India Bans Import Of Goods From China: List Of Top 5 Imports Of India

The government of India put a ban on the import of various goods from China including some electronic items, specific mobile phones, milk and milk products and some steel products on April 25, 2016.

According to some online media reports, the ban came after Union Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the import of such items from China has been harming India's small and medium enterprises. Quality concerns have also been cited as one of the reasons for the ban.  

Union Commerce Minister reportedly said that specific actions have been taken by the government on these Chinese imports to implement the ban precisely.

India imports around 6000 commodities from 140 countries. In 2015, India imported USD 390.7 billion worth of commodities.

Following is a list of top five imports of India from the world:

1.Crude oil: The import of petroleum crude to the country accounts for about 34 percent of the total inward shipments.

2.Gems and precious metals: The country also imports gold and silver which accounts for 12 percent of the total imports.

3.Machinery: This makes around 10 percent of the total imported goods in the country.

4.Electronic equipment: The import of electronic goods including smart phones in the country grew from USD 2.85 billion in May to USD 4.38 billion in September 2015. This accounts to around 7 percent of the total imports.

5.Pearls, precious and semi-precious stones: India imports natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones, precious metals, metals clad with precious metal and its products, which accounts for five percent of the country's total imports.

 

Source :indiatoday.intoday.in

India's Gems And Jewellery Exports Decline On A Global Economic Slowdown

India's gems and jewellery (G&J) exports declined in the financial year 2015-16 due to a slowdown in global economy despite a small pick up witnessed from the United States, the world's largest consumer of luxury goods.

Data compiled by the apex body the Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC) showed India's net G&J exports at $31.98 billion (Rs 2,09,593.83 crore) in FY 2015-16 as compared to $36.22 billion in the previous year, witnessing a decline of 5.3%.

The fall in G&J shipment was largely driven by a sharp fall in exports of cut and polished diamonds, which recorded 7.47% slump in dollar term at $19.99 billion in FY16, as against $23.16 billion in FY15.

In rupee terms, however, cut and polished diamond exports slumped by a steep 13.66% to Rs 1,30,938.07 crore in FY 16 as against Rs 1,41,514.28 crore in the previous year.

The decline in cut and polished diamond was partly compensated by a surge in silver jewellery exports, which grew by a staggering 44.17% in FY16.

 

 

source :business-standard.com

Removal Of Subsidies On Cotton To Benefit Indian Exports: Government

NEW DELHI: The decision taken at the World Trade Organisation's 2015 Nairobi Ministerial to eliminate export subsidies on cotton will benefit Indian shipments of the crop, the government said on Wednesday.

it will create a level playing field for our farmers, who were not entitled for it but other developed countries were providing the same as scheduled, as per the rules," the commerce department said.

The Nairobi Ministerial decision on cotton and export competition resulted in a commitment by developed countries to immediately eliminate their export subsidies, while developing countries were required to do so by January 1, 2017.

However, India is not a major user of export subsidies and as per notifications to the WTO, the country has not provided any financial support for cotton between FY07 and FY10.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

The Fight Over Tyre Imports Gets Nasty

CHENNAI: Are tyre imports into India going up or coming down? Tyre companies and tyre dealers are locked in a vicious tit-for-tat with both sides claiming they have the right data. Tyre companies say the data shows that truck and bus radial imports are up 60%. Dealers say data shows imports are already down 29% and there is no need for anti-dumping duty on imports. Now the Automotive Tyre Manufacturers Association (ATMA) and All India Tyre Dealers' Federation (AITDF) are down to calling each other names.

It all started when AITDF released data suggesting that that import of passenger car radial tyre has seen a 53% drop in March 2016 compared to December 2015 and a 57% drop compared to the previous high in June 2015. This, said the AITDF report, comes on the heels of a 29.25% drop in the import of truck/bus radial tyres. On a quarter-on-quarter basis, the passenger car radial imports in the quarter ending March 2016 over the quarter ending December 2015 have come down by 32.38%.

Now ATMA has hit back saying the data is wrong and misleading. Rajiv Budhraja, director general, ATMA, said, "AITDF though claiming to be a representative of tyre dealers has been, in fact, acting at the behest of tyre importers as has been always campaigning in favour of tyre imports and against domestic manufacturing. As much as 95% of truck & bus radial (TBR) tyres are imported in India by independent tyre importers who are the direct beneficiary of dumped tyres from China. They have mixed up TBR and passenger car radial (PCR) import to make a point and create confusion."



According to ATMA, for the second year running TBR imports are up by more than 60%. "AITDF's statement that TBR import has gone down is factually incorrect and a vicious attempt to deflect the government's attention from a serious issue," said Budhraja.


Singh meanwhile maintains that the data discrepancy is due to the fact that AITDF is calculating month-on-month while ATMA is calculating year-on-year. Also the radial import is restricted to a single category (10.00-20") whereas the other categories for light commercial vehicles and ICVs (like 8.25-16", 7.25-20", 9.00-20" and 11.00-20") is entirely serviced by domestic manufacturers. "There are months when tyre imports will go up like it will be higher in April than in March 2016," said Singh. "But that's because of several factors - summer is peak season for tyre demand and the truck market is growing in double digits so there is a demand supply shortfall which is being met with imports. We are only voicing the interests of consumers that tyre companies should either lower prices to global levels or allow imports to compete in a level playing field. You can't have your cake and eat it too," he added.

