India is looking to boost its egg and poultry exports in the wake of the war in Ukraine which has wrecked that country’s exports of the produce. New Delhi plans to quickly establish exports to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia, among Ukraine’s largest markets for the products.

 

While it hasn’t featured in the list of major egg-producing nations in Europe, Ukraine was considered to be the poultry source for large parts of Central and Eastern Europe till a decade ago. Ukrainian company Avangardco remains the continent’s biggest egg producer, producing both shelled eggs and egg products.

 

Much of India’s push to capture Ukraine’s international markets revolves around boosting sales of Indian poultry meat and eggs in the UAE. The Emirates accounted for almost 40 percent of Ukraine’s egg exports, according to the Ukraine State Statistical Service.

 

In December 2021, the UAE lifted a five-year-old ban on the import of eggs and other poultry products from India. The move followed an assurance by New Delhi that it would follow biosafety norms set by the World Organisation for Animal Health to prevent infection from bird flu. This change in policy allowed India to export table eggs, hatching eggs and day-old chicks to the country.

 

'The largest shipments of bird eggs from India flow to Oman and Maldives, followed by Indonesia, Vietnam, Russia, Japan and Vietnam. Overall, the Middle East is the largest market for eggs. However, despite being the largest buyer in the region, the UAE has historically bought only a fraction of all Indian poultry products that flowed into the region. We want to change that,' a commerce department official said.

 

Ukraine’s poultry industry had been taking major hits even before the Russian invasion began in late February. In 2021, Ukraine’s egg production plummeted by 25 percent (3 billion eggs) compared to 2020, according to the Ukraine Association of Poultry Producers, media reports from that country had earlier reported.

 

Ukraine’s poultry stock dropped by 11 million head during the past two years, while broiler meat production decreased by 40,000 tonnes, the reports said. Most of this was blamed on unprecedentedly high electricity, natural gas and feedstuff prices in the aftermath of successive waves of the Covid pandemic.

 

However, long-term contracts and industry linkages meant that Ukrainian companies continued to monopolise supplies to the UAE and other markets right up to the beginning of the war.

 

Hopes of poultry boost

 

In India, egg production had been growing at a rate of 8 percent annually according to government estimates. Tamil Nadu is the biggest egg exporter state in India accounting for more than half of all such shipments. It is followed by Maharashtra and Kerala. The combined share of these top three states in egg exports is a huge 95 percent.

 

Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh are also witnessing fast growth in the poultry sector. The segment still has major room for growth given that eggs only constituted the 629th most exported item from the country.

 

'India’s push to sell poultry products abroad came after the government saw the massive export opportunities in the agri space, just waiting to be exploited. Poultry meanwhile has been increasingly favoured by farmers as a source of added income in parts of the country,' said a senior official from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

 

Export of poultry products stood at $71 million in FY22, up 21 percent from $51.7 million in FY21, he said.

 

Overall exports of agricultural products (including that of marine and plantation products) for 2021-22 crossed $50 billion, the highest level ever achieved. According to the provisional figures released by the government, agri exports grew by 19.9 percent during 2021-22 to touch $50.2 billion, up from $41.87 billion. This was higher than the growth of 17.6 percent achieved in 2020-21.

Export prices of rice in India dipped this week as supplies increased following the extension of a government scheme to provide subsidised grains, while rates in Vietnam and Thailand were mostly flat amid softer demand and rising output.

 

Top exporter India's 5% broken parboiled variety was quoted at $365-$369 per tonne this week, down from last week's $367-$370.

 

'In the open market supplies have improved as government has started distributing free rice and wheat to poor people. Local prices are coming under pressure,' said an exporter based in Kakinada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh.

 

Thailand's 5% broken rice prices were quoted at $408-$412 per tonne, not far from last week's $408-$410.

 

Traders said there has been a slight increase in demand but not enough to impact prices as shipping and logistic costs have declined slightly, 'maybe due to stabilization after initial shock from the war in Europe.'

