Govt Slaps Anti-Dumping Duty On Cold-Rolled Flat Steel Products

Less than a fortnight after imposing anti-dumping duty on hot-rolled flat steel products was imposed, the Finance Ministry has extend a similar levy on another grade of steel — cold-rolled flat products.

Continuing its protectionist approach towards the domestic steel industry, the government has imposed provisional anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled flat products of steel imported from China, South Korea, Japan and Ukraine, for six months.

Cold-rolled flat products of steel are used in sectors such as automotive, appliances, furniture, electrical panels, general engineering, capital goods, construction, packaging including drums and barrels, coating and plating including galvanising, colour coating, tinplates etc.

This Revenue Department move has come less than a fortnight after the Designated Authority in the Commerce Ministry recommended levy of provisional anti-dumping duty. The anti-dumping duty imposed is difference between $ 594 per tonne and “landed value” in case of specified producers from these four countries. In case of some producers, a ‘Nil’ rate has also been specified by the Revenue Department.

Essar Steel India Ltd, Steel Authority of India Ltd, JSW Steel Ltd and JSW Steel Coated Products Ltd had jointly filed the petition seeking anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled flat products of steel from these four countries.

According to steel industry officials, with the minimum import price on 66 products extended for two months in early August, the anti-dumping duty on hot-rolled flat steel products and the same on cold-rolled steel products, the entire gamut of steel imports have been covered.

The government has come out with these measures so that the domestic industry remains competitive after steel imports shot up 20 per cent year-on-year at 11.208 million tonne in 2015-16.

When minimum import price was first levied in February 2016, it helped bring down imports. During April-July 2016, total steel imports have come down to 2.39 million tonnes or 34 per cent lower than the same period last year.

Domestic production which grew 3.7 per cent to 35.238 million tonne during April-July 2016 has managed to substitute falling imports. But, steel consumption has largely remained stagnant at 26.18 million tonnes during the period.

Steel stocks

As the anti-dumping duty on cold-rolled flat steel products was expected, shares of domestic steelmakers did not react much to the development.

“The positive impact had been factored in by the market. Therefore, there was not much action on the trading floor with the steel stocks on Thursday,” a Mumbai-based analyst said.

On Thursday, shares of JSW Steel shares closed 0.45 per cent higher at ?1,779.95, Steel Authority of India Ltd closed 0.1 per cent lower at ?48.1, Tata Steel closed 1.06 per cent lower at ? 387.20 while Jindal Steel and Power Ltd closed 4.02 per cent higher at ?85.45.

However, stocks of steelmakers have rallied over the last one year due to the policy decisions that have kept them competitive against imports.

In the last one year, Tata Steel’s shares rose 53 per cent, JSW Steel’s share price has grown 80 per cent, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd’s stock price rose 20 per cent and only SAIL’s share price has slumped by 16 per cent.

 

Sources :.thehindubusinessline.com

Buffalo Meat Exports On Recovery Path

 India's buffalo meat exports have recovered from last year's sharp decline on reduced supplies from Brazil, the world's largest exporter.

Data compiled by the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority, showed India's buffalo meat exports at 280,853 tonnes worth $814.09 million in April-June against 269,756 tonnes worth $853.90 million in the corresponding period last year.


The unit value realisation declined from $3,165.44 a tonne in April-June 2015 to $2,898.65 a tonne during the same quarter this year.

India's buffalo meat exports to major importing countries, especially in West Asis, have gained due to the supply uncertainty in Brazil and Pakistan.

"India has raised its certified halal meat supply in the last few months. Since many export-oriented units have modernised their plants, importers have now shifted their demand from countries like Portugal, Argentina and Pakistan," said Arshad Ali Quddus, proprietor of Al Quddus Sons International, a New Delhi-based buffalo meat exporter.

India is gaining a market captured earlier by Brazil due to lower realisation by its exporters. The Brazilian real has appreciated 12 per cent against the dollar after a steep fall last year. By contrast, the Indian rupee has depreciated by 2 per cent.

Buffalo meat exports on recovery path
India's buffalo meat exports declined in volume and value in 2015-16 on a slump in demand. From 1.48 million tonnes worth $4.78 billion in 2014-15, exports fell to 1.31 million tonnes worth $4.06 billion in 2015-16.

"The recovery during April-June is likely to continue," said an exporter based in Uttar Pradesh.