The AITDF report announced last week claimed that import of both PCR and TBR are down sharply. "AITDF has duly tabulated the import data of PCR import from China PR for replacement market for the period of January 2015 to March 2016 and it is very much evident that there has been no surge in import of truck and bus radial tyres into India as is being shouted by domestic tyre industry," SP Singh, convenor, AITDF had quoted in the report. "The trend has been up and down and there is no sign of any dumping and related injury to domestic industry."


ATMA, for its part, says that TBR imports have actually jumped 60 and 64% in FY 2014-15 and FY2015-16 respectively. Quoting customs data, ATMA stated that TBR imports went up from 7.8 lakh units in FY15 to 12.8 lakh units in FY16. In the last two years, TBR import has gone up by 2.5 times. From an average per month import of about 40,000 units in FY14 and 65,000 units in FY15, the TBR import figure has crossed one lakh units per month in FY16, states ATMA.China's share in TBR import in India has more than doubled to 90% in 2015-16 from 40% in 2013-14. Chinese TBR import has come to account for 30%-40% of replacement demand for TBR in India.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

Rupee Trades Higher At 66.44 Against Us Dollar

Mumbai: The Indian rupee on Wednesday strengthened against the US dollar ahead of the US Federal Reserve’s policy outcome. This is the second session when the rupee is trading higher.

At 2.04pm, the home currency was trading at 66.44, up 0.12% from its previous close of 66.52. The rupee opened at 66.55 a dollar and touched a high and a low of 66.44 and 66.60, respectively.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.18% or 47.60 points to 26,053.53 points. So far this year, Sensex is down 0.16%.

Most Asian currencies were trading higher. Malaysian ringgit was up 0.4%, South Korean won 0.24%, Japanese yen 0.18%, Singapore dollar 0.18% and Philippines peso 0.13%. However, China offshore spot was down 0.05%

The Federal Reserve and the Bank of Japan (BoJ) will meet and announce their monetary policy decisions. Analysts expect that the BoJ meeting on Thursday will be reactionary and dependent on the stance laid out at the Fed on Wednesday.

Other data this week include first-quarter growth figures for the UK, the US and the Eurozone, issued on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, respectively, Reuters reported.

India’s 10-year bond yield was trading at 7.46%, as compared with its Tuesday’s close of 7.472%.

So far this year, the rupee gained 0.43%, while foreign institutional investors bought $1.61 billion from the local equity market and sold $312 million in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.356, down 0.23% from its previous close of 94.573.

 

Source :livemint.com

India Faces Flak At Wto For Duty On Steel Imports

 

India’s recent decision to impose minimum import price on certain steel items has been opposed by Japan, the EU, Korea, Australia, and Canada at the World Trade Organisation, all of whom have alleged it goes against multi-lateral trade rules.

The countries also criticised safeguard duties imposed by India on steel recently.

While India is yet to formally respond to the complaints, a Commerce Ministry official told BusinessLine that a minimum import price (MIP) was a short-term measure and was generally removed as soon as the deluge in imports subsided.

“There is over capacity in the steel industry worldwide. Many countries are adopting protectionist measures to stop import of the metal. Given the sharp increase in steel import in India, the Centre deemed it appropriate to impose an MIP as a temporary measure (maximum for six months) to check cheap inflows,” the official said.

In its representation at the Goods Council meeting of the WTO, Japan said the MIPs were having a significant adverse impact on exports from the country and were clearly inconsistent with GATT rules. Canada, Australia, the EU and Chinese Taipei also backed Japan’s demand that India should withdraw the MIP.

New Delhi imposed an MIP, ranging from $341 to $752 per tonne, on 173 steel products in February.

It was in response to a surge in steel imports in 2015-16, which increased 25.6 per cent to 11.71 million tonnes (mt), compared to 9.32 mt in 2014-15 in the previous year.
Safeguard duty opposed

At the recent Goods Council meeting of the WTO, Japan and the EU also raised concerns on the safeguard duties (penal import duties to protect domestic industry against import surges) imposed on imports of hot-rolled flat steel products last year by India.

The representative from the EU pointed out that safeguards are one of the most trade-restrictive tools because they apply to imports from all countries, and that India should have instead initiated an anti-dumping or countervailing investigation on the targeted goods. India, however, believes that it is well within its rights to apply the duties.

“The WTO allows members to impose safeguard duties and we strictly followed prescribed rules to determine safeguard duties on steel products,” the official said.
User industry worried

While the domestic steel industry is happy with the protection accorded to it by the Centre against cheap imports, the user industry, which includes engineering products manufacturers, is worried.

High price of domestic steel is one of the reasons pulling engineering exports from India down, according to the Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC). Engineering exports contracted 11 per cent in March.

“Policies like severe import restrictions on steel, a crucial raw material for the engineering products, are aggravating the problems for the engineering exporters,” according to TS Bhasin, Chairman of EEPC.

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Isuzu Motors To Export Vehicles From Indian Plant

Chennai, April 27 (IANS) Japanese automobile maker Isuzu Motors will export vehicles from its Indian plant in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh besides automotive components, senior officials said on Wednesday.