 

More rice from recent harvests is also entering the market, traders added.

 

There is also a steady demand for animal feed in the international and domestic market, a rice trader said.

 

Vietnam's 5% broken rice were offered at $400-$415 per tonne on Thursday, unchanged from a week ago.

 

'Supplies are building up, but export activity is quiet as the shipping cost is very high,' a trader based in Ho Chi Minh City said.

 

Farmers in the Mekong Delta have harvested around 75% of the winter-spring crop, the largest harvest of the year, traders said.

 

Vietnam exported 1.5 million tonnes of rice valued at $731 million in the first quarter this year, up 26.3% in terms of volume and up 12.9% in terms of value year on year, government data showed on Thursday.

 

Meanwhile, domestic rice prices in Bangladesh stay elevated despite good crops, while the government offered subsidised grain to poor people.

As of now, there is no proposal for recommending Whistling Village (Kongthong) in the East Khasi Hills of Meghalaya as a Geographical Indication.

 

As on 4th April, 2022, the Office of Geographical Indications Registry has registered thirty-five (35) Geographical Indications Applications from North Eastern Region of India. The list in enclosed as Annexure – A.

 

Two (02) Geographical Applications, i.e., Memong Narang and Khasi Mandarin have been registered from State of Meghalaya.  

 

No such proposal is under consideration as of now.

After two years of low export volumes, mango traders are hopeful of a good year, with some hoping that the export volume this year will cross even the average 50,000-ton export. A bumper crop in many parts of the country as well as demand from overseas markets are expected to give some momentum to exports.

 

Kesar, Baiganpalli and Alphonso are among the most popular varieties of mangoes exported from the country.

 

Sunil Pawar, managing director of Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), said they have given the green signal to exporters to start their operations.

 

The arrival of a phytosanitary inspector from the US, at the Vashi irradiation facility in Navi Mumbai, was a major boost for exporters.

 

Mangoes headed to the USA have to be irradiated before they are exported. For countries like Japan and those in Europe, hot water treatment and vapour heat treatment are prescribed. MSAMB officials have earmarked 50 ton of exports from the Vapour Heat Treatment facility for Japan and South Korea each, and 200 ton for European Union countries.

 

This year, a total of 18,677 mango farms have registered with the MangoNet trace-ability system of the Agricultural Products Exports Development Authority (APEDA). The largest number of registrations are from Karnataka (8,768), followed by Maharashtra (4,269) and other states.

 

The last two years have been exceptionally bad for the export sector due to Covid-19 and global supply chain constrains. The absence of an inspector, who could not travel to India due to the pandemic, had halted access to the US export market.

 

For the financial year 2020-21, India had exported 27,187.53 tonnes of mangoes, a sharp drop from the 49,658.97 ton exported in 2019-20.

 

While some mango growers in Maharashtra and Karnataka are expecting a bumper harvest this year, late flowering in some regions may lead to a gap in arrivals. Currently, in domestic markets, Alphonso mangoes from Konkan coast are trading between Rs 800-1,200/dozen. Arrivals in the major markets of Pune and Mumbai, however, have been steady.

The food industry is facing a digital transformation. Going forward, it will be necessary to digitise processes and procedures for food safety in such a way that they can be audited and monitored online., here is a description of the processes that food manufacturers should go through to reach that point.

 

The signs are clear: digital food safety can no longer be put on the back burner. Initiatives such as 'New Era of Smarter Food Safety'by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and 'Race to the Top'by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) make it unmistakably clear that the topic of digital track & trace in the food industry is gaining importance. Full traceability is already a prerequisite for certain products to access some Asian markets. China, for example, requires product types to be fully traceable before it will permit it to be sold in its domestic market. Countries like Australia are also very proactive in promoting relevant food safety initiatives.

 

In addition, manufacturers are also increasingly being confronted by the big players in the food retail sector imposing stricter requirements for farm-to-fork traceability, which must be embedded in digital supply chain management.

