South Korea's leading feedmaker Nonghyup Feed Inc. (NOFI) has issued an international tender to purchase up to 207,000 tonnes of animal feed corn and up to 195,000 tonnes of animal feed wheat, European traders said on Wednesday.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is also Wednesday, Jan. 26.

Backed by rains this month which helped ongoing sowing operation and served the standing crops well in most states, the overall acreage of rabi (winter sown) crops is all set to create a new record in what may eventually lead to bumper output of foodgrains for a second successive pandemic-hit year.

 

Though the acreage of wheat this season continues to be marginally less than its sown area in the corresponding period last year, the higher acreage of oilseeds and pulses may help in setting the new record. Acreage data of agriculture ministry as on last Friday showed the total sown area under rabi crop at 680 lakh hectares compared to 672 lakh hectares during corresponding period last year — an increase of over 1%. It, however, reported an increase of nearly 9% compared to normal sown area (625 lakh hectares) of rabi crops during corresponding period. The normal sown area is calculated as an average of last five years’ acreage.

 

The high acreage this year indicates the possibility of higher output of foodgrains in the 2021-22 crop year compared to previous year’s production. Although the acreage of wheat was around 4 lakh hectares less as on last Friday, pulses’ sown areas showed an increase of over 1 lakh hectares and acreage of oilseeds showed an increase of over 18 lakh hectares (23%) compared to its sown areas during corresponding period in 2019-20.

 

'Substantial increase in acreage of oilseeds is attributed to farmers’ choice in its favour which is influenced by higher hike in MSP of mustard and rapeseed. Higher sown area along with favourable weather conditions including a wet spell at appropriate time will help farmers in getting higher output in 2021-22,' said an official in agriculture ministry.

 

The ministry has already estimated higher production of kharif (summer sown) crops, including record output of paddy in 2021-22, indicating how this along with high rabi crops’ output will make the current year more productive than the previous one.

 

Total production of kharif crops in India is estimated at record 150 million tonnes (MT) which is over 12 MT higher than the average production of previous five years (2015-16 to 2019-20). As far as paddy is concerned, its output during 2021-22 is estimated at 107 MT which is over 9 MT higher than its average output of the past five years.

Trade between India and South Africa has exceeded the USD 10 billion target set by the leaders of the two countries, Consul General Anju Ranjan announced at a reception here on Wednesday to celebrate India's 73rd Republic Day.

 

'India-South Africa trade has crossed the landmark. We have achieved the 100 per cent target and now it has increased from USD 10 billion to USD 11.6 billion,' Ranjan said.

 

This was despite the restrictions posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in both countries, she added.

 

'We were able to organise many commercial activities despite the challenges of lockdowns, sometimes in India and sometimes in South Africa.

 

'We held many virtual exhibitions and buyer-seller meets in different sectors like ceramics, telecom, agriculture, printing and textiles during this period to improve bilateral trade between the two countries,' Ranjan said.

 

'In between, we were able to send delegations to India for physical buyer-seller meets and exhibitions for food processing and handicrafts,' the diplomat said as she highlighted that new ties were forged through visits to the various provinces of South Africa.

 

'Notwithstanding the pandemic, the improvement in trade relations between our two countries is a positive step. We aspire to do much more in the coming months in the areas of spices, IT, telecom, mining, pharma and textiles,' Ranjan said.

 

In his keynote address, High Commissioner Jaideep Sarkar lauded the Indian companies who were contributing to the economic development of South Africa.

 

'I am happy to say that over 150 Indian companies have invested more than USD 10 billion in South Africa, employing over 20,000 South African nationals. These companies bring critical skills, technology and entrepreneurship and create jobs, income and wealth for both India and South Africa,' he said.

 

Sarkar also congratulated the global Indian diaspora, which he said is now an influential community.

 

'We are equally proud of the Indian diaspora in South Africa, whose journey since 1860 is a story of struggle, sacrifice and hardship. Its contribution to the anti-apartheid struggle and later to building a free, democratic and multi-racial South Africa is well-recognised,' he said.

 

'India has always been an all-weather friend of South Africa and Indians and Africans have had historically close ties spanning centuries. We look to the diaspora to further expand, enhance and enrich these bonds in the years to come,' Sarkar added.

