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24 Mar, 2022 News Image

FSSAI issues guidance note on display of info and menu labelling.

The apex food authority has issued a guidance note on display of information in food service establishments and menu labelling. The note explains all relevant regulations and requisites to be followed by the establishment, mandatory and voluntary. And the note also describes the methods to determine nutritive value of the food items.

'Calorie and nutrition information for all food items/meal/platter/portion-wise being prepared and sold by the food businesses covered under the ambit of the display regulations, should be calculated,' reads the note.

The note also prescribes a formula to calculate nutrition content of a non- standardised recipe based on individual ingredients and energy conversion factors of protein, fat, available carbohydrate and fibre.

The calculation can be based on laboratory testing and a nutrient analysis method, and nutritive/ calorific values of each of the ingredient used to prepare a dish provided by credible scientific source.

Sub-Regulation 2.4.6 of Food Safety and Standards (Packaging and Labelling) First Amendment Regulations, 2020 dated August 21, 2020, specifies the requirements for ‘Display of information in Food Service Establishments’ with effect from January 1, 2022. FSSAI issued directions dated 28.12.2021 under Section 16(5) of the FSS Act vide which it has been conveyed to all the Food Safety Commissioners and Central Licensing Authorities that samples of the food items listed on the menu cards/boards/booklets by the FBOs shall not be taken up to check/verify the respective declarations of calorific value and nutritional information till June 30, 2022, in order to grant additional time to the FBOs to adopt the practice of Menu Labelling in a self-compliant manner.

According to the regulation, Calorific value or energy (in kcal per serving and serving size) against the food items needs to be displayed, adjacent to its name or price. The note says that deviation of 25 per cent in case of calorific value is tolerable. Also, the allergen information needs to be placed in the menu and veg or non-veg logo.

The concerned FBO is also required to give information about specific ingredients like MSG, Artificial Sweeteners, Caffeine, polyols, polydextrose etc. with declaration about their properties and information related to organic food, if claimed.

The note also explained sample menu displays.

The food service establishments include all five star hotels (Central licences); one/two/three/four star hotels with state licence but having outlets at 10 or more locations; restaurants having Central licence; restaurants/clubs/canteens with state licences having outlets at 10 or more locations; flight/railway caterers having Central licence; departmental canteens at the premises of Central government institutions; cloud kitchens/dhabas with state licences having outlets at 10 or more locations; e-commerce FBOs selling food products of those FBOs mandated for declaration under menu labelling for such foods.

However, event caterers and food service premises that operate for less than 60 days in a calendar year (consecutively or non-consecutively) are exempted from the scope of these regulations.

Source: fnbnews

24 Mar, 2022 News Image

The estimated production of pulses in 2021-22 as per the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW) is 26.96 million tonnes.

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today informed that as per the report of Working Group constituted by NITI Aayog on Demand and Supply Projections Towards 2033 – Crops, Livestock and Agricultural Inputs (February 2018), the demand for pulses is projected to increase from 26.72 million tonnes in 2021-22 to 32.64 million tonnes in 2029-30. The estimated production of pulses in 2021-22 as per the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare (DA&FW) is 26.96 million tonnes.

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare implements the National Food Security Mission (NFSM), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, which aims at increasing production of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals and nutri-cereals through area expansion and productivity enhancement in the identified districts of the country; improving soil fertility, farm level productivity besides, transfer of technology through demonstrations and trainings, incentives on critical inputs like quality seeds, water saving devices, farm equipment and machinery etc. Under NFSM-Pulses, incentives are given to the farmers for cluster demonstrations, seed distribution and production of certified seeds of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs), farm machineries/tools, efficient water saving devices, plant protection chemicals, nutrient management, soil ameliorants and trainings to the farmers. The pulse-wise yield of major pulses from 2016-17 to 2021-22 is given at Annexure.

To boost agricultural productivity, the Government is implementing various schemes for supply of farm inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, agricultural machinery and equipment, irrigation facilities, institutional credit, etc., at subsidized rates to the farmers. Further, Government has taken steps for increasing investment in agriculture sector which include creation of Agricultural Infrastructure Fund (AIF), Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF), Micro Irrigation Fund for water use efficiency, promotion of commercial organic farming, etc. Moreover, under the revamped Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) namely, RKVY-RAFTAAR (Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation), 50 per cent of the regular outlay has been earmarked for infrastructure and assets.

