 46,967 hectares (Kurnool 4670 ha, Kadapa 26,449 ha and Anantapur 15,848 ha) are under banana cultivation in the three districts. The CDP would focus on 17,000 hectares.

Most of the banana farmers grow karpura chakkerakeli, tella chakkerakeli, budida chakkerakeli, amruthapani, red-banana, sugandhalu (karpura), karpuravali (budida arti) and rasthalu varieties in the state.

On Friday, Additional Secretary of the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Abhilaksh Likhi visited the Banana Cluster at Karnapudiki village in Anantapur district. He said that the Ministry has identified 53 horticulture crop clusters in the country for the development of specific crops under the Cluster Development Programme in a comprehensive manner.

 

The main objective of the programme is to leverage the geographic specialisation of horticulture clusters for promoting integrated and market-led development of pre-production, production, post-harvest, logistics, branding and marketing activities, besides laying emphasis on holistic growth and development of horticulture clusters for making them globally competitive.

 

Initially, the programme has been rolled out on a pilot basis in 12 clusters in 11 States in the country. In Andhra Pradesh, Anantapur, Kadapa and Kurnool districts have been selected for the launch of Banana Crop clusters on a pilot basis. The project is expected to export more than 75,000 tons of bananas a year from Anantapur Cluster.

Ananthapur Banana Cluster and Horticulture Cluster Development Programme reviewed

 

Banana Cluster in Ananthapur will benefit about 14,000 banana farmers and related stakeholders of the value chain and will handle approximately 7.5 Lakhs MT of banana.

 

Dr. Abhilaksh Likhi, IAS, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India, visited the Karnapudiki Village of Narpala Mandal in Ananthapur District to review the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (HCDP) of National Horticulture Board. Ananthapur for Banana has been selected as a pilot cluster under HCDP. During the visit, Dr. Likhi interacted with the stakeholders of the banana value chain from the cluster. While interacting with the banana growers he highlighted that the programme addresses the challenges of entire value chain, including pre-production, production, post-harvest management, logistics, marketing and branding.

 

The HCDP is designed to leverage geographical specialisation and promote integrated and market-led development of horticulture clusters. He explained to banana growers the importance of Good Agricultural Practices resulting in getting quality produce which would eventually translate into higher remuneration. He urged block-level horticulture officers to take a workshop with farmers on Cluster Development Programme and make them understand the programme’s aspects and objectives.

 

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare has identified 55 horticulture clusters, of which 12 have been selected for the pilot launch of the programme.The clusters of the pilot phase include Shopian (J&K) and Kinnaur (H.P.) for Apple, Lucknow (U.P.), Kutch (Gujarat) and Mahbubnagar (Telangana) for Mango, Anantpur (A.P.) and Theni (T.N.) for Banana, Nasik (Maharashtra) for Grapes, Siphahijala (Tripura) for Pineapple, Solapur (Maharashtra) and Chitradurga (Karnataka) for Pomegranate and West Jaintia Hills (Meghalaya) for Turmeric.

 

Talking about the reach and impact of the programme, Dr. Likhi said, “Banana Cluster in Ananthapur will benefit about 14,000 banana farmers and related stakeholders of the value chain and will handle approximately 7.5 Lakhs MT of banana. With this programme, we aim to improve exports of the targeted crops by 20-25% and create cluster-specific brands to enhance the competitiveness of cluster crops”.

 

Dr. Likhi reviewed the overall progress of the programme during interaction with the officers from Andhra Pradesh Horticulture Development Agency, which is appointed as Cluster Development Agency to implement the programme in the cluster. He requested involved officers to ensure that the programme gets implemented in a timely manner and a periodic meeting should take place to review the ongoing activities under the programme. During the visit, Dr. Likhi was accompanied by Commissioner Horticulture, Andhra Pradesh; Director Horticulture, Andhra Pradesh; Director, Horticulture Development Agency, and other officers from the Department of horticulture, Andhra Pradesh.

Sources said in response to a clarification from Egypt, India has said the wheat Ergot plant disease has not been reported anywhere in the country.