Credit rating agency ICRA forecasts India's buffalo meat exports will be driven by improving infrastructure, a sizeable buffalo population, the relatively lower price of Indian buffalo meat, and steady demand in the international market. ICRA estimates buffalo meat exports will grow at an annual rate of 8 per cent to Rs 40,000 crore by 2020-21.

"While India has been exporting buffalo meat for almost two decades, this industry has only gained momentum in the last decade. This can be attributed to multiple factors, such as increasing demand from countries like China, Vietnam and Thailand, the slaughtering method meeting the religious requirements of certain ethnicities, price competitiveness, high buffalo population, and low domestic consumption," said Sabyasachi Majumdar, senior vice-president, corporate sector ratings, Icra.

Uttar Pradesh has 28 per cent of the country's buffalo population and is the leading buffalo meat-producing state, housing 60 per cent of standalone slaughterhouses and meat processing units.

Indian buffalo meat exports have grown at 29 per cent annually from Rs 3,533 crore in 2007-08 to Rs 26,682 crore in 2015-16, accounting for around 20 per cent of the world's total buffalo meat exports by volume.

 

Sources: business-standard.com

Change In Eu Regulations May Pose Problems For Indian Grape Export

A change in regulations on pesticide residue levels in grapes proposed by the European Union (EU) is likely to pose problems for the export of Indian grape to these countries in the coming season.


The EU has proposed to bring down residue levels of chlormequat chloride (CCL), a plant growth regulator, from the existing levels of 0.05 ppm (papers per million ) to 0.01 ppm soon.

Top officials of the Maximum Residue Level (MRL) Committee met in Pune, along with senior officials of the Union commerce department, APEDA at the National Research Centre for Grapes, has decided to approach the EU to file a say on behalf of Indian exporters, senior officials said.

In 2010, Indian grape exports faced a setback, with EU reluctant to accept Indian table grape consignments as chlormequat chloride — a plant growth regulator — was detected in excess of the prescribed maximum residue level (MRL).

In 2009, EU had come up with new regulations on pesticides, raising the chemicals to be monitored from 98 to 167.

Unaware of the changed rules, Indian exporters who did not meet the new standards faced had rejection. Although only less than 10% of the total export volumes were rejected, the issue has escalated into a big one, going by the worry writ large on the face of both European delegates and Indian grape exporters.

Indian grapes began to find favour after 2014 when a 1.92 lakh tonne of grapes were exported by Indian traders to around 94 countries. Of this Europe and the UK together accounted for the largest share of 65,000 tonnes.

According to Jagannath Khapre, president, All India Grape Exports Association who was also present for the meet, it was decided at the meeting to seek a five-year period from EU to ensure that the existing residue levels in the soil completely go down.

CCL as a chemical is not hazardous and is used by grape farmers as a plant growth regulator, he explained. The European Food Safety Authority has also prescribed 1.06 ppm as a safe level and the existing European regulations state that the residue levels should be around 0.05 ppm, he explained.

The detection machines with EU until now have been able to detect pesticides to the level of 0.05 ppm and with advanced technology can now detect up to 0.01 ppm, he said.

A decision has been taken to present the relevant documents before the European Union authorities and seek a status quo on the existing levels, he said.

Khapre said the EU had proposed the changes in the regulation in June and as soon as it came to the notice of the association and other industry people, they approached the commerce ministry that responded by sending officials to understand the situation.

Around 60,000 tonne was exported to EU for the 2015-16 season. Canada has granted market access for the Indian fresh grapes. This follows the recent Indo-Canadian bilateral discussions held in New Delhi.

However, the Indian exporters will be able to take advantage of this development only from the next season. Canada will open a new market for the Indian exporters, who have been mainly shipping the fresh grapes to European countries.

But Canada has imposed conditions that exporters have to register the vineyards and pack houses, and maintain traceability.

The Netherlands is the largest buyer of Indian fresh grapes, accounting for more than half of the exports, followed by the UK and Germany.

 

Sources:  financialexpress.com

World Beating Growth Lures India Refiners To Myanmar Fuel Market

Indian refiners are seeking a foothold in neighboring Myanmar to capitalize on growth prospects as the Southeast Asian nation emerges from a half-century of military rule.

Numaligarh Refinery Ltd., a unit of India's second-biggest state-run refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp., plans to export gasoline to Myanmar. Indian OilBSE 0.89 % Corp., the largest refiner, is also keen on tapping the fuel retailing opportunity. An International Monetary Fund forecast for world beating economic expansion in 2016 points to growing demand for petrol and diesel in the nation.