Source: pib.gov.in

24 Mar, 2022 News Image

Lebanon plans tender for Indian wheat, minister says.

Lebanon is planning a tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat from India but the timing depends on the Lebanese central bank opening the necessary credit line, the economy minister told Reuters, as Beirut seeks alternatives to Ukrainian grain.

Lebanon bought the bulk of its wheat from Ukraine until Russia invaded, and the World Bank has warned it is one of a number of developing countries that face near-term wheat supply shortages as a result.

The Lebanese government has asked the central bank for a $26 million advance to launch the tender, economy minister Amin Salam said, adding that the tender would be launched very quickly once the credit line was opened.

'India is the first state to give me a final answer on quantities and tomorrow it will give me answer on the price,' Salam said.

Lebanon was still waiting to hear from the United States and Kazakhstan on specifications and prices, he said.

'We still have a few purchases that are coming in the next week (from Ukraine),' he said, adding that 26,000 tonnes was on its way. 'But after that we are not sure what we can get from Ukraine.'

Source: timesofindia

24 Mar, 2022 News Image

India achieves $400 billion merchandise exports well before target date Shri Piyush Goyal.

The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, today said that the achievement of USD 400 billion exports was the result of a concerted, collective effort by every sector, every stakeholder in the nation.

Merchandise exports from India have crossed $400 billion in the current financial year, 9 days ahead of schedule. This is far higher than the previous record of USD 330 billion achieved in 2018-19.

Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has tweeted the following:

'India set an ambitious target of $400 Billion of goods exports & achieves this target for the first time ever. I congratulate our farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, exporters for this success.

This is a key milestone in our Aatmanirbhar Bharat journey.'

The Minister was addressing a Press Conference held to mark the occasion in New Delhi today.

Shri Goyal said that the achievement of the lucrative export target showed the world that inspite of facing numerous challenges, with sheer grit, determination, capability and talent, India would surmount all obstacles.

The Minister expressed his gratitude to all the exporters, farmers, weavers, MSMEs, manufacturers, Indian missions abroad and all other stakeholders who he said, were the real heroes behind this achievement.

He thanked the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi for leading from the front and for his relentless focus on exports. It was the clarion call given by the Prime Minister that inspired the industry to make a quantum jump in exports, he said.

The Minister said that there was a detailed strategy in place, including specific targets set - country-wise, product-wise & EPC-wise, monitoring and course correction, behind the achievement of the export target.

Shri Goyal said that the 'whole of govt approach' had been taken to the next level to 'whole of country approach' to acheive this remarkable target.

He also said that the achievement was not just about meeting targets but about building confidence and about exploring new markets.

The Minister applauded the media for consistently encouraging businesses through positive reporting, encouraging editorials, helping making this a national mission.

Underscoring the direct linkage that exports have with employment generation, especially in labour intensive sectors, the Minister said that when products of a brass trader from Moradabad and farmers from Varanasi get appreciated in the global market, it is a testimony to the fact that employment and prosperity is increasing from exports

The Minister also appreciated Indian exporters for maintaining the momentum throughout the year despite challenges caused by successive COVID-19 waves.

The Minister said that the achievement truly called for a celebration and added that it sent out the message of a confident future for the nation. India is ready for the World with a new identity of quality and reliability, he said.

Keeping in view the critical role of exports in catalyzing economic activities which were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Department of Commerce embarked upon the inspiration provided by Hon’ble PM Shri Modi during his Address and interaction with exporting community, Ambassadors / HCs / Commercial Missions, Line Ministries/ Departments, State/UTs, EPCs, Commodity Boards/ Authorities, Industry/Trade Associations, etc on 6th August 2021 on the theme of 'Local Goes Global - Make in India for the World'.

During the Address, Hon’ble Prime Minister set an ambitious target of US$ 400 billion of merchandise exports for 2021-22 for the nation to achieve. He exhorted the exporting community to search for new products in the export basket, look for newer destinations and ensure deeper penetration of the existing product and markets.