The company's 50,000 units per annum plant was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu when he drove the first India made D-Max pickup model out of the assembly line.

"India is a strategic market for Isuzu Motors. We will be exporting out of India in the future as this plant will be a key manufacturing hub for our global operations," said Masanori Katayama, president, Isuzu Motors.

"Isuzu Motors has earmarked Rs.3,000 crore investment for the Indian project. Initially the local content will be around 70 percent and the percentage will be increased gradually," Hiroyasu Miura, chairman, Isuzu Motors India, told the gathering.

He said the company was in India for the past four years studying the market.

Speaking at the inaugural, Naidu said the government had agreed to the request of Isuzu Motors to extend the mega investment incentives to the component units to be set up in Sri City while exempting road tax to the company vehicles.

Eight component suppliers of Isuzu Motors will set up their operations at Sri City, he added.

He said Sri City has attracted 120 companies of which 80 are operational now.

According to Miura, the plant's production capacity can be increased to 120,000 units.

The bookings for the Isuzu branded vehicles will soon start followed by deliveries across India. According to the company, D-Max V-Cross is India's first adventure utility vehicle.

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com
 

India Likely To Become Net Importer Of Sugar As Drought Dries Fields

 India is likely to become a net importer of sugar in 2016/17 as back-to-back drought years dry irrigation channels and ravage cane fields, with output in the country's biggest producing state seen dropping over 40 per cent.

That would mark the first time the nation has been a net importer of the sweetener in four years, with the switch likely to support global prices that have already been rising this year.

It would also give rival producers such as Pakistan, Thailand and Brazil the chance to boost shipments from their ports.

"India will need to import next year due to a production shortfall," Ashok Jain, president of the Bombay Sugar Merchants Association (BSMA), told Reuters.

"Drought has severely affected cane plantations in Maharashtra. The government should stop exports now to reduce import requirements in the next season."

The El Nino weather phenomenon, which brings dry conditions to many regions, has stoked the worst drought in decades in some parts of India, with thousands of small-scale sugar cane growers in Maharashtra state failing to cultivate crops for the next marketing year, starting October.

"Even for drinking water we are relying on water tankers. It wasn't possible for anyone from our village to cultivate cane," said Baban Swami, a farmer standing in a parched field in the Latur district of Maharashtra, around 500 km southeast of Mumbai.

That could help push overall output below consumption for the first time in seven years.

"Next year, Maharashtra's production could drop below 5 million tonnes. This may pull down the total output to 22.5 million tonnes," said B.B. Thombre, president of the Western India Sugar Mills Association. Next season's local consumption is pegged at around 26 million tonnes.

The world's biggest sugar consumer is set to churn out 25.7 million tonnes in the current season, with Maharashtra contributing 8.5 million tonnes. Indian mills are contracted to export nearly 1.5 million tonnes this season.

"I think there is a possibility we could see imports to India next year," said Tracey Allen, a commodity analyst at Rabobank in London.

Indian imports have in the past boosted global sugar prices, traders said.

"The global supply deficit is going to rise with the Indian shortfall. This could trigger a rally, although a lot depends on how much sugar India needs to import," said a Singapore-based dealer with a global trading firm. He declined to be identified as he was not authorised to speak with media.

Meanwhile, analysts were divided over whether India would cut its 40-per cent import duty on raw sugar.

Some said mills would ask for the tax to remain unchanged so domestic prices would rise further, while others said the food ministry could push for a duty-cut to relieve inflationary pressures.

"Duty free imports are required to arrest price rises,"

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Minister Of State (Independent Charge) In The Ministry Of Commerce & Industry (Cim), Nirmala Sitharaman Has Said That Government Has Taken Steps To Promote Exports Of Indian Goods.

Minister of State (Independent Charge) in the Ministry of Commerce & Industry (CIM), Nirmala Sitharaman has said that government has taken steps to promote exports of Indian goods.

In a written reply in Lok Sabha on Monday, Sitharaman said, "The government takes steps to improve the competitiveness of Indian goods through steps like improvement in infrastructure and ease of doing business."

"International Trade is governed on the basis of various factors including demand and supply, global economic situation and competitive pricing," she said.

In her reply, she said, following are some of the measures Government has taken recently to promote exports.

The Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) was introduced in the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) 2015-20 on April 1, 2015.MEIS aims to incentivize export of merchandise which are produced/manufactured in India.

At the time of introduction of MEIS on April 1, 2015, the scheme covered 4914 tariff lines at 8 digit level. Countries of the globe were grouped into 3 market categories (Country Group A, Country Group B & Country Group C) for grant of incentives under MEIS. Slight changes in lines covered etc. were made on 14.07.2015 and 15.7.2015. Thereafter on 29.10.2015, 110 new Tariff Lines at 8 digit level were added under the scheme.

The rates/country coverage for 2228 lines at 8 digit level were enhanced. As on date, 5012 Tariff Lines at 8 digit level are eligible for rewards under MEIS. The annual resource allocation under MEIS was enhanced from Rs. 18000 crore to Rs. 21000 crore in October 2015.

The Government has introduced the Interest Equalisation Scheme on Pre & Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit with effect from 1.4.2015. The scheme is available to all exports under 416 tariff lines [at ITC (HS) code of 4 digit] and exports made by Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) across all ITC (HS) codes. The rate of interest equalisation is 3 percent per annum.