"The growth opportunity in Myanmar is fabulous," Numaligarh Refinery's Managing Director P. Padmanabhan said in an interview in New Delhi. "We're talking to the Myanmar government."

Padmanabhan said Numaligarh Refinery eventually plans to supply 500,000 metric tons of gasoline every year, which is equivalent to about a quarter of the estimated 50,000 barrels a day of petrol Myanmar currently consumes. While the Asian Development Bank estimates the country needs $80 billion of power, transport, and technology projects through 2030, challenges in fuel retailing include industry fragmentation, shifting rules and illegal outlets.

The $67 billion economy of 54 million people offers untapped opportunities for foreign companies, after the US eased sanctions following elections last year.

It imports over 60 per cent of its refined fuel, and three domestic refineries with a combined potential for 57,000 barrels a day operated at 30 per cent capacity in 2015, according to BMI Research.

The forecaster estimates Myanmar's fuel consumption will expand at an average of 6 per cent yearly during 2016-2020, outpacing Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand.

Numaligarh Refinery is prepared to truck supplies in while the company builds a pipeline through the Indian border to Tamu in Myanmar.

"If the price is very attractive in Myanmar, I'm willing to start tomorrow," Padmanabhan said in the Aug. 10 interview, adding he's seeking to boost exports to other neighbors such as Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal.

The Assam-based refiner in March exported India's first shipment of diesel to Bangladesh in about eight years. Padmanabhan said the target is at least 1 million metric tons of diesel exports annually to the South Asian nation.

Indian Oil Chairman B. Ashok told Bloomberg in March the state-run company owns three refineries in the northeast that can supply fuel to Myanmar.

China is Myanmar's largest trading partner, and China's Guangdong Zhenrong Energy Co. and local partners are planning a $3 billion oil refinery. That underscores the competition India faces for access to the opportunities Myanmar is thought to offer.

 

 

Sources:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Weakens Past 67 Mark Per Us Dollar

The Indian rupee on Friday weakened past the 67 mark, to hit a three-week low, against the US dollar as traders expect that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may delay cutting interest rates after recent higher inflation data. Traders also remained cautious ahead of the announcement of a new governor for the RBI expected anytime now.

At 1.30pm, the home currency was trading at 67.03 a dollar, down 0.30% from its previous close of 66.81. The rupee opened at 66.96 a dollar and touched a low of 67.03, a level last seen on 29 July.

India’s wholesale price inflation shot up to 3.55% in July from 1.62% a month ago on the back of rising prices of food and non-food articles, while consumer price inflation was at 6.07% in July from 5.77% in June on the back of rising food prices.

The 10-year bond yield was trading at 7.137%, compared with its Thursday’s close of 7.143%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.22% or 61.75 points to 28,061.69. So far this year, it has gained 7.5%.

The rupee is down 1.3% till date this year, while foreign institutional investors (FIIs) have bought $5.73 billion in equity and sold $1.14 billion in debt markets.

Asian currencies were trading lower. South Korean won was down 0.92%, Taiwan dollar 0.8%, Malaysian ringgit 0.5%, Singapore dollar 0.46%, Philippines peso 0.41%, Indonesian rupiah 0.33%, China offshore 0.29%, Japanese yen 0.26% and Thai baht 0.28%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 94.438, up 0.29% from its previous close of 94.157.

Minutes of the US Federal Reserve’s last meeting struck a more dovish tone than earlier comments by New York Fed president William Dudley, who had flagged the possibility of borrowing costs being increased as soon as next month. US officials have twice cut projections for their rate hike path as economic weakness and volatile financial markets undermine the case for policy to be tightened, Bloomberg reported.

 

Sources :livemint.com

After Decline In Exports To The Usa And Europe, Indian Woollen Industry To Expand Market

 India's woollens industry is shifting focus to markets such as Kazakhstan, Germany, China and Australia as it faces decline in exports to the USA and Europe since the last financial year due to warmer winters and economic slowdown.

"The constant global warming is reducing severity of winter and it is playing a vital role in decline of exports. What is worrying is that the decline is 17 per cent from April to June 2016," said Sushil Kaura, chairman of Wool & Woollens Export Promotion Council under textiles ministry.

The exports that are mainly concentrated to the US and Europe dropped 3 per cent in 2015-16. Exports of wool and woollen products stood at Rs 3,012 crore in 2015-16 compared to Rs 3,112 crore a year ago

"The decline is 9.4 per cent in dollar terms for the period," Kaura said.