 

Maropene Ramokgopa, Special Adviser on International Relations to President Cyril Ramaphosa and a former Consul General in India, said the Red Fort Declaration signed by the late president Nelson Mandela and then Indian prime minister HD Deve Gowda in 1997 paved the way for the successful trade relations between the two countries.

 

'The Red Fort Declaration has really been able to assist us to be able to reach a lot of bilateral trade and also broad policies that we share today. If it was not for that declaration, I do not believe that we would have been able to be where we are today,' she said.

 

'India and South Africa have been working together to reshape the international agenda in many international groupings, from the corporate world to the G20,' Ramokgopa added.

Fresh grapes export from Maharashtra has begun on a sombre note this season. By January 24, 1,480.928 tonnes of grapes have been exported from the State in 113 containers. Compared with the same period a year, 1.06 lakh tonnes of grapes were shipped from the State in 7,694 containers.

 

The export figures available with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) show that grapes export from the State has not gained momentum. The majority of grapes have been exported to the Netherlands – 1,261.372 metric tonne (MT). The export to other countries including Lativa, UK, Poland, Sweden, etc is not even 50 MT.

 

Of the total grapes exported from Maharashtra 1,468.448 MT is from Nashik district and 12.480 MT from Satara. Many grape growers in the Nashik region are waiting for service providers and exporters to approach them for harvesting.

 

However, service providers and exporters are waiting for the Maharashtra State Grape Growers Association (MSGGA) to clear its stand on the Minimum Support Price (MSP).

 

The MSGGA has announced that the MSP of the export quality grapes will be ?82 per kg in January, ?71 per kg in February, and ?62 per kg in March for this season. The Association says that this amount has been calculated on 10 per cent profit on the production cost of grapes.

 

Discussions between exporters and growers

The recent meeting between the Association and the service providers was inconclusive. However, grape farmers who have cultivated export quality grapes are worried as the export season has started and the issues of MSP remain unresolved.

 

Also, the prediction of unseasonal rains and changes in weather is cause for concern for grape growers. Exporters have already communicated to the farmers that the rate fixed by the Association are unreasonable. However, Association members say that exporters must not spread misinformation among farmers.

 

Export economy

 

The majority of grape growers in Nashik cultivate export quality grapes and exports play a major role in the economy of the region. In the last few years, farmers are cultivating varieties that are in demand in the foreign market.

 

Along with Nashik some parts of Sangli and Satara also export grapes. Farmers producer companies like Sahyadri are helping farmers to cultivate export quality grapes. Association members claimed that the MSP fixed by the members is based on facts and exporters should not stretch the issue beyond a limit.

 

However, traders and exporters have not come out openly on the issue and are waiting for farmers and the Association to take a stand on the revised MSP.

The conference which is going to focus on exploring ways of developing economic relations between the two countries and solving the existing problems in the way of mutual trade will be held in collaboration with India’s PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

 

As reported, the virtual conference is going to be attended by senior officials from both sides including the Indian ambassador to Tehran and Iranian Ambassador to India, as well as the heads of TCCIMA and PHD Chamber of Commerce.

 

The trade between Iran and India has been following an upward trend over the past two years, despite the U.S. sanctions.

 

According to TCCIMA data, the trade between the two countries increased over 74 percent in the first nine months of the current Iranian calendar year (March 21-December 21, 2021) as compared to the same period in the previous year.

 

Based on the mentioned data, the value of non-oil trade between Iran and India stood at $2.4 billion in the mentioned nine months, of which $1.34 billion was the share of exports and about $1.05 billion was for imports.

 

Considering the increase in exports and the decrease in imports from India during this period, the trade balance between Iran and India in the said nine months has become about $296 million positive in favor of Iran.

 

India stood at sixth place among the Islamic Republic’s top export destinations in the mentioned period, while in terms of imports the country occupied the seventh place among Iran’s top sources of imports.

 

Iran imported about 935,000 tons of commodities from India in the period under review, registering a 47 percent decline year on year.

 

Rice was the top commodity imported from India with $220 million, followed by black tea worth $104.4 million, aluminum oxide worth $101 million, and fresh or dried green bananas worth $647 million.

 

The Islamic Republic exported 4.14 million tons of goods including methanol, ammonia, sponge iron, pistachios, toluene, and urea to India in the said time span.

Basmati exports are set to recover in January as Iran, Saudi Arabia, two major destinations, may increase their purchases. This comes after a drop in shipments for three consecutive months since the new crop arrived in October. Besides, the geo-political tension in Ukraine will likely boost shipments.