In addition the Government continues to provide the facility of access to duty free raw materials and capital goods for exports through schemes like Advance Authorisation, Duty Free Import Authorisation (DFIA), Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) and drawback/refund of duties.

While India's exports during April 2015 – February 2016 over the April 2014 – February 2015 declined by 16.7 percent, the decline for the products covered under MEIS for the same period was only 8.95 percent, added Sitharaman in her reply.

In an other reply she said, "The Government is implementing a number of measures and incentives for promoting the exports of agricultural products."

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the administrative control of the Department of Commerce extends financial assistance to the eligible exporters under "Agriculture export promotion Plan Scheme" which comprises of various components namely; Market Development; Infrastructure Development; Quality Development; and Transport Assistance. Also, exports of grapes are eligible for an incentive of 5 percent under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS).

In addition to this Grape Net is an internet based electronic service offered by APEDA to the Stakeholders for facilitating testing and certification of Grapes for export from India to the European Union in compliance with the standards identified by NRC Pune, on the basis of consultation with exporters.

The cultivation of grapes is supported through Centrally Sponsored Scheme i.e. Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) in all the States by providing assistance in the form of planting material, drip irrigation, trellies and integrated nutrient and pest management, she added.

 

Source :smetimes
 

22-Year-Old Girl Exports Paper From Banana Fibre

 Raipur: Lured by the rich forest cover and produce in Chhattisgarh, a 22-year-old girl ventured into export of forest-based products and has tried to organised famers in a bid to benefit them with additional income. Shubhika Jain is making handmade papers from banana stem fibre and aromatic oils from local herbs. She buys banana stem which normally goes as waste after banana harvesting.


Talking to TOI, Shubhika said, "Though Chhattisgarh is rich in green belt, still for my products like essential oils, which are extremely concentrated requires abundant quantity of specific herbs to meet the high production. So, besides growing aromatic herbs in thirty acres of on our land, I also procure herbs from 6,000 farmers based in Bastar region. These farmers get a substantial share of profit from selling oil and guaranteed buy back amount of per kg of the bio-mass." Its been one and half year since Shubhika has started her export business and it is in its initial phases. I had exported handmade paper to Dubai, Pakistan, Singapore, while sent samples for further order to buyers based in London and Russia. So far, essential oils are sold in markets of Germany and USA, Shubhika said.


Shubhikas family business is in research and development of bio-technology and has a buy back policy in tissue culture raised banana plants and they procure banana fibre for handmade paper. Hence by selling back the fibre, the farmers earn up to Rs 16,000 from each acres. She believes in team work and the success and scope of her work depends on success of farmers so to motivate farmers, buying back policy for fibre adds additional income in farmers books. While four machines, which crush the fibre to obtain the smooth part for making handmade papers are installed in villages of Kawardha and Bemetara districts and here farmers are informed to get benefit of making extra income by selling the banana fibre to them.


Despite the low demand of handmade paper in domestic markets of Chhattisgarh, the product is being sold in markets of Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and Maharashtra. To scale up demand locally Shubhika said, "Handmade papers are eco-friendly and this is one of the major reason I liked working for this product and to make it popular in residents taste I had developed the innovative variations of handmade papers made of cotton rags, silk, jute and leather. Hope people will adapt it use by trying it for once, Shubhika crosses her fingers and smiles."
 

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India's Oil Import From Middle East Rises To 59%

NEW DELHI: Reversing a two-year declining trend, India's reliance on the volatile Middle East region for meeting its crude oil needs has risen in 2015-16, with quantum jump in buying from Iraq.

India imported 109.09 million tonnes of crude from the 10 nations in the Middle East during first 11 months of 2015-16 fiscal, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan told Lok Sabha here.

The region supplied 59.22 per cent of the total 184.21 million tonnes of crude oil imported by India during April, 2015 and February, 2016.

In the entire 2014-15 fiscal, India had imported 109.88 million tonnes or 58 per cent of its entire oil need of 189.44 million tonnes, from the Middle East.

The reliance on the Middle East in that year had declined from 61 per cent in the previous 2013-14 fiscal when the region supplied a total of 115.86 million tonnes of oil. In 2012-13, the Middle East accounted for 62.44 per cent of oil supplies.

In a written reply to a question, Pradhan said Saudi Arabia continues to remain India's number one crude oil supplier, selling 37.10 million tonnes of oil in April-February period of the last fiscal. Saudi supplies were up from 35 million tonnes in 2014-15.

Imports from Iraq however saw the biggest jump - rising from about 24.5 million tonnes level of the past three years to 32.97 million tonnes - in April-February of 2015-16.

Iran sold 10.58 million tonnes of oil in the first 11 months of 2015-16, as against 10.95 million tonnes in the full 2014-15 fiscal. Import from Iran in 2013-14 was 11 million tonnes and in 2012-13 it was 13.14 million tonnes.

Pradhan said supplies from Kuwait has however dipped to 10.13 million tonnes from 17.85 million tonnes in 2014-15. Imports from the UAE also dipped to 14.03 million tonnes from 16.11 million tonnes.