 

An official delegation from Egypt, one of the biggest importers of wheat, will be visiting India from Monday to explore possibilities of sourcing grain from India to meet domestic demand.

 

Officials from agriculture quarantine and pest risk analysis of Egypt, which imported 6.1 million tonne (mt) of wheat in 2021, will visit processing units, port facilities and farms in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab during their five-day visit.

 

Sources told FE that Egypt, which had imported around 81% of its wheat imports estimated to be close to $2 billion from Russia and Ukraine in 2021, has communicated to Indian authorities it would like to procure a significant amount of wheat from India. India is not on the list of accredited countries which can export wheat to Egypt.

 

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA) has communicated to India’s wheat exporters to register with Egypt’s public procurement agency, the General Authority of Supplies and Commodities, which manages wheat and sugar imports to the north African country.

 

Sources said in response to a clarification from Egypt, India has said the wheat Ergot plant disease has not been reported anywhere in the country.

 

The Egyptian delegation’s visit to India will follow trade talks and meetings with various wheat-importing countries that are exploring possibilities of sourcing the grain from alternate sources as supplies have been disrupted because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict. India is aiming to export a record 10 million tonne of wheat in 2022-23 amid rising global demand.

 

“We will be taking a trade delegation to Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon for exploring possibilities of boosting wheat exports from India,” M Angamuthu, chairman, APEDA said.

 

Meanwhile, the Andhra Pradesh Maritime Board, which operates Kakinada anchorage port, mostly used for rice exports, has communicated that the facility could be used for wheat exports as well. Currently, a bulk of India’s wheat exports are sourced from Madhya Pradesh because of its proximity to the Kandla and Mundra ports.

 

According to estimates by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade, India has exported a record 7 mt of wheat in 2021-22, which is valued at $2.05 billion. Around 50% of the wheat was exported to Bangladesh in the last fiscal.

 

India has been the world’s largest rice exporter in the last decade with export earnings that stood at a record $9.6 billion in 2021-22. But the country had been a relatively marginal player in global wheat trade until 2020-21.

 

APEDA, which functions under the commerce ministry, has set up a task force on wheat exports with representatives from various ministries, including commerce, shipping and railways, and exporters.

 

The current wheat stocks with the Food Corporation of India are roughly three times the buffer norm, and the ongoing rabi procurement will buttress the stocks. FCI has more than 23 mt of wheat stocks against a buffer norm of 7 mt on April 1.

 

Government agencies are likely to procure around 33 mt of wheat from farmers during the procurement season (April-June) for the 2022-23 marketing session against a target of 44 mt because of the possibility of surge in exports.

Shri Piyush Goyal invites Australian businesses to Make in India and calls for more engagements between each other’s Startups

 

Proximity between Western Australia and India provides an opportunity for much deeper economic engagement: Shri Goyal

 

India and Australia, being strategic partners, will work together in the QUAD and the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI) to maintain the Indo-Pacific area as a region of peace, prosperity, stability, tranquility and growth: Shri Goyal

 

Shri Goyal calls for deepening engagements with Australia in the space sector and sustainability

 

Cricket brought the people of the two nations closer and unless people came together, businesses cannot prosper: Shri Goyal

 

 

Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal has invited Australian businesses to Make in India and said that the Startups from both nations must engage with each other. He underscored that Australia has fantastic innovations and research and new ideas and India has the talent pool to take these to the world. 

 

Expressing the hope that Investments will flow into India from Australia at a faster pace, he said that Western Australia can be at the forefront of the expanding relationship between the two nations.

 

'The proximity between the region and India provides an opportunity for much deeper economic engagement,' said Shri Goyal, addressing the gathering at the Business Luncheon hosted by Deputy Premier Roger Cook in Perth, today

 

Speaking of India’s bid to build strategic partnerships, the Minister said that India has become a part of QUAD and the Supply Chain Resilience Initiative (SCRI). Referring to the disturbances that afflicted some parts of the world, Shri Goyal asserted that two strong democracies, two friends working together for shared prosperity, trusting each other, believing in each other would send a strong message of unity, a message of ‘ekta’ to the world. 

 

'Together we will make our geopolitical presence stronger and work to maintain the Indo-Pacific area as a region of peace, prosperity, stability, tranquility and growth,' he said.

