A two-day virtual Kisan Mela, themed 'Soil, air and water conservation; practice this for future generations', kicked off at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) on Thursday.

 

As per the custom, chief minister of the state inaugurates the Kisan Mela but this time DK Tiwari, vice-chancellor, PAU, and additional chief secretary, Punjab, inaugurated the mela.

 

Tiwari said, 'About 60 percent of the population of Punjab is engaged in agriculture. Punjab is passing through critical times in view of shrinking land holdings due to family partition and dwindling farm income.'

 

He urged the farmers to go for crop diversification and allied agri-enterprises such as animal husbandry, fish farming, bee-keeping and value addition for sustaining their income as well as livelihood.

 

Tiwari lauded the young agriculturists, who were going for agri-startups by constituting farmers producers organizations (FPOs), leading to better fiscal returns.

 

Stressing on making Punjab as the seed hub of the country, he called upon PAU and the farmers to work collectively in this direction and supply quality seed outside the state.

 

Inderjeet Singh, vice-chancellor, Guru Angad Dev Veterinary and Animal Sciences University (GADVASU), said farmers have garnered economic benefits by diversifying the animal husbandry (dairy, poultry, piggery and fishery), adding that in comparison to the other states, the productivity of Murrah and Nili Ravi buffaloes was quite high in Punjab.

 

With the piggery sector scaling-up fast after poultry and fishery, farmers should harvest returns from the farming of imported pigs, he suggested. Further, Singh urged the farmers to not burn straw and use it as feed for the animals.

 

Lamenting the low turnout of youth in Barnala Pashu Palan Mela, Singh stressed upon making agriculture a lucrative profession by obtaining training in allied agri-occupations and venturing into honey and milk processing, etc.

 

Highlighting the research achievements, AS Dhatt, director of research, said PAU has developed new varieties of rice (PR 130 and PR 131), cotton (PAU Bt 2 and PAU Bt 3), maize (Punjab Baby Corn 1), mash (Mash 883), sorghum (SL 45) and bajra (PCB 166) for general cultivation in Punjab.

 

Sharing the plant protection and production techniques, he underlined the need for adopting kitchen garden models for household purposes and leaf colour chart (LCC) technology in maize for fertilizer reduction.

 

Ashok Kumar, director of extension education, PAU, while welcoming the dignitaries and the farmers, informed that PAU has started organising offline Kisan Melas after two years with the last mela at Bathinda on March 29 and mini melas in all the Krishi Vigyan Kendras of Punjab. He advised the farmers to opt for soil testing for prudent use of fertilizers; avoid transplanting of paddy prior to recommended date; manage paddy straw by using in-situ and ex-situ management technologies; adopt drip irrigation in fruits, vegetables, cotton, sunflower, etc. for water saving; take-up subsidiary occupations like pig, poultry, goat and dairy farming, and bee-keeping for profitability; and go for processing, value addition and marketing of pulses and milk for domestic consumption. Kumar also stressed upon the farmers to apply spray in the right amount and at the right time as per the PAU recommendations and do not fall prey to the private dealers that can lead to crop loss.

 

While conducting the programme, TS Riar, additional director communication, informed that farmers in lakhs were participating in Kisan Mela on the first day. Even 150 farmers visited PAU on Thursday to see offline field demonstrations, and purchase quality seed and PAU farm publications, he said.

 

GS Buttar, additional director of extension education, while proposing a vote of thanks, appealed to the farmers to save water and protect the environment for the coming generations.

 

During the mela, panel discussions saw farmer-scientist interface on direct-seeded rice (DSR) and natural resource conservation.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett's visit to India on April 3-5 is expected to further strengthen the excellent bilateral cooperation in diverse areas such as agriculture, water, trade and science and technology, the Ministry of External Affairs said on Tuesday. Officially announcing Bennett's visit to India, the MEA said the Israeli PM will undertake the three-day visit at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

 

The two leaders had earlier met on the sidelines of COP 26 in Glasgow in November 2021, and also had a telephonic conversation on August 16, 2021, the MEA statement noted.