Africa overtook South America to become the second biggest source of crude oil supplies during April-February. It supplied 35.69 million tonnes of oil, ahead of 28.10 million tonnes coming from Latin America.

In 2014-15, South America had supplied 34.46 million tonnes with Venezuela selling 24.4 million tonnes. In April-February 2015-16, Venezuelan supplies fell to 21.29 million tonnes.

Africa had in 2014-15 supplied 33.05 million tonnes of oil to India, bulk of it coming from Nigeria (17.82 million tonnes). In first 11 months of 2015-16, Nigeria sold 21.71 million tonnes of crude oil to India.

Besides crude oil, India also imported almost all of its 8.16 million tonnes LPG from the Middle East region. Qatar was the largest supplier with 3.163 million tonnes in April-February 2015-16, followed by Saudi Arabia (2.24 million tons), the UAE (1.49 million tonnes) and Kuwait (848,000 tonnes), he said.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Weather May Hit This Year’S Tea Production

KOLKATA: Erratic weather conditions in the major tea producing regions of Darjeeling, Dooars and Assam is likely to pull down tea production this year by 5-10%, industry executives said.

Darjeeling and parts of Dooars are witnessing a dry spell. On the other hand, tea gardens in Assam are facing incessant rains, which may bring down tea production in April by at least 10% from a year ago. "Darjeeling gardens are the worst hit. There is no rain in the area that produces the finest of Indian teas," said AN Singh, managing director, Goodricke GroupBSE 0.63 %.

"Ideally, by this time the gardens should have received 10 inches of rainfall. The gardens had received some 2 inches of sporadic rainfall in March which was not enough."

This continuous dry spell has already affected the famous first flush Darjeeling teas that are sold mostly overseas. "It is going to affect the second flush as well," Singh said. The 87 tea estates in Darjeeling produce 8.5-9 million kg annually. A part of Dooars has also not received rain which too will take a toll on the crop size, industry executives said.

"While the dry spell is affecting tea production in Darjeeling and Dooars, excessive rains in Assam has become a matter of concern to planters," said Aditya Khaitan, managing director of McLeod Russel IndiaBSE 1.45 %. "A clearer picture on the extent of crop damage will emerge by the month end. But definitely there will be some crop loss in the second half of April." Singh puts the crop loss at 5-10%.

"We are also worried over pest attack due to this erratic weather condition," he said. India had produced 75.61 million kg of tea in April 2015. Meanwhile, prices of new-season teas have dropped at the auctions in comparison with last year. CTC prices are down by 7.64% while dust tea is fetching 3.5% less. Khaitan said that since production was high, buyers were on a wait-and-watch mode, which has affected prices. "But in April, production will be lower. Prices will remain firm," he said.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Steel Imports Rise By 26% To 12 Mt In Fy'16

NEW DELHI: Steel imports increased by 25.6 per cent to 11.71 million tonnes in the last fiscal compared to 9.32 million tonnes (MT) in 2014-15.

Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai in a written reply to Lok Sabha said that in 2015-16 the finished steel import was at 11.71 million tonnes (provisional).

The domestic production of finished steel in the last financial year declined to 90.39 million tonnes (provisional), over 92.16 million tonnes in 2014-15, Sai said.

The minister further said that after the issue of quality control order, import of seconds and defective products by some unscrupulous importers were reported in respect of some categories of steel products.

"However, the government does not maintain data on import, sale and storage of such sub-standard steel products standards-wise," he said.

In a separate reply to the house, the minister said that the government has long-term vision of increasing domestic steel production capacity to 300 million tonnes per annum by 2025.

"There are two steel projects of central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) under the Ministry of Steel with time overruns, namely, expansion of Bhilai Steel Plant and setting up of integrated steel plant at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh, which are implemented by SAIL and NMDC respectively," the minister said.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Mondelez International To Make Andhra Plant An Export Hub

US-based food, confectionery and beverages giant Mondelez International plans to make its $190 million new plant in Sri City in Andhra Pradesh cater to both domestic and export markets, a senior company official said.

The $30 billion group owns brands like Cadbury Dairy Milk, Cadbury 5 Star, Bournvita, Halls, Oreo, Tiger and Toblerone.

"We are investing in this plant for the future. India is an important market for us. We have invested more than $100 million during the last three years. The investment in this plant is part of our global capacity expansion," Maurizio Brusadelli, president, Asia Pacific, Mondelez International, told reporters here.

The 60,000 tonne per annum (tpa) plant in Chittoor district was inaugurated by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Monday.

Inaugurating the plant, Naidu urged Mondelez India to increase its sourcing of cocoa as the state government will be increasing the crop acreage.

Naidu said the state government wants to increase the cocoa planting area to 75,000 hectares from the current 25,000 hectares.

The chief minister also said that Andhra Pradesh is good in cow milk production and can cater to the demands of the company.

According to Naidu, the government will be developing Sri City, Nellore and Tirupati as a tri-city industrial corridor.

The chief minister urged young workers in Mondelez India to behave responsibly as any labour unrest will drive away international investors.

Naidu said Hero Motors will also set up base in Andhra Pradesh. "The plant will be expanded in three phases in five years.

Meanwhile, Mondelez India Foods Private Ltd. managing director Chandramouli Venkatesan said that at the end of the third phase, the total capacity of the newly inaugurated plant will go up to 250,000 tpa.