 

Shri Goyal said that that the India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA) will take relationships between the nations to greater heights and added that the spirit of cooperation and friendship with which the negotiations happened was truly remarkable.

 

Outlining areas of focus under the agreement such as education, research, innovation, technology, manufacturing etc, the Minister called for deepening engagements in areas such as the space sector and sustainability.

 

Commenting that despite challenging times, the relations with two nations were only getting better and better, he expressed his gratitude to Australians for the love and care they bestowed on every Person of Indian Origin who had made Australia their home.  This truly defined the brotherhood between the two nations, he said.

 

Speaking of the fruitful engagements he had during his tour, the Minister quoted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that ‘this EKTA (ECTA) is a watershed moment for our bilateral relations and our economies have great potentials to meet each other’s needs’. He opined that the Prime Minister’s vision clearly reflected the complementarity between our two economies.

 

The Minister termed the agreement as an important milestone which will contribute to development of many multi-sectoral relationships. 'This is but one step in a long journey and I hope that this journey will not be just a trot but a marathon,' he said.

 

Stating that the Ind-Aus ECTA is a very balanced and fair, equitable agreement that provided opportunities for all, Shri Goyal said that with ECTA, it is possible to take bilateral trade between the two nations to USD 100 billion by 2030. The Minister emphasized that India has a large aspiring population looking for a better quality of life and hoping to experience the prosperity that a large part of the world enjoys. This is an opportunity knocking at the doors of Australia, he said.

 

'We must continue working together, all the while respecting each other’s sensitivities, positions in terms of levels of prosperity, market size etc,' he said.

 

Speaking of the initial bilateral trade target of USD 45 billion set under the agreement, Shri Goyal said that after engaging with the businesses and the community of Australia during the visit and getting a sense of the immense opportunities for economic cooperation, he is confident of achieving the enhanced target. 

 

Shri Goyal stressed that this relationship comes very naturally to Indians and Australians who have always been natural partners. He reminded that at one point in time, the two nations were geographically contiguous.  Both India and Australia are members of the Commonwealth, vibrant democracies who are committed to the rule of law, transparent governments, he said. He also quipped about the shared love for cricket which brought the two nations closer together.

 

Shri Goyal said that Indian and Australian economies hardly compete with each other and added that the two economies complemented each other beautifully. Citing a few examples of this complementarity, the Minister said that Australian sheep wool woven to fabric or apparel in India, will make an excellent offering to the world and that Australia can benefit from the immense talent and skills of the Indian population, especially the youth. Observing that Australia has been a provider of raw materials and intermediate products to large parts of the world, the Minister said that India could convert these to finished products using its vast, skilled labor force and serve the world.

 

Later, delivering the Keynote address at the Tourism event in Perth, Shri Goyal said that education should be one of the key focus areas in the partnership between India and Australia. He called for further mutual recognition of each other’s education systems, efforts to take technology to students on both sides of the ocean and exploring ways to have dual degrees.

 

The Minister also said that the ECTA has received huge traction and support among the people and media in both nations. Referring to Australia’s competitive advantage in rare earth minerals, the Minister said that this will be absolutely crucial in the times to come because they can help technology flourish and create millions of jobs, particularly in a country like India with a vast, young skilled population aspiring for a better future.

 

Referring to WACA ground as the Mecca of cricket, the Minister said that though India and Australia competed fiercely in cricket but the love for the game in fact brought the two nations together. He observed that cricket brought the people of the two nations closer and unless people came together, businesses cannot prosper. At one level, leaders are committed to the relationship. But the subtext is that people work together, trust each other and enjoy the friendship that comes with the union, he said. 

India's exports grew by 37.57 per cent to USD 9.32 billion during April 1-7, according to preliminary data of the commerce ministry . Exports excluding petroleum  increased by 24.32 per cent. 

 

Imports during the period rose by 8.29 per cent to USD 10.54 billion, the data showed.

 

India's merchandise exports soared to a record high of USD 418 billion in the 2021-22 fiscal on higher shipments of petroleum products, engineering goods, gem and jewellery and chemicals.