 

The visit by Bennett would be his first to India in his capacity as prime minister.

 

This visit would take place on the occasion of the commemoration of 30 years of full diplomatic relations between India and Israel and 75 years of India's independence.

 

India and Israel elevated their bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership during the historic visit of Prime Minister Modi to Israel in July 2017, the statement noted.

 

Since then, the two countries have continued to deepen their strategic partnership, with a focus on innovation and research as two knowledge-based economies.

 

The visit by the Israeli PM is expected to further strengthen our excellent bilateral cooperation in diverse areas, including in agriculture, water, trade, education and science and technology, the statement said.

 

Earlier, Israeli Prime Minister Bennett had said that he will be visiting India in the first week of April to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

 

'I am delighted to pay my first official visit to India at the invitation of my friend, Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi, and together we will continue leading the way for our countries' relations,' Bennett had said.

 

'Modi restarted relations between India and Israel, and this is of historic importance. The relations between our two unique cultures, Indian culture and the Jewish culture, are deep, and they rely on deep appreciation and meaningful collaborations,' he had said.

 

'There are many things we can learn from the Indians, and this is what we strive to do,' Bennett said, pledging to expand cooperation 'to other areas, from innovation and technology, security and cyber, to agriculture and climate change.

Turkey’s state grain board TMO has issued an international tender to purchase and import about 210,000 tonnes of milling wheat, European traders said on Monday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the wheat tender is March 23.

 

Price offers can be made in Russian roubles, a move seen as assisting offers of Russian wheat, traders said. Wheat already in warehouses in Turkey can also be offered.

 

Turkey is among importers hit by disruption to Ukrainian and Russian grain exports by the continued fighting in Ukraine.

 

Wheat shipment is sought between April 1-April 30.

 

The tender continues an active period of grain importing by Turkey to cool local prices and secure supplies after a drought-damaged crop.

 

The grain is for unloading in the Turkish ports of Iskenderun, Mersin, Izmir, Bandirma, Tekirdag, Samsun and Trabzon.

India and Australia are engaged in 'very active discussions and negotiations' for a proposed interim trade deal and are working towards its early conclusion, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal said on Wednesday, amid speculations that the signing of the pact may be delayed.

 

Asked about the time-frame for clinching the deal, Goyal said it’s always difficult to set a deadline for such negotiations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Australian counterpart Scott Morrison held virtual talks on Monday. 'They have both reiterated the commitment of both the countries for an early conclusion of the interim trade deal,' Goyal said.

 

The statement comes at a time when India is under pressure from Western nations to take a stand against Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. A senior trade executive and a diplomat said the issue might have weighed on the decision on the trade deal as well, apart from possible last-minute changes in the negotiating position. However, a senior government official ruled out any impact of the Ukraine war on the decision to delay the interim deal.

 

Just before the India-Australia virtual summit on Monday, both the sides were hoping to seal the interim deal before the end of March; some expected it to be hammered out as early as Tuesday.

 

In fact, on February 11, both the countries had announced that the interim trade pact would be signed within a month, and a broader free trade agreement, to be called the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA), would be hammered out within a year of the operationalisation of the early-harvest deal.

 

Sources have told FE that India will likely allow high-end Australian wine at a concessional duty as part of the interim trade deal but keep dairy products and certain sensitive farm items out of its purview. India is expected to get duty concession in some labour-intensive sectors, including agriculture and textiles, and greater market access in pharmaceuticals.

 

India had a merchandise trade deficit of $7.2 billion with Australia in the first ten months of this fiscal. It shipped out goods worth only $6.3 billion, while its imports stood at $13.5 billion. Major traded items include mineral fuels, pharmaceutical products, organic chemicals and gem and jewellery.

 

Ukraine war could cause some disruptions

 

Goyal said the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict can potentially cause some disruptions in trade and the government is in regular talks with exporters to address any issue emerging from it. The challenges may be in the form of elevated global commodity prices, higher inflationary pressure, disruption in shipping routes and spurt in freight charges.