Thus, in order to achieve the target and approach set by the Hon’ble PM, the Department of Commerce disaggregated the $400 Billion target in terms of regions and countries as well as product/commodity groups. The government prepared a detailed strategy for achieving the targets and an elaborate monitoring system.

The disaggregated targets have enabled tight monitoring by Country/Region/Mission/Export Promotion Councils.

The Commodity Divisions of Department of Commerce have held regular review meetings with the concerned EPCs under their jurisdiction.

Thus, notwithstanding the challenges posed by successive waves of Covid, India’s merchandise trade performance has shown impressive growth and exports remained above USD 30 Billion for eleven consecutive months (likely to be twelve consecutive months at the end of March) during April to February wherein December 2021 in particular recorded the highest ever monthly merchandise exports recorded at USD 39.3 billion.

Engineering goods exports have gone up by nearly 50% vis-à-vis last year. Higher engineering exports, apparel and garment export, etc. indicate that the misconception of India being a major exporter of primary commodities is gradually changing. We are now exporting more and more value added and high end exports and this effort by our technology driven industries should continue. Export of Cotton Yarn/Fabrics/Made-ups, Handloom Products etc, Gems and Jewellery, Other Cereals and Man-Made Yarn/Fabrics./Made-up etc. have registered a growth rate between 50%-60%.

Agriculture sector has made noteworthy progress, especially during the pandemic, with India emerging as a major global supplier of food / essential agriculture products. Agriculture exports buoyancy is driven by commodities such as rice (both basmati and non-basmati), marine products, wheat, spices and sugar, among others, recording the highest ever agricultural products export in 2021-22.

Till 21st March 2022, Australia, Taiwan, Korea Rp, Bangladesh Pr, Poland, Brazil, Indonesia, Belgium, Saudi Arab, Turkey, Italy, Japan, Canada, U S A, South Africa, Netherland, Nigeria, Egypt and Mexico are the major countries which have achieved more than the export target. The Major Countries Thailand, Israel, Nepal, Vietnam Soc Rep, China, France and Sri Lanka Dsr which have achieved between 90% to 100% of total export target.

Till 21st March 2022, Organic & Inorganic Chemical, Other Cereals, Petroleum Products, Cotton Yarn/Fabrics/Made-ups, Handloom Products Etc., Mica, Coal and Other Ores, Minerals Including Process, Engineering Goods and Plastic and Linoleumare the major Commodities which have achieved more than the export target.

The Major Commodities Rice, Marine Products, Jute Mfg. Including Floor Covering, Carpet, Cereal Preparations And Miscellaneous Processed Item, Electronic Goods, Coffee, Gems And Jewellery and Handicrafts Excl. Hand Made which have achieved between 90% to 100%of the total export target.

The government has been working round the clock to provide a conducive environment and infrastructure for our industry and exporters to enhance their export performance. Policies and schemes aligned with the goal are being introduced and implemented for their benefit.

The smooth roll out of RoDTEP and ROSCTL even in the midst of the pandemic reflects the strong resolve of the government to walk the talk. The Interest Equalisation Scheme has been extended to exporters and is likely to benefit a large number of MSME exporters.

Rigorous efforts for domestic capacity enhancement for deepening integration in the Global Value Chains are being made by working in close partnership with the industry to identify areas where India’s competitive advantages. We will therefore work on strengthening our capabilities and create for the world on the lines of Make in India. PLI schemes for 13 key sectors of manufacturing starting from FY 2021-22 have been announced.

A policy shift in the approach envisaged in the Districts as Exports Hub (DEH) initiative has been adopted to boost local production and make Districts active stakeholders in driving export growth of local products/services. Consistent efforts to build and provide export promoting infrastructure are being undertaken via providing appropriate funding, insurance, credit provisions etc.

Thus, an effort has been made to set up a firm backward - forward linkage, starting from the district level to the overseas market with the help of multiple stakeholders. In between, the emphasis has been effective and efficient coordination among all stakeholders i.e. district units, State and Central Governments, line Ministries, EPCs, MSMEs exporting communities and our mission overseas to ensure breaking of silos to achieve a coherent and coordinated action for fulfilment of exports target.

Source: pib.gov.in

23 Mar, 2022 News Image

Wheat exports surge nearly four times, rice top forex earner Other cereals up 66 per cent; Cereal Preparations & Misc. Processed Items up 14 per cent.