In dollar terms the exports stood at $462 million in 2015-16 compared to $510 million in the previous fiscal.

To overcome the impact of climate change, the council is holding trade fairs in the current financial year at Almaty in Kazakhstan, Melbourne in Australia, Munich in Germany and in China.

Apart from the changing climate, the rise in price of imported wool has heated up competition from Turkey, Thailand and Bangladesh for exporters. The 30-35 per cent rise in price of imported wool this fiscal has squeezed margins for the domestic players.

A Tirupur based manufacturer said that while makers of premium fabric and garments like RaymondBSE -3.75 % are able to absorb the price rise in imported wool, the smaller players are losing business.

"The last two winters have been of degrowth as impact of La Nina has arrested temperature drop in December and January," said Sudershan Jain, president of Ludhiana-based Knitwear and Apparel Manufacturers Association of Ludhiana,.

The industry feels that there is immediate need of government support in the form of increase in duty drawback rates, speedy release of drawback, abolition of import duty on raw wool, textile machinery and spare parts, and consideration of special package to boost exports, Kaura said.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Sopa Urges Government To Increase Import Duty On Soyabean Oil

The Soybean Processors Association of India (SOPA) has urged the Narendra Modi government to increase duty on imported crude soybean oil to 37.5% and 45% on refined soybean oil, which is the WTO bound rate. This will check large scale import of cheap soybean oil and enable the domestic industry to start soybean meal exports again. It will also encourage soybean and other oilseed growers, the association feels.

In a letter to the Prime Minister, SOPA chairman Davish Jain has said that the soybean processing industry has been going through one of its toughest periods for the last 3 years and many of the units have had to close down. The major reason for this is large scale import of cheap edible oils including soybean oil at low rate of duty which has pushed up our prices of soybean meal and made us uncompetitive in the world market. Our exports have fallen from a high of Rs. 15000 crores to just Rs. 1500 crores during the last four years. The attached table and graph clearly show that as the soybean oil imports went up, soybean meal exports went down correspondingly and from a net foreign exchange earning of Rs. 6545 Crores in 2012-13, there was a net foreign exchange outflow of Rs. 19419 Crores in 2015-16. The net impact of increased soy oil import alone would be Rs. 25664 Crores.

"The burgeoning import of soybean oil which has increased several fold from a mere 10.55 lakh tons per annum (average of 2011-13) to 40 lakh tons (likely import in 2016) is also detrimental to the interest of oilseed cultivation in the country and will take us toward being totally dependent on imported oil as our own production of oilseeds may further go down," the letter adds.

At a time when the entire oilseed processing industry, particularly the soybean processing units are in great distress and facing closure because of cheap oil imports, the lobby of a handful of large importers and refiners have taken the opposite view in their own self-interest and have asked the government for reduction in duty on crude edible oil. This move has created a clear demarcation between the interests of business, led by importers versus the industry which is striving hard to survive.

The decision to maintain a duty differential of 7.5% between refined and crude oil was taken after careful consideration and a thorough investigation by the Tariff Commission (Ministry of Finance) into all aspects of oil refining. The cost of crude oil refining is not more than 5% at current prices and the 7.5% duty differential adequately protects the interest of crude oil importers. The demand for higher differential duty is, therefore, totally unjustified.

Right now when the very survival of the indigenous crushing industry is at stake, any reduction in duty will only mean more sickness, moving away of farmers from soybean cultivation and further increase in our dependence on imports. If the foreign suppliers were to take advantage of the situation and increase edible oil prices, the story of pulses may get repeated in edible oils also, Jain said in the letter.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Coal India Anticipates Higher Sales As Imported Coal And Pet Coke Prices Rise

 The recent surge in international coal prices and pet coke may prove to be a boon for Coal India as it can now expect increased sales, particularly of the higher coal grades, to both the thermal and non-thermal consumers.

Imported coal prices, late June onwards, surged by over 30%. This month, imported coal of 6,000 GCV (gross calorific value) costs about $ 65 or Rs. 4348 a tonne on an average while pet coke surged by 73%. During January, pet coke was priced at $ 53 a tonne which has now increased to $ 92 or Rs. 6153 a tonne. Compared to these, Coal India's coal of a similar grade is priced at Rs. 3,000 for both the power and non-power sectors.

"Following the increase in imported coal prices and the government's push to increase sales of indigenous coal, consumers now will be interested in higher purchases of Indian coal", a senior Coal India official told Business Standard.