 

'Those challenges are there before us and that certainly may lead to some kind of disruption because it is coming along with Covid, which is also rearing its head. But we are completely on top of these issues and are in continuous dialogue and hand holding our exporters on a regular basis,' Goyal said.

 

UAE FTA to be in force in six weeks

 

Goyal said the India-UAE FTA is already ratified by Abu Dhabi and it would be in force in about six weeks. Both the countries signed the FTA last month, which was India’s first such pact in a decade.

 

FTP to be extended

 

Goyal said given the lofty level of exports and new challenges, the validity of the current foreign trade policy (FTP) could be extended for some more time. This would allow the ministry to firm up a new FTP, factoring in new global challenges as well as opportunities.

 

About the new SEZ law, Goyal said the ministry will start stakeholder consultations from April.

NITI Aayog, in collaboration with the Institute of Competitiveness, will release the second edition of the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2021 on 25 March.

 

The index will be released by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar in the presence of NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant and Shri B.V.R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India. Chief Secretaries of States/UTs and ACS/Principal Secretaries–Industry will join virtually.

 

The release of the second edition of the index—the first was launched in August 2020—demonstrates the Government’s continued commitment towards promoting competitive federalism wherein each state can identify their export opportunities and challenges and subsequently establish context-specific strategies for ensuring a conducive export ecosystem.

 

The Export Preparedness Index ranks all States and Union Territories (UTs) on the basis of their export readiness and performance. EPI 2021 is based on four main pillars: policy; business ecosystem; export ecosystem; and export performance.

 

The index can be used by States and UTs to benchmark their performance against their peers and analyze the potential challenges to develop better policy mechanisms to foster export-led growth at the subnational level.

This year, the country is also expected to witness the highest ever exports of meat, marine products and rice, with around 50 per cent share of rice exports in the world market

 

India's agriculture exports after reaching $43.23 billion in 2013-14, slumped to $33.68 billion in 2016-17. Despite the pandemic, a conspicuous turnaround occurred in these exports growing to $41.32 billion in 2020-21. This momentum is expected to continue in the current year as well and India’s agriculture exports can, for the first time, cross $50 billion in 2021-22. This year, the country is also expected to witness the highest ever exports of meat, marine products and rice, with around 50 percent share of rice exports in the world market.

 

While we have witnessed huge export growth in manufacturing and hi-tech sectors recently, the Government of India's consistent and concerted endeavours to usher in reforms for boosting agricultural exports have also been highly fruitful. The year 2020 started with the unprecedented global pandemic, which led to substantial increase in the global demand for food items. India has been able to step in through Indian missions abroad and interacted through virtual buyer-seller meets, removed many bottlenecks, coordinated with port/customs/State/district authorities, etc, to meet the increased global demand. All these efforts led to India emerging as a global supplier of food and other essential agricultural products.

 

Due to these efforts, exports of principal agriculture commodities have registered an increase of 17.56 percent to $41.32 billion, in 2020-21 vis-à-vis 2019-20. In 2020-21, India reached its highest ever export of $4 billion of spices and its products.

 

Similarly, during April 2021 to December 2021, the following commodities have shown significant increase in their export vis-à-vis April 2020 to December 2020: Non–Basmati Rice (46%), Coffee (43%), Wheat (416%), Other Cereals (72%), Cashew (16%), Sugar (61%), Fruits (28%), Dairy products (82%) and Marine products (35%).

 

Covid-19 emergency response cell created to help exporters in addressing their issues related to movement of consignments/trucks/labour, issuance of certificates, lab testing reports, sample collection, etc, ensured the real time clearance of exports.

 

The validity of various certifications/accreditations was extended beyond their dates of expiry. Timely and smooth issuance of certificate for export, health certificates and certificate of origin was done. An in-house platform for organising virtual trade fairs to establish contact between Indian exporters and importers was developed.