Growth in Agriculture and allied exports

The Government of India's consistent and concerted endeavours to usher into reforms for boosting agricultural exports have been highly fruitful. Despite the unprecedented global pandemic, India has been able to step in to meet the increased global demand, emerging as a significant global supplier of food and other essential agricultural products.

Notwithstanding logistical challenges posed by COVID-19 pandemic, India's exports of Agricultural and Processed Food products rose by more than 23 per cent in terms of USD in the first ten months of the current fiscal (April 2020-January 2021) compared to the same period of the previous year.

Looking at five-yearly growth, it is observed that the export of agriculture and allied products have increased from a total of Rs. 896708.84 crore during 2009-14 to Rs. 1193463 crores during 2014-19. The exports have already reached Rs. 855293 crore mark during 2019-22 period (Includes April- January 2021-22 figure) with the exports for the period April 2021 - January 2022 exceeding Rs. 3 Lakh Crore.

Source: static.pib.gov.in

23 Mar, 2022 News Image

Shift Towards Zero Budget Natural Farming.

Evidences from implementation of Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) from various parts of the country indicates that shift towards ZBNF helps in substantially lowering the cost. Being a chemical free system based on natural nutrient cycling, it ensures safe food and soil health restoration.

Government is promoting Natural Farming through Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhati (BPKP) introduced during 2020-21 as a sub scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) for the promotion of traditional indigenous practices including Natural Farming. The scheme mainly emphasises on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs and promotes on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching, use of cow dung-urine formulations and other plant-based preparations. Under BPKP, financial assistance of Rs 12200/ha for 3 years is provided for cluster formation, capacity building and continuous handholding by trained personnel, certification and residue analysis. Until now, under natural farming an area of 4.09 lakh ha area has been covered and a total fund of Rs. 4980.99 lakh has been released to 8 States across the country. The State –wise details of funds released and area under BPKP is given at below.

Annexure- I

The State –wise details of funds released and area covered under Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Padhthi (BPKP)

Sl. No.

States

Released date

Area in Ha

Amount released (Rs in lakh)

Andhra Pradesh

30.09.20

100000

750.00

Chhattisgarh

09.12.20

85000

1352.52

Kerala

30.09.20

84000

1336.60

Himachal Pradesh

24.12.20

12000

286.42

Jharkhand

02.12.20

3400

54.10

Odisha

02.02.21

24000

381.89

Madhya Pradesh

16.02.21

99000

787.64

Tamil Nadu

16.02.21

2000

31.82

pib.gov.in

23 Mar, 2022 News Image

Centre to hold high-level meeting on Thursday to boost wheat exports.

Amid rising global demand for Indian wheat due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, the Central government has called a high-level meeting on Thursday with top exporters from the country, port authorities, state governments and also secretaries from the department of agriculture, shipping, commerce and Railways.

Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, which is one of the country's foremost wheat producing states is also expected to attend the meeting.

Sources said the meeting is expected to discuss ways and means to boost wheat exports from India and clear all the bottlenecks so that the country manages to take advantage of the favorable global conditions.

India is poised to export a record over 7 million tonnes of wheat in FY-22 due to the sudden surge in demand following the Russia-Ukraine crisis, which can go upto to almost 10 million tonnes in Fy-23 if conditions continue to remain benign.

At present, Indian wheat is among the cheapest in the world markets priced at around $330-340 per tonne (FOB), while rates of all other countries are considerably higher.

In a related development, news agency Reuters reported today that Lebanon is planning a tender to import 50,000 tonnes of wheat from India, the country’s economy minister said.

'India is the first state to give me a final answer on quantities and tomorrow it will give me an answer on the price,' Economy Minister Amin Salam said.

Last week, the Union commerce ministry said that India is in final talks to start wheat export to Egypt while discussions are going on with countries like China, Turkey, China and Iran to begin the outbound shipments of the commodity.

Source: business-standard.com

23 Mar, 2022 News Image

Australia, India aim for trade deal by year's end.

Australia and India said on Tuesday they are close to finalising an interim economic and trade cooperation deal and hope to sign a full agreement by the end of the year.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Indian Prime Minster Narendra Modi held a virtual summit on Monday evening to discuss economic, defence and technological cooperation, as well as the war in Ukraine.