According to the official, the company is now considering modification of its e-auction calendar as well as the mix of coal grades offered in the auctions to meet the requirements of coal based power plants in the coastal belts as well as the cement and sponge iron segment.

A joint meeting between railways, port authorities and thermal power companies has paved the way for Coal India to send high as well as low grade coal to the ports from where deliveries to the consumers can be made either through inland waterways or the maritime route.

Also, higher offtake will imply Coal India increasing its production to meet the set target as the pithead stock situation will ease. During April-July, Coal India had lagged behind by six% to its targeted production of 172.72 million tonne (mt). The offtake situation was further dismal as only 89% of the 196.45 mt target could be achieved. Now, with import substitution a possibility for Indian coal buyers, the situation may improve.

Data from Motilal Oswal showed that Coal India's average monthly e-auction realisations from higher coal grades has been hovering between Rs. 2,505-3,044 a tonne during April to June this year as the coal monolith put 17.66% of the total 26.3 mt under the hammer.

"Higher grade allocation of coal in the auction is likely to increase following the recent changes in the imported coal and pet coke prices as non-power sector will try to purchase more indigenous coal", Dhruv Muchhal, an analyst with Motilal Oswal told this newspaper.

However, e-auction realisations had declined to Rs. 1,227 per tonne in June this year from Rs. 1,447 per tonne in May, on mix and lower premiums. The premium over notified price was down from Rs. 246 each tonne to Rs. 187 for every tonne over the same period.

A report from Motilal Oswal stated that Vedanta will be substituting imports completely.

Mucchal opined that rising pet coke prices too will bring some of the customers back to high-grade coal.

Coal Consumers Association of India (CCAI) is also of the opinion that Indian companies may shift to import substitution of higher coal grades now that the global prices have increased and Coal India is improving its quality.

"There may be an increase in demand of indigenous coal as Coal India has improved its quality of despatch as well as sending crushed coal. The rise in prices of imported coal will fillip it further", Subhasri Chaudhuri, secretary general of CCAI told this business daily.

Sharp increase in coal imports by China amidst its declining production is stated to be the key driver of the recent global thermal coal price increase. In June, China imported 21.8 mt of coal which is 31% higher when compared to the similar month of 2015 while it decreased its production by 17% in the same month under consideration.

 

Sources:.business-standard.com

Uk And Eu Based Indian Businesses Likely To Take A Hit Post Brexit: Deloitte

The BREXIT event is likely to have adverse repercussions for number of Indian businesses across industries as growth in the United Kingdom (UK) and European Union (EU) take a hit. The Deloitte study on BREXIT, highlights that, the problem of slowing sales might get compounded by issues of a weaker currency. The report analyses four possible scenarios that UK could adopt and the impact of each of those scenarios for business in general, feels Deloitte.

"Effects will vary with the kind of negotiations the UK government has with the rest of the EU. So, while Britain has decided to exit the EU, the question of how that plays out both politically and economically assumes significance. Indian companies can expect some hit to their UK businesses as overall growth in the country slows in the immediate short run. A weaker currency would also mean that any repatriation of profits from the UK region is likely to result in losses as compared to the pre-BREXIT era", said Anis Chakravarty, Lead Economist & Partner, Deloitte India.

UK used to be India's third biggest trading partner 15 years ago. Today, Britain ranks 12th in terms of bilateral trade and is one of seven countries with which India has a trade surplus. While the bilateral trade relationship between UK and India is dominated by goods, services also form an important part of the equation.

"At this juncture it is almost futile to say that BREXIT implies uncertainty, but that is an aspect most economies and corporates would have to deal with. However, in the mid to long run, if the forces of globalisation play itself out well, an event such as BREXIT may turn out to be a positive for India bringing it closer both to the EU and UK", said Anis Chakravarty.

According to the Deloitte study, in the scenario that the UK decides to become a member of the European Economic Area (EEA), could possibly be advantageous for India in terms of trade. In particular, UK would have the liberty to set their own external tariff and independently negotiate their own trade deals with countries outside of the EU. As such, trade deals negotiated between the UK and India could provide for huge potential for improvement and closer collaboration in terms of trade.

In the event that UK's trade is governed by the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the British government can change existing trade policies with India and further liberalize it by reducing tariffs. Further, if the UK and India manage to finalize an FTA, this would give UK-India trade a huge boost.

