Canada Hopes To Export More Pulses To India On Better Growth Prospects

REGINA (CANADA): Jim Etter, a pulses farmer from Saskatchewan in CANADA, has been keenly following the monsoon's progress in India. After two years of good business, he expects markets to soften in the second half of 2016 with news of good rains in India. However, he is optimistic that with a growing economy and increasing purchasing power, Indians will eat more pulses and he will get the opportunity to sell more.

India is the biggest importer, consumer and producer of pulses with consumption touching 22-23 million tonne annually. It imports 3-4 million tonnes of the commodity from Canada, Australia, Myanmar and some African countries to meet the demand-supply gap. In 2015, Canada exported approximately $1.5 billion (2.4 million tonne) worth of pulses to India.

Like Etter, other farmers, traders and companies across Canada who grow, process and trade pulses for India's domestic market are closely monitoring the country's weather conditions, upcoming tenders to import pulses and the Indian government's policy on creating buffer and ensuring higher support prices for farmers.

"I have doubled the acreage under lentil this year to 4,500 acres from last year's 2,300 acres due to the good prices I got," said Etter, who farms on 7,000 acres in Richardson village, 10 km from Regina city in Saskatchewan. The farmer has 8,500 tonne of storage capacity in his farm and is looking to directly export pulses to India.

Farmers in Canada grow red lentil (masur), yellow peas (matar), green peas and green lentil for the Indian market. They are also trying to increase production of 'kabuli chana' and 'desi chana', looking at the market demand.

Generally, farmers who grow pulses in Canada sign contracts with large processors from Cargill to Glencore prior to seed plantation. Saskatchewan and Alberta are the key growing regions.

   
"India is a huge market with annual demand of pulses at 23 million tonne, which is annually growing by 10%. If weather remains good in India, pulses prices may come back to the 2013 level, which will further lead to a rise in demand for Canada produce," said Kanagaraj C Selvraj from WA Grain.

Similarly, Carl Potts, director, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, said the area under pulses in his state has doubled and there is opportunity for a further 25% growth in acreage. "In India, a farmer has the luxury of growing pulses in kharif and rabi seasons, unlike in Canada where we only have one season. In that limited time frame, we are aiming to grow as many pulses varieties for the Indian market," he said.

Looking at the growing acreage, pulses handling company Agrocorp Processing is now planning to add more capacity to meet India's demand. Patrick Pappenfoot, GM, Agrocorp, said they are planning to add 2,200 tonne capacity to their unit in Moose Jaw in Saskatchewan from the current 8,000 tonnes. "This expansion will help us to handle more pulses varieties and ship them to India and China," he said.

Farmers said pulses give them better returns compared to wheat and canola as the input cost-usage of fertilizer and herbicide is less.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

India's Garment Exports May Hit $ 20 Billion In Fy17

 India's garment export is expected to rise to $ 20 billion during the current fiscal, helped by the new initiatives announced by the government for the sector, an ind$try official said today.

The Union Cabinet last week approved a Rs 6,000 crore package for textiles and apparel sector with an aim to create one crore new jobs in three years and attract investments of $ 11 billion with an eye on $ 30 billion in exports.

"India's garment exports, estimated at $ 16.80 billion now, is expected to reach $ 20 billion during the current fiscal. The special package announced by the government will not only help in attracting large investments but also enhance production capacity," Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) president Rahul Mehta told reporters here.

The incl$ion of state-level taxes in the computation of duty drawback will provide a major relief to the exporting segment, Mehta said.

However, the prevailing downturn in the global economy continues to adversely impact India's garment ind$try. During the first quarter ended June 2016, the ind$try may see a five per cent decline in exports. Total exports of apparel from India stood at around $ 4 billion in April-June 2015.

The domestic garment ind$try also faces dull market conditions and may see flat growth or a two per cent decline in consumption in the quarter ended June, 2016, Mehta said.

CMAI is organising a mega trade show - 'The National Garment Fair' - on July 13-15 in Mumbai. The event will see participation from 812 brands and nearly 40,000 retailers from across the country are expected to visit the three-day B2B fair, Mehta said.