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A joint statement released on Tuesday said considerable progress had been made in negotiations for the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) which was 'close to finalisation'.

An interim economic deal would be concluded 'at the earliest', and the two nations would 'work towards an ambitious, full CECA by the end of the year to enhance trade and investment ties', it said.

Morrison's government, which faces an election in May, hopes to strike a trade deal with India to help diversify its exports away from a reliance on China, with which it has increasingly frosty diplomatic relations.

Australia and India launched talks on a trade deal in 2011, and in 2020 the two prime ministers decided to speed up the negotiations.

Australian Trade Minister Dan Tehan said he expected the trade deal to be agreed 'hopefully, in the next week'.

India was Australia's seventh-largest trading partner in 2020, with two-way trade valued at A$24.3 billion ($18 billion).

Tehan said the trade deal would give greater mobility for workers and students, as well as boost cooperation on critical minerals. India has said India is seeking greater market access for its textiles, footwear, leather, and pharmaceuticals.

Source: economictimes.indiatimes.com

23 Mar, 2022 News Image

Sudan, Thailand new wheat buyers as India expands export basket.

With India already exporting to five of the world’s top 10 wheat importers, it now sees ample scope to ship the grain to the other five in the list, as shipments of all agricultural products from the Black Sea have come to a halt due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

'Egypt, Indonesia, Turkey, China, Nigeria, Italy, Algeria, Philippines, Japan, Morocco, Brazil, Bangladesh, Korea, Netherlands and Spain are the top importers of wheat. We are already exporting to  Bangladesh, Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria and Japan,' Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) Chairman M Angamuthu told.

Source: thehindubusinessline.com

23 Mar, 2022 News Image

Implementing Operation Greens Scheme.

The Ministry has been implementing scheme of Operation Greens since November, 2018 for integrated value chain development of Tomato, Onion and Potato(TOP) crops in the selected clusters.The scheme has two components i.e. Long Term Strategy i.e. Value Chain Development Projects and Short Term Strategy i.e. Price Stabilization Measures through grant of transportation/storage subsidy.

Being a demand driven scheme, projects are sanctioned on the basis of response received from the industry. Since its inception,six (6) value chain development projects have been sanctioned and initiated with total project cost of Rs.363.30 crore; Grant-in-aid sanctioned of Rs.136.82 crore; Processing capacity 3.34 Lakh MT and PreservationCapacity of 46,380 MT.

The Ministry has conducted regular stakeholder’sconsultations to discuss the challenges faced for setting up of projects under the scheme and accordingly, necessary corrective measures have been taken from time to time to resolve the issues.

Under the short term measures of the scheme, provision of transportation/storage subsidy is available for notified crops during glut situation for eligible entities including Farmers.Total subsidy of Rs.84.73 crore has been disbursed under the scheme which has benefitted eligible entities including farmers across India.

The scope of short term measures originally applicable to Tomato, Onion and Potato crops were expanded to 41 notified fruits & vegetables w.e.f. June, 2020 as a part of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan Package.

Further, in pursuance to Budget Announcement 2021-22, the scope of long term strategy i.e. Value Chain Development Projects was expanded from TOP crops to 22 perishables which include 10 fruits, 11 vegetables (including TOP crops) and 1 marine product i.e. Shrimp.

State-wise budget allocation is not done under the scheme. The details of year-wise budget allocation and expenditure incurred till date are provided in the table below.

(Rs. in Crore)

Financial Year	Budget Allocation	Expenditure
2018-19	200.00	5.50
2019-20	32.48	2.84
2020-21	38.22	38.21
2021-22 9 (till 15.03.2022)	74.50	60.58
Total	345.20	107.13

As on date, six (6) projects were sanctioned for TOP crops under the scheme with total project cost of Rs.363.30 crore; Grant-in-aid sanctioned of Rs.136.82 crore; Processing capacity 3.34 Lakh MT and Preservation Capacity of 46,380 MT.

Out of the six (6) projects, three (3) projects i.e. one each for TOP crops in the State of Gujarat; two (2) projects for Onion in Maharashtra and one (1) project for tomato in Andhra Pradesh have been sanctioned and initiated.

This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Lok Sabha today

Source: pib.gov.in