However, India would not be able to use the UK as a gateway to the European Union in terms of trade as easily as before. Further, goods exported through the UK to the EU are obligated to meet various EU standards, which is another factor making it difficult to trade with the EU through the UK. Consequently, trade between India and the EU through the UK may be hampered, and existing trade channels and supply chains involving the UK and the EU may be disturbed.

In terms of specific industries, there could be certain effects on businesses operating in sectors including Industrial and Consumer Products, Retail, Financial Services, Life Sciences and Health Care and Information Technology.

The Industrial and Consumer products sector is vast and has significant exposure to the UK economy. Companies in this sector that have manufacturing units in the UK, the access to single markets is important as their products can get artificially uncompetitive if they had to pay import duties. Indian garment exporters have already witnessed a 5% drop in demand in the last year. Bilateral trade of precious metals and stones between the UK and India amounted to over USD 2 billion in FY16, and is India's largest import from the UK.

India's Life Sciences and Healthcare sector has significant exposure to the UK, and a hit to demand in UK and the EU is likely to show effects on profits and sales. Many IT companies also have their EU headquarters in the UK and use the country as a gateway for business across the EU.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Seafood Exports Could Grow 20% In Fy17

 Seafood exports from India are likely to increase 20 per cent in 2016-17, thanks to renewed global demand and addition of more areas for aquaculture.

Exports from the country had declined in 2015-16 with the slowdown in global economies and better supply from competing countries such as Thailand and Vietnam. In dollar terms, the percentage of plunge in exports was about 15 per cent in 2015-16 compared to $5,511.12 million exports registered in 2014-15.


"Renewed global demand for disease-free, healthy shrimps from India, over southeast Asia, has made Indian shrimp exporters revise their projection for a year-on-year export revenue growth of 15-20 per cent in FY17. Even a few months ago, the industry was not so bullish about the new year and was expecting the downturn of last year to continue, primarily owing to lower production. Exports had dropped 10 per cent in the last financial year, pulled down by both production-related issues and lower prices," said Rahul Kulkarni, director, WestCoast Group, seafood exporter.

Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and China have been hit by diseases, labour and production issues. Thailand, which has been severely affected by diseases for the past several years, is also recovering from blacklisting by the US due to human rights abuses in seafood trade. These economies compete with India in exports.

Seafood exports could grow 20% in FY17
With their friendly policies, states such as Andhra Pradesh and Odisha have opened up opportunities for aquaculture farmers to bring more areas under shrimp production.

"Odisha has added 25 per cent to the existing number of ponds. Andhra has added about 25,000 hectares into aquaculture production. Similarly, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Kerala have added to their number of ponds. Gujarat has added aquaculture ponds in a big way. There will be a growth of 15 per cent this year quantity-wise," said Ajay Dash, president (Odisha region), Sea Food Exporters' Association of India

 

Sources :business-standard.com

Rupee Falls 3 Paise Against Us Dollar Post Rbi Policy Meet

The rupee depreciated 3 paise against the US dollar on Tuesday after the Reserve Bank of India announced the policy rates keeping the key rates unchanged.

Rupee fell to 66.87 against the US dollar. It opened at 66.78. RBI kept the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility unchanged at 6.5 per cent.

"Re should be rangebound at the current level as the policy is supportive of the currency and will not depreciate," said NS Venkatesh head of treasury IDBI BankBSE -0.36 %. "At system level there will be no impact of FCNRB. Once the event is over, we will have to reassess the situation."

Dealers expect rupee to remain at 66.65-67.10 levels against the US Dollar till mid September.

"The Reserve Bank will continue with both domestic liquidity operations and foreign exchange interventions that should also enable management of the FCNR(B) redemptions without market disruptions," said RBI in the policy statement. "With a view to further front-loading the provision of liquidity, it has been decided to conduct an open market purchase auction on August 11, 2016."

Forex dealers said strength in the dollar against some other currencies overseas and a weak trend in the domestic equity market in early trade also weighed on the rupee.

The local currency has closed lower at 66.84 on fresh dollar demand form banks and importers on the back of strong dollar in overseas markets on Monday.

The benchmark BSE Sensex was trading 19.34 points, or 0.07 per cent, down at 28,127.37 post policy statement.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

M&M Launches Unpolished Pulses To Grab Share Of Rs 350 Crore Pie In Mumbai

The estimated Rs 1.5 lakh crore branded pulses market in the country has attracted yet another corporate, thanks to the hefty margins and potential for growth it commands. Mahindra Agri Solutions (MASL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of M&M, which launched tur dal under NuPro brand a year ago in Mumbai, has launched chana, moong, masoor and urad dals across 4000 outlets in the city.