By that time it will be a multi-product locality," he said.

Mondelez holds 134 acres in Sri City and has utilized only around 30 percent of the land for building the new facility.

Venkatesan declined to comment on the company's total capacity, including the Sri City facility.

According to Brusadelli, exports will start after the third phase and the production will cater to the domestic market till then.

"Three of our suppliers will set up their facilities near our plant. Their investment will be in addition to ours," Daniel P. Myers, executive vice president, Global Integrated Supply Chain, said.

Mondelez India recently expanded its biscuits portfolio, launching Bournvita biscuits.

Venkatesan said he was hopeful that the brand extension will be successful, though another health drink maker's attempts to extend its brand to biscuits did not succeed greatly.

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Hong Kong Eyes Consumer Electronic Part Imports From India

Hong Kong, the world's eighth-largest trading economy, sees "a good possibility" of importing consumer electronic components from India and will "encourage" local companies to set up assembly plants there with the aim of bolstering economic and business ties.

Terming the potential entry as "a win-win situation", It has stressed on stepping up the programme of exchange and understanding between the two countries and signing of the Double Taxation Agreement and Investment Protection Treaty for promotion of trade and investments.

However, on the bilateral trade front, Hong Kong expects a growth in exports to India, but sees imports from India to stay flat.

"Yes, there is a good possibility (of imports) of parts and components for making consumer electronics products. Because we are the largest exporter of telephones, mobiles in world. So, we need parts for finished products," Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Deputy Executive Director, Raymond Yip told Indian reporters here.

"Because we also trade in products and we don't buy for our 7.3 million people here. We buy actually for 1.3 billion people in China, we buy for the world. We can buy worth USD 1.4 billion per day for the world."

He further said local companies in Hong Kong can also be encouraged to invest in India by setting up assembly plants to tap the big domestic market there in the wake of rising income of the middle class.

According to HKTDC, Hong Kong does not produce components itself and imports the same from China, the US, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia. And this is where India can fit in, Raymond noted.

"India excels in making good quality telecom components because of your domestic research and development and the presence of MNCs... electronics is our biggest industry. Out of USD 462 billion of our exports, half is electronics," Raymond said.

"We could import that from India because you produce some good components because we need components and parts to make products for exports."

Hong Kong's total exports to the world last year stood at USD 462 billion while its imports remained at $518 billion.

On the 'Make In India' initiative, he said: "For us, anything which turns into business opportunities is great and of course, we want to sell more products to India."

He pointed to some constraints though in terms of import regulations, and tariff, adding that it is being liberalised.

HKTDC, established in 1966, is a statutory body dedicated to promoting Hong Kong's trade in goods and services.

Asserting that Hong Kong has "big" appetite for trade, Raymond said the country also buys products, including luxury items such as watches, for 60 million tourists comprising 45 million from China.

Stepping up his pitch further, Raymond said it is number one market in the world for Swiss watches and Japanese food products.

 

Source :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Super Premium Ice-Cream Brands Eye A Big Bite Of The Indian Market

 Selling super premium ice-creams in a price sensitive market has never been easy. Steep import duties at nearly 27 per cent also add to the woes of players such as Haagen Dazs, Movenpick and London Dairy when it comes to deriving healthy margins.

They are now seeking lower price points and SKUs (stock keeping units) to garner volume growth by penetrating the market further through retail stores and cafes.
Affordable packs

For instance, Nestle-owned Movenpick, which has a new distributor for the past three years (Nectar Hospitality), is now bringing in 500 ml packs as 1-litre packs at ?950 were a bit too costly for the Indian market.

Tarun Sikka, Managing Director, Nectar Hospitality, said: “The price points of our 1-litre packs were considered prohibitive and affected the perception of the brand.

“We are now getting seven-eight flavours at the retail level in the 500 ml packs to specifically cater to the Asian market as the per capita consumption of ice-cream is still low in India compared to Europe.”

India continues to be a challenging market for Movenpick, which had exited the country in the past.

“We have had FSSAI issues in the past since there has been lack of clarity, but we have to work in this scenario.

“India is a challenging market but we have plans to expand our retail presence along with our cafes and sell about 1 lakh litres of ice-cream in a year,” added Sikka.

After catering primarily to institutional trade, Movenpick is now taking up its retail presence from 74 to 100 outlets along with nine cafes this year.

Volumes have also been sluggish for the Dubai-based London Dairy for the past two years as it was also facing FSSAI issues over the labelling of some of its flavours.

But this summer London Dairy is hoping to make up for it by introducing its mini ice-cream sticks at ?75 for 60 ml, its lowest SKU, in addition to enhancing its retail presence to 3,000 outlets from 2,000.

Compliance issues

After being present in India for the five years, London Dairy is now seeking to grow at 36 per cent. “Trying to get FSSAI compliance has led to erratic supplies for the past two years. But now we have to fight back by focussing on growth through the mini sticks since we believe in staying invested in India. The super premium segment is growing at 18-20 per cent,” said Shweta Shrivastava, Head - Marketing, London Dairy.
General Mills’ plans

General Mills-owned Haagen Dazs, which is imported directly from Arras in France, is seeking ways to garner additional volumes with more India-specific innovations to help it grow faster in the segment. It already has 19 cafes and reaches out to more than 100 retail outlets.