Commenting on Britain's exit from EU, Mehta said there may not be an immediate fallout of the referendum on the b$iness front, but there could be a period of uncertainty and conf$ion for some time.

He said there may not be any dramatic impact on India's garment exports to the UK or EU. However, a lot would depend on the exact agreements and treaties to be worked out by both sides, especially on tax implication on movement of goods between the two geographies.

Mehta demanded aggressive follow-up for Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with EU and other countries. Post-Brexit, he felt, there could be a further delay in the signing of the FTA with EU.

The apparel ind$try also sees huge export potential in Iran, which has a $ 16-billion market and nearly 60 per cent of the demand is met through imports, he added.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com
 

Rs 50-Crore ‘Jewellery Park’ Set To Come Up In Mumbai In Bid To Boost Exports

NEW DELHI: A Rs 50-crore 'jewellery park' is set to come up in Mumbai as part of the central government's two-pronged efforts to boost exports that include common facilitation centres for diamond jewellery workers in small units where they will be able to share expensive equipment on pay-per-use basis.

The jewellery park, for which the state government will provide land, will be more of a manufacturing cluster where facilities for training and testing including laboratories will be present in one area, officials said. "A comfortable working environment will improve productivity of the karigars (artisans), make the product price more competitive and increase profitability," an industry expert said, requesting not to be identified.

He said the proposed jewellery park will generate employment for 80,000 people. Under the second scheme, the government has identified four locations in Gujarat where any artisan engaged in polishing and adding value to raw and uncut diamonds will be able to use expensive machinery.

"Expensive machines are required in this process which small units can't afford to buy. Also, these machines are not used all the time. So, the karigars can pay money and use them as per their convenience," said another official.

The government has allocated Rs 45 crore for setting up these centres, he said. The initiative comes at a time when India's jewellery sector faces a crisis of skilled labour, inadequate infrastructure and lack of technology. Reduced demand from the overseas markets led to a decline in exports of gems and jewellery to nearly $32 billion in 2015-16 from $36.2 billion in the previous fiscal

The Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council has asked the government to permit goods to enter the country on consignment basis for manufacturing, reasoning that this will create additional jobs in the sector. This will also bring India on a par with China since diamond traders from other countries send goods to China for this purpose.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Coal Imports Fell 5 Per Cent In April-May: Coal Secretary Anil Swarup

NEW DELHI: India's annual coal imports fell by about 5 percent in April-May to 35.85 million tonnes on increased local production, Coal Secretary Anil Swarup said in a Twitter post.

The country imported 37.72 million tonnes in April-May 2015, he said.



The government saved 42.85 billion rupees ($631.21 million) equivalent of foreign exchange due to the lower imports in the first two months of the fiscal year to March 2017, Swarup said

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Rises Most In Over 3 Weeks, Closes At 67.69 Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday logged its biggest single-session gain against the US dollar in over three weeks, as a rebound in global equities and currencies buoyed sentiment.

The home currency closed at 67.69, up 0.40% from its previous close of 67.95, posting its maximum gain since 6 June. The local currency opened at 67.80 a dollar and touched a high of 67.61, a level last seen on 23 June.

Asian currencies extended the rally post-Brexit vote battering, with traders pushing back expectations for any near-term rate increase by the Fed.

South Korean won rose 0.96%, Malaysian ringgit 0.91%, Singapore dollar 0.37%, China offshore 0.36%, Indonesian rupiah 0.24%, Taiwan dollar 0.22%, Japanese yen 0.1%, Philippines peso 0.1% and Thai baht added 0.06%.

India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.81%, or 215.84 points, to close at 26,740.39. So far this year, the Sensex is up 2.38%.

The government will issue fiscal deficit data for the month of May on 30 June. Fiscal deficit in April came in at Rs.1.37 lakh crore, which is 25.7% of the Budget estimate for 2016-17.

So far this year, the rupee is down 2.26%, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $2.75 billion in equity and sold $1.98 billion in debt markets.

The 10-year bond yield has fallen in 10 out of 12 trading sessions. On Wednesday, the yield closed at seven-week low of 7.444%—a level last seen on 12 May—compared with Tuesday’s close of 7.452%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.881, down 0.38% from its previous close of 96.245.

 

Source:.livemint.com