NuPro pulses are targeted at the upper middles class, educated woman of the city. Urad dal has been priced at Rs 130 per half a kilo, moong dal (Rs 185 a kilo), Masoor Dal (Rs 160/kg) and chana dal (Rs 175 a kilo). The premiums that the unpolished dals command range from 50-100 per cent to the normal variety of dals, basis consumer affairs ministry data on July 5.

Justifying the prices, Sharma said, "These are sundried, unpolished variety of pulses which take approximately half the time to cook. Besides we vouchsafe for the purity and high quality assurance, which is why NuPro had a healthy 30 per cent repeat purchase."

The two larger rivals of MASL are Tata Sampann and Satyam, which have 20 per cent and 8-9 per cent market share in Mumbai respectively, said Sharma.

The company which had sales of Rs 2.5 crore in pulses in FY16 targets to generate revenue of Rs 20 crore from pulses in the current fiscal in Mumbai. It's grander aims include expanding to the country's top 10 cities over the years and commanding a 5 per cent market share of the overall Rs 1.5 lakh cr branded market.

MASL also sells edible oils like soya and mustard under the NuPro brand in West Bengal, and fruits and vegetables under the Saboro, Spanish for tasty, brand. The revenues of MASL grew 12 times to Rs 900 crore in the past five years through fiscal year 2015-16.

Around 90-95 per cent of the procurement of pulses is from the domestic market, mainly APMC market yards and appx 10 per cent from Myanmar, Tanzania and Canada. The company has reached out to 2500 farmers in Maharashtra in areas like Latur and Amravati and plans to swathe 10,000 farmers in the near future.

In fact, claims Sharma, the productivity of pulses, which stands at an average 650 kg/hectare in India, rose to 800-850 kilo/ha, thanks to advisory and high quality input sales by MASL to farmers inn Latur. In comparison average yield in China is 1900 kg/ha for pulses, Sharma added.

Ashok Gulati, Infosys chair professor for agri at ICRIER, also said that corporates tend to charge higher premiums because of "quality assurance" and brand equity "which isn't built out of thin air." "If you knew the kind of oils being used by some to polish dals in the unorganized sector, you'd stop eating them," he said. "The bigwigs (corporates) can't afford to erode their brand equity by engaging in malpractice so you as a customer can be sure of quality even if you're paying a higher price."

The size of the branded pulses market is a tad less than 1 per cent of the overall size of the pulses market countrywide at Rs 156 lakh crore, which opens the potential for tremendous growth of the organized sector, Sharma add

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Edible Oil Refiners Seek Duty Cut On Crude Palm Oil Imports

 Indian refiners of edible oil have sought a cut in the import duty on crude palm oil, which they said will offer the local industry a level playing field at a time when imports of refined products are growing at a quick pace.

Their lobby group, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India, has written to the Prime Minister, requesting to cut the duty on their key raw material to 5% from the current 12.5%. It has also sought retaining the current 20% duty on refined palm oil imports.

Palm oil exporting countries levy a 12% duty on crude shipments and 5% on refined oil to protect their domestic industry. When the local import duty is added to this, say Indian refiners, the cost becomes heavy for them.

"It (cutting duty on crude imports) will not affect the government's agenda of checking inflation as the prices of edible oil will not be impacted," said BV Mehta, the association's executive-director.

Currently, edible oil prices are at last year's levels, Mehta said. He sees the prices following a usual patterns, with a marginal increase likely towards the upcoming festival season.

The local industry is worried about increasing imports of refined palm oil in India. The share of imported refined oil has now reached 32% of the total import of palm oil, Mehta said, calling it the "highest percentage" in recent years. This trend is expected to gain momentum due to forthcoming festival season, Mehta said.

 The share of refined palm oil in total imports was 18% in fiscal 2014 and 20% in the year before that.

"The refineries importing crude palm oil are barely managing to recover variable cost. The entire fixed cost, interest on capital expenditure, depreciation and profit are left uncovered," Mehta said. "In such circumstances, no refinery can sustain or survive."

Refiners are on the edge as the landed cost of crude and refined oil is almost at par, a refiner said. "Cheap refined oil imports will push most refiners into the red."