Salil Murthy, Marketing Director, General Mills, said: “We are seeking volumes for which we are working on product innovations specific to India. Since we started the super premium segment in 2009, we have been experimenting with Indian offerings such as mithai and faluda based ice-creams.”

According to market estimates, about 6 per cent of the ?3,300-crore ice-cream segment is pegged as super premium, which makes it a ?150-crore category.

 

Source :.thehindubusinessline.com

Indian Speciality Chemicals Firms To Benefit From China's Stricter Green Norms

India stands to gain from the strict implementation of environmental norms and safety standards against Chinese firms that has resulted in the closure of several unorganised and small units in that country.
 
Over the past decade, China has seen unrestrained industrial expansion, enabled by the government and by easy financing. This, coupled with lax regulations, contributed to serious environmental violations. To crack down on polluters, the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection enforced strict penalties starting January 2015, leading to plant shutdowns and softening of the global leader’s exports.
 
“Under the new policy framework, China is expected to cleanse its environment by shutting down or shifting 1,000 plants to a ‘green belt’. While China saw softer exports in 2015, we expect more of the same in 2016,” said Surya Patra, an analyst with PhillipCapital.
 
As a consequence, import of speciality chemicals from China to India has declined. Besides, Indian manufacturers have started steadily capturing markets in China and in other markets.
 
“There has been a phenomenal change in the structural dynamics of Indian speciality chemicals industry over the past year. Until a year ago, India was not having the extra edge in speciality chemicals compared to China. But now, with more stringent environment control regulations being implemented in China, it no more has the extra edge,” said Ashok G Rajani, chairman and managing director, Seya Industries Ltd, a specialty chemicals manufacturer based in Mumbai.
 
“We have started exporting to China as Chinese manufacturers have lost the price advantages they used to enjoy till a year ago in the world of specialty chemicals market,” he added.
 
According to industry sources, this opportunity has come India’s way after many decades as the cost of production of India’s specialty chemicals works out to 10-15% lower than that in China after investment in environmental protection.
 
Sensing the chance, other specialty chemicals manufacturers are looking to invest large sums to increase production. Aarti Industries, for example, plans to invest about Rs 300 crore over the next two year, after having already invested Rs 738 crore in the four years ending 2014. Seya, too, is planning to invest about Rs 600-700 crore over the next two years.
 
The $25-billion Indian specialty chemicals sector is growing at 12% annually despite economic slowdown in global markets. The sector is now expected to be worth $33.2 billion by 2019. Specialty chemicals find applications across various industries and their growth is driven by exports as well as domestic consumption.
 
Traditionally, low-cost labour and raw material availability have been key factors for Indian companies. However, factors such as product innovation, branding and distribution are becoming increasingly important.
 
“The specialty chemicals market is witnessing tightening import norms in developed nations due to environmental concerns. This is making it difficult for smaller players to stay cost competitive and compliant. The world is also seeing a shift in production from the west to Asia. Multinational companies are focusing on Asia thanks to lower cost of production, availability of low-cost skilled manpower and increasingly stringent environmental regulations in their home markets,” HDFC Securities said in a recent report.
 
Over the past five years, the Indian specialty chemicals market saw faster growth (13% annual average) against global growth of around 7%, with the momentum supported more by rising domestic demand than exports.
 
“We expect India to emerge as a strategic alternate source for manufacturing of speciality chemicals for multi-national companies,” said Patra. “The emerging trade gap due to softening Chinese exports offers huge opportunities for Indian chemical players, particularly for manufacturers of polymers, dyes & pigments, textile chemicals, and agro chemicals.”

 

Source :.business-standard.com

Coal Mine Auctions Unlikely In First Quarter Of This Fiscal

The Coal Ministry is not likely to auction mines in the first quarter of the current fiscal and the strategy for the remaining quarters will depend on demand.

The Ministry’s decision is largely due to the outcome of the fourth round of auctions which had to be cancelled in December last, due to low bidding interests. There were almost no takers for the fuel in the fourth round as there was more supply than the demand, besides a fall in global prices.

Nine mines with 1.167 billion tonnes of reserves were on offer in the fourth round.

Coal Secretary Anil Swarup told BusinessLine: “Today the situation has reversed — it is now a demand side problem rather than a supply side one.”Increased domestic availability has also helped cut the country’s import bill by ?28,000 crore through a 15 per cent reduction in volumes. Coal India’s additional output in the last two financial years is about 73.98 million tonnes.

Last fiscal, Coal India produced 42.28 million tonnes more, hitting an output of 536.51 million tonnes. In addition, Singareni Collieries Company Ltd’s production of 61 million tonnes in 2015-16 fiscal meant that public sector coal production was nearly 600 million tonnes.

“It is the same people who are now helping in producing more. The output has gone up because of faster land acquisition, forest clearances, and increased rake availability from the Indian Railways,” said Swarup.

Following the Supreme Court’s September 2014 directive to de-allocate 204 coal mines, the government has been conducting fresh auctions and allocation to public sector — both central and state — entities for these areas.