 

According to trade sources, exporters have signed about 0.25 million tonnes (mt) of contracts for shipments in first three weeks of this month, which is 70 per cent of the volume done in the entire month of January last year.

 

'Ramazan is starting from April 2 and Navruz on March 21. As Saudi Arabia and Iran buy during January-February for these festive demands, there may be good orders. Even if shipments match the year-ago levels in these two months, we will still carry the previous backlog. So, I do not see the target of 4.4 mt being achieved during 2021-22,” said Vijay Setia, former president of All India Rice Exporters Association.

 

Basmati shipments in 2021-22 (April-November) dropped by over 21 per cent to 2.4 mt from year-ago, which has been attributed to base effect of panic buying in 2020 after the Covid pandemic. Despite higher trading activities witnessed during April-November 2020, overall Basmati rice shipments recorded only a marginal four per cent rise at 4.63 mt during the 2020-21 fiscal.

 

Except Iran and Kuwait, Basmati exports to all other major destinations such as Saudi Arab, Iraq, Yemen, UAE, US, UK, Qatar and Oman increased during 2020-21, official data show. 'Iran had curtailed imports in 2020 as it had good domestic crop as well as carry forward stock from the previous year. But its purchase improved in 2021 when there was a decline in other countries,” said an exporter. During April-November 2021-22, basmati exports to Iran increased by three per cent to 0.51 mt from the year-ago period.

 

In December 2021, the registration of exports contracts shows that there was five per cent fall in volume, whereas actual shipments may drop 15-20 per cent as some exporters have been re-negotiating deals with buyers after prices increased, sources said. In November 2021, there was five per cent drop in contracts registration while actual shipments declined 21.4 per cent at 2,38,121 tonnes from the year-ago period.

 

Trade sources also said currently, Basmati prices have increased to $980-990/tonne from $890-900/tonne in October 2021, whereas prices dropped to about $830/tonne in December 2020 from around $970/tonne in October 2020.

 

'Ramazan is starting from April 2 and Navruz on March 21. As Saudi Arabia and Iran buy during January-February for these festive demands, there may be good orders. Even if shipments match the year-ago levels in these two months, we will still carry the previous backlog. So, I do not see the target of 4.4 mt being achieved during 2021-22,” said Vijay Setia, former president of All India Rice Exporters Association.

 

Basmati shipments in 2021-22 (April-November) dropped by over 21 per cent to 2.4 mt from year-ago, which has been attributed to base effect of panic buying in 2020 after the Covid pandemic. Despite higher trading activities witnessed during April-November 2020, overall Basmati rice shipments recorded only a marginal four per cent rise at 4.63 mt during the 2020-21 fiscal.

 

Except Iran and Kuwait, Basmati exports to all other major destinations such as Saudi Arab, Iraq, Yemen, UAE, US, UK, Qatar and Oman increased during 2020-21, official data show. 'Iran had curtailed imports in 2020 as it had good domestic crop as well as carry forward stock from the previous year. But its purchase improved in 2021 when there was a decline in other countries,” said an exporter. During April-November 2021-22, basmati exports to Iran increased by three per cent to 0.51 mt from the year-ago period.

 

In December 2021, the registration of exports contracts shows that there was five per cent fall in volume, whereas actual shipments may drop 15-20 per cent as some exporters have been re-negotiating deals with buyers after prices increased, sources said. In November 2021, there was five per cent drop in contracts registration while actual shipments declined 21.4 per cent at 2,38,121 tonnes from the year-ago period.

 

Trade sources also said currently, Basmati prices have increased to $980-990/tonne from $890-900/tonne in October 2021, whereas prices dropped to about $830/tonne in December 2020 from around $970/tonne in October 2020.

 

'We lost substantial basmati rice market in the European Union. Now, Pakistan and Iran have agreed to take measures to increase the annual trade exchanges to $5 billion by the year 2023 with tariff concession in rice. Further, the development of so-called new Basmati hybrid seed in Pakistan is a serious threat to our authentic appellation. India needs a concrete forward plan to promote genuine and original product in global market,” said foreign trade policy expert S Chandrasekaran..We lost substantial basmati rice market in the European Union. Now, Pakistan and Iran have agreed to take measures to increase the annual trade exchanges to $5 billion by the year 2023 with tariff concession in rice. Further, the development of so-called new Basmati hybrid seed in Pakistan is a serious threat to our authentic appellation. India needs a concrete forward plan to promote genuine and original product in global market,” said foreign trade policy expert S Chandrasekaran..