 

The Agriculture Export Policy was announced by the Government of India in 2018 with a focus on agriculture export-oriented production, export promotion, better farmer realisation and synchronisation with the policies and programmes of the Government of India. During the course of its implementation of AEP, considerable progress has been made in giving Farmer-Produce Organisations (FPOs) and farmers a stake in the export of their produce. It provided direct linkage of FPOs/farmers with the export market, which has not only improved farmers’ incomes but has also resulted in good farming practices.

 

Regular interaction was carried out with the states to propel them to include agricultural exports in their respective State Export Policy. The Department of Commerce, through APEDA, facilitated the state governments in finalising state/UT specific action plans for implementation of AEP in respective states/UTs. For the first time, an institutional mechanism for promoting agricultural exports has been set up in the states.

 

In order to provide direct export market linkage to farmers/FPOs and to encourage export-oriented production, 46 unique product-district clusters have been notified for export promotion. For the first time, the government has reached out directly at cluster and farm levels to give farmers a stake in export of their produce. The FPOs/farmers have been sensitised about requirements of export-oriented production. Agri-clusters have been activated by forming cluster-level committees, forming FPOs, connecting exporters to the FPOs, and sorting out the issues of transportation/ logistics/ pack houses, etc.

 

These clusters have been made operative with none or minimal additional investments by pooling the existing resources, with great success in clusters like Varanasi (fresh fruits and vegetables), Nagpur (orange), Ananthpur, Theni, Kolhapur, Solapur and Jalgaon, Surat, Narmada and Bharuch (Banana), Sangli, Nasik and Pune (Grapes), Nashik (Onion) and Solapur (Pomegranate).

 

A Farmer Connect Portal has been set up through APEDA for providing a platform for FPOs/FPCs, cooperatives to interact with exporters. Around 3,120 FPO/FPCs and 3,604 exporters have been registered in the portal. In order to ensure quality of exports and establish India as a reliable supplier of quality produce, traceability to the farm level is vital. A number of digital platforms, using technologies like blockchain, for traceability have been developed for enabling smooth flow of business and ensuring transparency in the system, such as HortiNet for mango, vegetables and citrus fruits, Basmati.net, TraceNet for organics, Peanut.net, farm registration app, Meat.net and Grapenet.

 

‘Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) for Specified Agriculture Products’ is a scheme for providing assistance for the international component of freight to mitigate the freight disadvantage for the export of agriculture products and assistance for the marketing of agricultural produce. This has enabled exporters to export from hitherto unexplored land-locked areas.

 

Specific products from the agriculture sector have been identified for exports.

Detailed analysis of SPS/TBT issues affecting these products has been carried out, for taking up the matter bilaterally with various importing countries. APEDA has also engaged with 60 Indian missions for preparing country-wise agri-export strategy.

 

APEDA interacted with the Indian missions and other stakeholders to identify the products, their potential and way forward for each country. The opportunities thus analysed have been shared with trade bodies and exporters so that they can avail the opportunity. A Market Intelligence Cell has been set up for dissemination of e-market intelligence reports comprising detailed market analysis.

 

Efforts are being made to expand India’s agri-export basket and promote export of products unique to India. Few examples include moringa, ethnic rice, millets, GI certified mango varieties, sapota, litchi, jackfruit powder/cubes, saffron/dry fruits, dragon fruits, etc.

 

In future, we may look forward to concerted efforts by multiple stakeholders including the various concerned ministries of the Government of India, farm organisations, food processing industries, other trade/policy organisations and technology startups to build structural transformations in the areas of post-harvest value addition and quality standards enhancements of agricultural produce to expand our global market performance to even higher levels.

 

Rajan Sharma is Deputy Director (Indian Supply Service: 2013) and Sandeep Verma is Undersecretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India. Dr Badri Narayanan Gopalakrishnan is Lead Adviser and Head, Trade and Commerce, NITI Aayog, Government of India. Views expressed are personal.