Out of 55 mines that were auctioned and allocated last year in three rounds, so far 10 mines are operational and have produced anywhere between 10 and 11 million tonnes. In all, 28 mines were auctioned to the private sector and 27 mines allocated to central and state PSUs. There are still 149 mines that can be auctioned to the private sector or allocated to state and central public sector units.  
Thermal coal imports

Piyush Goyal, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy, is confident that India can soon completely stop thermal coal imports.

However, with some coastal power plants requiring coal of a higher gross calorific value (GCV) than what is currently available locally, the country would still keep importing some amounts. GCV is the amount of heat produced from burning a specified quantity of fuel. Typically, GCV is measured in kilo calorie per kilogram.

“Our objective is to see that such coal (in context of quality) as is available in India is not imported,” said Swarup adding that in the foreseeable future, apart from some coastal plants, thermal coal imports will not be required.
Coal price

India’s falling imports have left their mark on benchmark coal prices in the region which have touched multi-year lows in recent weeks. But, despite the weak prices of imported coal, Swarup remains confident that domestically produced fuel will remain more competitive.

“Even now, coal prices in the region are 30-40 per cent higher than domestic coal. This is when prices are at multi-year lows. I cannot comment whether global prices will drop further but at these levels, domestic coal is much cheaper,” he said.

 

Source :thehindubusinessline.com

'Govt Must Support Services Exports Through Conducive Policy'

A conducive regulatory environment will help India's services industry become more competitive and the government needs to support exports from the sector through incentives, tax and duty structures, says a report.

"A conducive regulatory environment and infrastructure could enhance India's global competitiveness in services, with increased productivity, quality employment, and increased trade and investment for inclusive growth," said the CII-KPMG report titled 'The Indian services sector: Poised for global Ascendancy'.

With the government increasing focus on services exports, coupled with a reviving economy and a policy-based push to the sector, India is expected to witness a significant jump in the same, translating into growth of the economy.

Highlighting importance of technology and infrastructure for trade and export promotion, the report said government further needs to focus on upgrading technology in the respective sectors, offer financial funding and support for sector development and provide guidance on new markets to enter.

"It is important for the government to also support growth in the existing and potential export markets through conducive policies, incentives and tax and duty structures."

The report released by Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Global Exhibition on Services (GES) at Greater Noida was presented to President Pranab Mukherjee at the function here.

The report said increased levels of foreign direct investment (FDI) and constant supply of cost-effective and technically skilled workforce can help ensure support of resources for the growth of services sector.

India has created a niche for worldwide exports in software and professional services, the focus now is expected to enhance exports in healthcare, education, banking, and finance sector, the report said.

The emphasis is also likely to be on diversification of export destinations to offer services to emerging markets, in addition to the traditional developed markets of the US and Europe, it added further.

"Policy initiatives, including trade reforms, and liberalisation of industrial and service sectors, may provide the required push to the sectors as well", said the report.

The report included key services sectors such as IT, telecom, tourism, media and entertainment, healthcare, management consulting, logistics and professional services.

According to the report, services sector contributed about 61 per cent to India's Gross Domestic Product in 2014-15 and grew at about 10 per cent per annum, making the country the second fastest growing services economy in the world.

"India's share in global services exports was 3.2 per cent in 2014-15, double that of its merchandise exports in global merchandise exports at 1.7 per cent, placing India in the eighth place currently amongst the top ten exporters of service in the world", it added.

"India's young demographic profile, combined with its rising literacy rate, offers it a significant competitive advantage vis-a-vis other developing economies," Rajat Wahi, Partner and Head, Consumer Markets, KPMG in India said.
Along with 'Make in India' initiative that is striving to boost the manufacturing sector, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has outlined a vision to represent India as a world-class services hub across sectors. Multiple stakeholders need to work cohesively to help achieve this vision,

 

Source :timesofindia.indiatimes.com

India Should Ease Tech Equipment Import Rules To Meet Renewable Energy Target: Lm Wind Power

 While the country has been attracting capex in renewable energy, the Indian government should ease rule for import of technology equipment in order to meet the 100 Gigawatt (Gw), said Denmark-based LM Wind Power that inaugurated its manufacturing facility at Halol near Vadodara in Gujarat.

Leading global wind turbine blade manufacturer, LM Wind Power has invested roughly 25 million euros or Rs 200 crore for the Gujarat facility, which is its second in the country.

"Government should make rules easy for import of new technology equipment in India. This will help the industry in many ways and also help match the target set by government in renewable energy," said Marc De Jong, chief executive officer of LM Wind Power.

According to Jong, global technology imports have brought down cost of wind power generation in India to Rs 5 per kilo watt from Rs 50 in past two decades.

LM Wind Power would be supply blades to wind projects in the northern part of India and beyond from its Gujarat facility. The production focuses on blades up to 60 meters in length with room for expansion.

"The Halol plant will cater demands from northern part of India. Moreover, we are aiming at exporting blades from here if and when demand arises," said Niraj Basaria, managing director for India, LM Wind Power.

The company currently operates a blade manufacturing facility in Dabaspet at Karnataka and a global technical centre for research, development and services in Bangalore. The company has approximately 1400 employees in India including 400 in Gujarat plant.

Currently LM Wind Power has installed capacity of 1.60 Gw in India and with the new plant in Gujarat it is expecting the same to rise to 2.50 Gw in next two or three years.

 

Source :.business-standard.com