 

In response, food manufacturers must begin focussing on data collection, which is the essential starting point for any project that seeks to improve food safety through greater traceability. The great news is this can also aid other digitalisation initiatives that the manufacturer may be working on. For example, the collection, analysis and digital availability of food safety data can also help to optimise the efficiency of production processes.

 

This is just the start though. Digital food safety is a process in itself, and here are the key steps to take:

 

Step 1: Conduct an audit of data being collected and current food safety processes

 

The efficient collection of data is a basic requirement so that it can then be made available across the entire supply chain, in an accessible, i.e. digital, form. Therefore, a comprehensive audit must be carried out to determine the current data status. Many of the required food safety data and processes should already be available in the company and should be well documented, as they should already have been determined in the context of food safety certifications. For example,  production line critical control points ought to have been  identified  through earlier HACCP certification and appropriate inspection systems should already be installed there.

 

Nevertheless, the audit usually proves to be a challenging task. A look into practice today reveals a highly fragmented picture of how audit data relevant to food safety is recorded, collected and stored in the process flows of manufacturers. It is common to find that this data is already highly networked in part, but it is also  often still gathered using tools such as USB sticks, or manually with pen and paper. From a technological point of view, the complexity is demanding, as the systems on the shop floor are of different ages and use a wide variety of protocols, network infrastructures and management processes. Older software solutions and devices in particular were originally not designed for open IoT / Industry 4.0 communication, as is standard today for new investments.

 

Manufacturers are therefore faced with the challenge of migrating a colourful hodgepodge of hardware and software into a unified digital food safety program. This is no walk in the park, but it is a manageable task. Global standards and communication protocols, uniform ID coding and standardised transformation events meanwhile significantly reduce the level of complexity. Examples are OPC U / A, GS1 Digital Link and EPCIS 2.0.

 

It cannot be stressed enough how important it is to approach the assessment of the current situation with great care and attention to detail. The more carefully the homework is done in the management of information, the more it pays off in the medium and long term, both for a smooth and cost-efficient migration to digital food safety, and as an enabler for further digitisation initiatives.

 

Step 2: Develop your digitalisation strategy

 

The  key strategic questions are, which specific applications need to be mapped, and what are the company's long-term digitisation goals? Are we seeking merely regulatory and market compliance with minimal effort, should the now digitally-available data also be used to optimise the production processes, or should we be aiming for a profound and sustainable digital transformation of the company with a view to IoT and Industry 4.0? Each of these scenarios requires a different plan, schedule, and capital cost. Each scenario has a different outcome.

 

Data exchange is central  to digital track & trace, enabling the identification of the whereabouts of specific batches at a specific point in time  in a matter of seconds. The task is to analyse the data pool, to convert analogue processes into digital ones and to find a suitable cloud data management solution.

 

In this phase of strategic development, it is advisable to talk to suppliers and manufacturers of the systems installed on the shop floor at an early stage. Many companies - as we often find out in our conversations - are surprised at what they are already capable of doing in terms of data acquisition and provision. The digitisation of food safety does not mean a complete system replacement as a rule. A simple device upgrade or the purchase of a software option are often sufficient. When selecting a suitable cloud data management provider, it is important to ensure that it is very familiar with the food safety landscape, that it uses open global standards and fully supports the use of the data provided in any web-based application.

 

Step 3: Secure and build up expertise

 

All internal and external stakeholders relevant to digital food safety who participate in the process must be identified. It is important to determine which knowledge and know-how is available and where it is available in the company for food safety digitalisation. In addition to your own company, a corresponding assessment and evaluation must also be carried out for all partners in the network who are involved in the applications and are supposed to access them. Talking to the stakeholders in the value chain is an important part of the process. Based on this, an overview of the existing expertise and the knowledge gaps that have yet to be closed must be created. Guidelines for data sharing must be formulated and it should be specified who should have access to specific data and information, and in which phases of the product life-cycle they require it.