Rising crude oil prices driving freight rates high

As rising crude oil prices drive up freight rates, India is seen emerging as a preferred supplier of sugar over Brazil for consuming markets in the Middle East, Eastern Africa and South Asia. The geographical proximity is seen pushing buyers in these regions to source the commodity from India and the latest developments on the trade front could push the shipments to over 80 lakh tonnes in the current year 2021-22.

 

Edge over Brazil

 

In mid-March, the Indian Sugar Mills Association, the apex trade body had revised its export estimates to 75 lakh tonnes, up from the earlier 60 lakh tonnes. However, with crude prices seeing a sharp increase in recent weeks due to the Ukraine-Russia conflict, resulting in higher freight costs, Indian exporters, supported by higher domestic output, are seen having an edge over their Brazilian counterparts.

 

“Due to the rise in freight rates, the world is looking for Indian sugar. Importers in the Middle East, East Africa and South East Asia are seen preferring the Indian sugar over Brazilian supplies,” said Abinash Verma, Director General, ISMA.

 

The trend is reflected in the rise in export contracts in the recent weeks. Contracts for over 15 lakh tonnes have been concluded over the past 20 days, Verma said.

 

India had exported a record 71 lakh tonnes in sugar season 2020-21. At the recently held sugar conference in Dubai, some international trade houses were of the view that Indian sugar exports could be in the range of 8-8.5 million tonnes, sources said.

 

Abhijit Ghorpade of Ghorpade Agrovet in Kolhapur, a broker, said off-late there is a tremendous buying interest from multinational companies. Besides the freight cost advantage, the higher diversion of cane in Brazil for ethanol will also support the overseas demand for Indian sugar, he said.

 

Hike in exports

 

In the current sugar season, exports during October-February stood at 47 lakh tonnes, an increase of 165 per cent over 17.75 lakh tonnes in the same period a year ago.

 

Over the past decade, the Indian sugar exports have increased from 17.3 lakh tonnes in 2010-11 to 71 lakh tonnes in 2020-21. Indonesia, China, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea and UAE among others have been major buyers of the Indian sweetener. Sugar output in the current season is estimated to be 333 lakh tonnes, higher than 312 lakh tonnes last season.

Bangladesh’s state grains buyer has issued another international tender to purchase 50,000 tonnes of milling wheat, traders said on Tuesday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers is April 4, they said.

 

Bangladesh has issued a series of wheat and rice tenders in recent months to shore up its depleted reserves after extreme weather from floods to heatwaves damaged crops.

 

Now traders say Bangladesh is also among importing countries hit by disruption to Ukrainian and Russian grain exports caused by the conflict between the two countries.

 

The Black Sea export disruption has seen wheat prices touch 14-year highs in recent weeks and sharply reduced supplies available on world markets.

 

In its last wheat tender on March 16, Bangladesh received higher offers than before the fighting in Ukraine started.

 

Price offers in the latest wheat tender are again sought on CIF liner out terms. These terms include ship unloading costs for the seller.

 

Shipment is sought 40 days after the date of contract signing. The wheat can be sourced from any worldwide origins except Israel and is sought for shipment to two ports, Chattogram and Mongla.

Out of over 100 niche geographical indications (GI) tagged products under its domain, the government’s agri promotion body APEDA has initiated a special initiative under which as many as 13 products sourced directly have got exported to new destinations such as South Korea, UK, US, UAE, Singapore, Bahrain and Japan.

 

Besides, as many as 36 other niche local products like murmura (puffed rice), moringa, jamun and sitabhog also got new export markets.

 

“There are two aspects of this export initiatives. First, we are successful in providing some new markets for these GI products, which were earlier exported to other destinations. Secondly, some select local products, which are of high export potential, were shipped to new export destinations, though these products sourced from other centres were earlier exported,” said M Angamuthu, Chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

 

APEDA is making an unique attempt to promote regional and State-specific GI products, he said.

 

There are 417 registered GI products and around 150 of them are agricultural and food products. APEDA-promoted products (under 27 broad categories) have a share of nearly 50 per cent in the country’s total exports of agriculture products including marine, spices, tea and coffee.