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has notified the standards for ghee in the Official Gazette.

 

The notified regulations added few more parameters for the ‘ghee standards’, these include iodine value, saponification value and fatty acid profile.

 

Called, the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Sixth Amendment Regulations, 2021, these standards shall come into force from July 1, 2022, except for fatty acid contents for ghee which shall come into force after two years of the publication of these regulations in the Official Gazette.

 

According to the notified standards, the iodine value for ghee is set at 25-38, while the saponification value is set  at 205-235 and ß-sitosterol should be absent.  

 

Besides, the moisture value has been fixed at 0.5% max, and 99.5% mini milk fat.

 

 The types of fatty acid include saturated fatty acids including Butyric acid 1 -5%, Hexanoic acid (Caproic acid) 0.5 – 2.2%, Octanoic acid (Cacprylic acid) 0.4 – 1.5%, Decanoic acid (Capric acid) 0.8- 5%, Dodecanoic acid (Lauric acid) 1.5 - 4%, Tetradecanoic acid (Myristic acid) 6- 13%, Hexadecanoic acid (Palmitic acid) 22-38%, and Octadecanoic acid (Stearic acid) 8-19%.

 

The mono-unsaturated fatty acid include Hexadecanoic acid (Palmitoleic acid) 0.9-2.8% and Octadecenoic acid (Oleic acid) 19-32% while the poly unsaturated acids include Octadecadienoic acid (Linoleic acid) 0.5-3.5% and Octadecatrienoic acid 0.3-1.0%.

 

Also, the notification added the definition of dairy analogues. The regulation says that analogue in the dairy context, as referred to in the Regulation 2.1 ( of these regulations), means a product in which constituents not derived from milk but take place, in part or in whole, of any milk constituent(s) and the final product resembles, organoleptically and/or functionally, milk or milk product or composite milk product as defined in these regulations.  

 

However, the admixtures of certain dairy products and other ingredients not exclusively derived from milk, sale of which are prohibited as per Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restriction on Sales) Regulations, 2011,  are excluded from this definition.

Algeria's state grains agency OAIC has issued an international tender to buy milling wheat to be sourced from optional origins, European traders said on Monday.

 

The tender sought a nominal 50,000 tonnes but Algeria often buys considerably more in its tenders than the nominal volume sought.

 

The deadline for submission of price offers in the tender is Jan. 26.

The Centre has procured 606.19 lakh tonnes of paddy (or 406.14 lt in terms of rice), so far in the ongoing 2021-22 season (October-September), with maximum quantities being purchased from Punjab, according to the Union Food Ministry.

 

'Till now, 77 lakh farmers have been benefited from the official purchase programme for which the government has transferred Rs1,18,812.56 crore into their bank accounts,' the Ministry said in a statement Monday. During the 2020-21 season, the Centre had procured 895.83 lakh tones (lt) of paddy worth Rs1,69,133.26 crore, benefitting 1.31 crore farmers.

 

Of the total procurement this year, 186.85 lt of paddy have been procured from Punjab, followed by 82.62 lt from Chhattisgarh, 69.08 lt from Telangana, 56.49 lt from Uttar Pradesh and 55.30 lt from Haryana until January 23.

 

The government undertakes procurement operations through state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) as well as State agencies.

Israeli ambassador Naor Gilon on Monday recalled the role of soldiers of the British Indian Army in World War 1 in liberating areas that later became Israel and said India was a country where Jews had lived with total equality for more than 2,000 years.

 

Gilon was speaking at a virtual event that he addressed along with Sanjeev Singla, the Indian envoy to Israel, to mark the launch of a commemorative logo for the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

 

The Israeli envoy recalled his visits last year along with external affairs minister S Jaishankar to 'some places commemorating more than 900 Indian soldiers buried in Israel'. These were soldiers 'who fought during World War 1 as part of the British Indian army to liberate this area that later became Israel', he said.

 

Gilon said Jews have lived 'for over 2,000 years in India in total equality and peacefully'. He added, 'And as someone who arrived [in India] after serving quite extensive periods in Europe, I was very much surprised to see how much love and appreciation there is in India towards Israel. There is another element – there is no anti-Semitism in India, this phrase just doesn’t exist.'