 

Step 4: Institutionalise change management

 

The digitisation of food safety is a process that entails organisational changes in work practices and affects the interests of a wide variety of departments in the company - from purchasing to production to marketing. The cultural change associated with this transformation process must be managed proactively and carefully. Employees have to understand and accept that the higher level of data transparency required also includes those involved outside of their own company. Leadership quality and demonstrated commitment to the project are required here in order to drive the changes forward. It is advisable to put together a multi-stakeholder group that works out the common advantages of digitisation, but also formulates common reservations and concerns. Senior executive sponsorship and a continuous exchange of information with the management teams on the progress of the transformation programs are essential to keep the change process on track and under control. A road-map with manageable, incremental and intermediate goals must be formulated; Applications are to be identified in which the company can benefit most quickly and easily from digitisation.

 

Summary

 

By taking a more strategic approach to adopting digital food safety and planning the digital transformation of the supply chain, food manufacturers are well positioned to make the transition inexpensively, with minimal business disruption, and when it is necessary or desirable. Many companies will find - perhaps to their surprise - that they are already in a good starting position to initiate the transformation process. The technology may seem complex, but it is relatively easy to use.

 

Digital identity

 

How do physical products get their digital identity in the cloud?

 

The digital identity in the product cloud is a unique web identity and mini data storage device that is linked to the product and enables product-related data to be collected, organised and shared with applications. A QR code or an NFC / RFID tag, for example, can serve as a digital identifier on a  physical product. For this purpose, existing serialisation functions, for example, can be used at the item or batch level. These can convert an existing serialisation identity into a digital identity in the cloud. If the manufacturing line does not yet have a serialisation function, it can be supplemented with a print function or with a pre-printed serialised label. This physical identifier is then linked to the digital identity in the cloud, usually using an inline scan process. This means that every product that comes off the production line receives a 'take-away digital identity'in the Product Cloud. From this point on, applications that want to work with data from and about this product can interact with its digital identity online via web APIs. This makes it much easier to track products over their entire life cycle, for example. However, digital identity not only provides more and deeper insights into the supply chain, it can also support a number of operational applications. In this way, a product can be located more easily and quickly in the event of a recall, and consumers, in turn, can interact directly with the digital web identity of the product (e. g. checking its authenticity, proof of origin and tracking, Interaction with e-commerce applications etc.).

An importer group in the Philippines is believed to have bought around 55,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat expected to be sourced from India in an international tender which closed on Wednesday, European traders said on Thursday.

 

Traders estimated the purchase was made about $365 to $370 a tonne c&f for shipment in August.

 

Large volumes of low-cost Indian wheat are currently being offered in Asian markets, traders said. Offers of Australian wheat in the tender were considerably higher at around $400 a tonne c&f, they said.

 

The tender had sought between 50,000 to 55,000 tonnes of wheat for shipment in each month between July to December, but traders had not expected every shipment position to be purchased.

India’s exports of agricultural products, including marine and plantation products, for 2021-22 hit a record at $50 billion. That was up 20% on year.

 

As per the provisional figures released by DGCIS on Wednesday, the export growth has been achieved mostly because of a surge in shipments of rice, marine products, sugar, buffalo meat, raw cotton and wheat.

 

'This growth in agricultural products exports has been achieved in spite of unprecedented logistical challenges in the form of high freight rates, container shortages etc,' according to a statement by the ministry of commerce.

 

It stated that growth in agri-exports will go a long way in realising the Prime Minister’s vision of improving farmers’ income.

 

Highest ever exports have been achieved for items like rice ($9.65 billion), wheat ($2.19 billion), sugar ($4.6 billion) and other cereals ($1.08 billion). Wheat shipment has recorded a spike of more than 273% to $2.1 billion in 2021-22 in comparison to previous year.

 

The commerce ministry statement noted that increase in agri-exports of these products has benefitted farmers in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra etc.

 

'India has captured nearly 50% of the world market for rice,' it stated.