 

Among GI products, Suvarnarekha mangoes from Andhra Pradesh were shipped to South Korea for the first time, while Dahanu Gholvad sapota, Marathwada Kesar mango from Maharashtra reached the UK, Jalgaon’s banana (Maharashtra) to UAE, Nendran banana from Kerala to Singapore, Shahi litchi and Bhagalpuri Zardalu mango from Bihar to the UK.

 

Malli and other traditional flowers from Madurai (Tamilnadu) were shipped to the US and Dubai (UAE) and Makhana from Patna reached Japa for the first time, according to APEDA.

 

Among non-GI products, apricots from Ladakh were shipped for the first time to Dubai, while apples from Himachal Pradesh were exported to Qatar and Bahrain.

 

Similarly, Bahrain was the new destination for Sitabhog, Fazli mango, dragon fruit and Bardhaman mihidana from West Bengal.

 

Puffed rice (Murmura) from Cuttack (Odisha) went to Malaysia for the first time while Bijnor’s (Uttar Pradesh) jaggery and Iduki’s (Kerala) Marayoor jaggery reached Dubai (UAE).

 

Jamun from Uttar Pradesh first time reached UK and is likely to increase in volume in the coming years, officials said.

 

Interestingly, pasteurised Buffalo butter (salted) from Hathras (Uttar Pradesh) reached New Zealand for the first time.

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal has said that the state of Bihar has huge potential under the One District-One Product (ODOP) programme to contribute to India’s rising exports. Stating that the State’s GDP is rising rapidly, he said Bihar has made rapid strides in Health and Education sectors.

 

'You have identified products for exports in each district, be it Bhagalpur silk, pharmaceuticals from Sivan, bamboo products from Samastipur or the ‘Shahi Litchi’ and ‘Lahati’ fruits of Muzaffarpur, all of these products are famous worldwide,' said Shri Goyal, addressing the Bihar Utsav celebrations at the Dilli Haat last night to mark the Bihar Diwas, the 110th year of establishment of the State.

 

Stating that Bihar is a land of immense opportunities, Shri Goyal said the Cooperative sector should be strengthened and the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) empowered to boost production. He hoped that with implementation of the New Education Policy, the youth will be imparted Vocational Training to contribute to the development of the state.

 

'In recent times, an entrepreneur from the state, Praveen Chauhan, has extracted natural dyes from the flowers of Bodhgaya temple. Today, his dyes are being used in fashion textiles even as far as in Japan,' he said.

 

Shri Goyal said the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has gone a step ahead from the ‘Look East’ policy to ‘Act East’ policy, which includes Bihar, neighbouring Jharkhand and West Bengal besides the eight states of the North-Eastern Region.

 

'Our Government has undertaken several development projects in Eastern India, not only started the projects but also completed them,' he said.

 

Recalling the rich heritage of Bihar, Shri Goyal said Shri Goyal said, India's greatest empires, - the Mauryan empire and the Gupta Empire rose from this land and laid the foundation for the modern India.

 

'This land taught the world its first lesson in democracy. Vaishali, the capital of Vajji Mahajanapada, was run by the Sangh (Assemblies of people). Bihar also laid firm the roots of nationalism, Mahatma Gandhi started the first civil disobedience from Bihar with Champaran Satyagraha in 1917. Bihar also led the country during the movement against the Emergency led by Jayaprakash Narayan,' he said.

 

Shri Goyal said Nalanda in Bihar was a center of learning in ancient India.

 

'It is said, - I am Chanakya’s Niti (Policy), I am Aryabhatta’s Aavishkaar (Discovery), I am the Tapasya (Penance) of Mahavira, I am Buddha’s Avatar (Incarnation), I AM BIHAR,' he said.

 

Stating that the great land of Bihar has played a vital role in the glorious history of India, Shri Goyal hoped the youth of Bihar, through their valour and hard work, will take the state to newer heights.

 

Union Ministers Shri Giriraj Singh, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey and Shri RCP Singh also attended the function.