 

Export of marine products, at $7.71 billion last fiscal has benefitted farmers in the coastal states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra and Gujarat.

 

Spices exports touched $4 billion for the second year in a row. The statement noted that despite facing tremendous supply side issues, coffee exports have crossed $1 billion for the first time, which has improved realisations for coffee growers in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

 

According to an official statement, the surge in agri exports has been achieved because of sustained efforts on the part of the Department of Commerce and its various export promotion agencies like APEDA, MPEDA and various commodity boards.

 

'The Department has made special efforts to engage state governments and district administrations in promoting agriculture exports,' it stated.

 

The agricultural products have been exported from clusters like Varanasi (fresh vegetables, mangoes), Ananthpur (banana), Nagpur (orange), Lucknow (mango), Theni (banana), Solapur (pomegranate), Krishna & Chittoor (mango) etc.

 

Initiatives like ‘Happy Banana’ train, an exclusive train with reefer containers to transport bananas from Anantapur, Andhra Pradesh to JNPT, Mumbai have been taken to boost exports from unconventional areas.

A year after the introduction of the One District One Product (ODOP) scheme, the centuries-old traditional cottage food and processing industry of achaar and murabba has received a push. Envisaged by the Union Ministry of Food Processing and Industries, the scheme supports the existing individual micro units with capital investment, common infrastructure, marketing and branding. The scheme would help provide common facilities and other support services.

 

Jyoti Saroop, general secretary of the Achaar Murabba Association, said the scheme was envisaged to double the strength of achaar and murabba processors from the present 40 in the district, which has an annual turnover of around Rs 100 crore. A subsidy on raising infrastructure is being extended to processors. Besides, a Common Facilitation Centre for installing a common processing facility is being raised. Punjab Agro Industries Corporation (PAIC) has been made State Nodal Agency and it has bought land for the project at the Verka bypass.

 

UNATI Cooperative Marketing-cum-Processing Society Ltd and PAIC have made a joint venture in the name of Punjab Agro UNATI Gramin Marketing Private Ltd (PUGMARK) and a common brand of the name of AASNAA has been made. All manufacturers will sell their products under this brand and they will be trained for capacity building in terms of improving the quality of their products.

 

The ministry is providing financial supporting and has sanctioned Rs 4 crore for common marketing and branding. A network of around 4,000 retailers spread across five states has been created under the PUGMARK. These products will be available online.

 

Rakesh Thukral, a prominent manufacturer, said the traditional cottage industry received a roadmap for future growth. Though the exporters based in Mumbai, Delhi and Panipat are exporting these locally produced products, it has a plan to directly export indigenous products to those countries where Indians in general and Punjabi in particular are residing in a large number.

Principal Secretary, Agriculture & Horticulture, Navin Choudhary Wednesday chaired the 61st Board of Directors Meeting (BoDs) of Jammu & Kashmir Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (JKHPMC) Ltd.

 

The meeting was attended by representatives of Horticulture & Agriculture Departments, SKUAST-K/J, National Horticulture Board (NHB), Small Farmers, Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC), Finance & Planning Departments of J&K Govt.

 

Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary said that the Corporation is on course to become profit making and self sustainable soon as it has embarked on a slew of new initiatives and establishment of post-harvest infrastructure projects in the UT of J&K.

 

Managing Director, JKHPMC, Shafat Sultan gave a detailed presentation and progress report on the various projects undertaken by the Corporation viz CA Stores, Pack Houses, Common Incubation Centers (CICs), Developing district Shopian as Apple Cluster under the Cluster Development Programme (CDP) of the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, GoI etc.

 

The Board approved the CAPEX Budget proposals of the Corporation for the FY 2022-23 to the tune of Rs 11 crore, which envisages establishment of a  2500 MT CA Store in Doabgah, Sopore with NABARD/AIF funding and construction of two Fruit & Vegetable Aggregation and Processing Centers one each in Kashmir & Jammu regions of the UT.

 

Principal Secretary remarked that the implementation of the cluster development programme in Shopian in order to make the district’s apple globally competitive would be a game changer for the connected stakeholders.

 

Navin Choudhary also directed the Corporation management to speed up the process of completing the audit for the remaining period as per the time lines shared by JKHPMC with the, “Committee on Papers laid on the Table of Rajya Sabha” in Feb, 2022.

 

The Board advised the Corporation management to complete the post-harvest infrastructure projects under execution like Cold Room and Pack House in Narwal Jammu, Food Cluster in Doabgah, Sopore, CA Stores in Behrampora, Baramulla & Rambirpora, Anantnag Common Incubation Centresat Doabgah-Sopore, Achabal-Anantnag and Narwal-Jammu during the FY 2022-23.

 

Regarding the unfinished works of the APEDA sponsored Chowdrigund, Shopian Apple Pack House project, Principal Secretary asked the MD, JKHPMC to speed up the efforts to complete the project by end of Sep, 2022.

 

The Board also advised the Corporation management to outsource its Apple Juice Plant (AJP), Card Board Unit, CICs and other infrastructure in the pipeline, so as to make the Corporation profit making and self-sustainable in the near future.

India’s imports from Russia rose to $8.69 billion in the first 11 months of 2021-22, which is 58% higher than the total imports of $5.48 billion recorded in the full financial year 2020-21, the government told Parliament on Wednesday.

 

India’s exports to Russia rose to $3.18 billion in April–February period of 2021-22 from $2.65 billion recorded in the full year 2020-21, minister of state for commerce and industry Anupriya Patel said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

 

India’s trade with Ukraine has also increased to $3.09 billion in the first 11 months of 2021-22 from $2.59 billion in 2020-21.

 

'The effect of the war on exports/imports from Russia and Ukraine can be assessed only after the situation stabilises,' Patel said.

 

Neighbouring nations trade

 

The government has bilateral institutional mechanism with several countries including its neighboring countries, except with Pakistan, under which discussions on trade, investment and economic issues are held at mutual convenience.

 

'Yes sir. Department of Commerce has bilateral institutional mechanism with several countries including its neighboring countries, except with Pakistan,' Patel replied to a question on whether India is discussing some fresh trade investments and economic issues individually with each of its neighboring countries- China, Bhutan, Nepal, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.

 

Various such bilateral meetings have been held in last four years, in which the trade, investment and economic issues of mutual interest such as strengthening of border trade infrastructure, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, cooperation in customs, facilitation of trade through railways, land and sea ports, harmonization of standards, etc have been discussed from time to time.

 

Patel said that resolution of these issues and implementation of various projects and programs of mutual interests has yielded positive outcomes which is reflected in India’s increasing total trade with these countries- from $112.15 billion in the year 2017-18 to $135.77 billion in April 2021-Feb 2022.

 

Startups

As of March 28, 2022, the number of recognized startups are 66,810 in FY22

from 726 in FY17. There is at least one recognized startup from every state and UT and nearly 50% of the recognized startups are from Tier-II and III cities. Recognized startups are spread across over 640 districts and have reported creation of more than 7 lakh jobs.

 

More than 4,500 Startups have been recognized in sectors relating to emerging technologies such as Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, artificial intelligence, analytics, Lok Sabha was told.

 

Apple imports

 

The government told Parliament that no abnormal imports of apples from Afghanistan have been noticed during the current year, with only 1947.19 tons, valued at $1.82 million, having been imported during the period April 2021 to January 2022.

 

Duty free imports of apple are allowed from Afghanistan under the South Asia Free Trade Area agreement, subject to adherence to prescribed Rules of Origin.

 

Replying to the question if Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and union territory of Kashmir had brought the matter to the union government’s notice, Patel said: 'A number of representations were received in this regard'.

 

The matter was brought to the notice of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs for strict compliance to RoOs with respect to apple imports from Afghanistan.