The industry is also looking at greater volumes of byproducts in case the import of crude palm oil is increased. Byproducts like palm stearin and palm fatty acid distillate are key raw material for the chemical and soap industry. Some of the byproducts are used for the manufacture of vanaspati, bakery shortenings and margarine.

"In the last budget, the import duty on palm stearin and palm fatty acid distillate was reduced to nil," said an industry representative. "While the import duty on these byproducts was made nil, the duty differential between crude and refined oil was retained at 7.5%, thereby making the refining route of crude more expensive than direct import of refined palm oil."

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Slaps Anti-Dumping Duty On Steel Products From 6 Nations

An anti-dumping duty of USD 474-557 per tonne was imposed on 'hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel' import from China, Japan, South Korea, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia, the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance said in a notification.

The duty would be in force for six months till February 7, 2017.

The anti-dumping duty was imposed on recommendation of the Directorate General of Anti Dumping (DGAD).

An anti-dumping duty of USD 474 per tonne was imposed on import of hot-rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel of a width up to 2100 mm and thickness up to 25 mm from Korea and Japan.

Korean firms attracting the anti-dumping duty are Hyundai Steel Company and POSCO. Three Japanese companies JFE Steel Corp, Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal Corp are also featuring in the list.

A similar anti-dumping duty was slapped on import of similar products from China, the exporter company being Angang Steel Company Ltd and Zhangjiagang. Imports of the same from Indonesia, Russia and Brazil too attracted USD 474 per tonne duty.

Hot rolled flat products of alloy or non-alloy steel not in coils (commonly known as sheets and plates) of a width up to 4950 mm and thickness upto 150 mm imported from Korea, Japan, China, Russia, Brazil and Indonesia would attract USD 557 per ton anti-dumping duty.

DGAD "has come to the provisional conclusion that the subject goods have been exported to India from the subject countries below normal value (and) the domestic industry has suffered material injury on account of subject imports from the subject countries," the notification said.

Also, DGAD felt "the injury has been caused by the dumped imports of the subject goods from the subject countries".

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Exported Meat Worth $568 Million In April-May

 India exported meat and meat products worth $568 million during April-May of this fiscal, Parliament was informed today.

The main export destinations include Vietnam, Egypt, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

India mainly exports processed meat and meat of buffalo, sheep and goat.

In quantity terms, the overseas shipments stood at 1,92,748 tonnes in the first two months of this fiscal, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in a written reply in the Lok Sabha.

She also said "representations are being received from time to time from some religious/social organisations demanding ban on export of meat and its products".

At present, there is no proposal to lift the ban on export of beef, she added.


Replying to a separate question, she said during April-May of 2016-17, services exports from India stood at $26.37 billion. It was $154.31 billion in 2015-16.

The minister said initiatives announced by the government like Services Exports from India Scheme are expected to enhance the exports.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Trades Marginally Lower At 67.06 Against Us Dolla

The Indian rupee on Friday was trading marginally lower against the US dollar, tracking the losses in local equity markets.

At 2pm, the home currency was trading at 67.06 a dollar, down 0.04% from its previous close of 67.04. The rupee opened at 67.04 a dollar and touched a high of 66.98, a level last seen on 15 July.

India’s benchmark Sensex index fell 0.35% or 98.93 points to 28,109.69. So far this year, it gained 7.8%.

Asian currencies were mixed. The yen surged Friday after the Bank of Japan made minor tweaks to its stimulus programme that disappointed dealers who had expected a big announcement to kickstart growth in the world’s number three economy. The central bank said it would boost its exposure to riskier investments, but left a massive ¥80 trillion ($772 billion) annual bond-buying programme unchanged.

Japanese yen was up 1.41%, South Korean won 0.38%, Singapore dollar 0.18% and China renminbi 0.15%. However, Malaysian ringgit was down 0.76%, Philippines peso 0.14% and Indonesian rupiah 0.12%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 96.42, down 0.32% from its previous close of 96.739.

So far this year, the rupee is down 1.35%, while foreign institutional investors have bought $4.31 billion in equity and sold $834 million in debt markets.

Meanwhile, India’s 10-year bond yield was at 7.19% as compared with its Thursday’s close of 7.191%.

 

Source:livemint.com

India Mulling Import Of Pulses From Africa

India is looking to import pulses from Myanmar and African nations to counter a domestic shortfall of 7.6 million tonnes that has driven local prices of key pulses like chickpea to a record high, Food Minister Ram Vilas Paswan said.

More purchases by India, the world's top consumer of pulses, could help the country rein in its headline inflation, which hit a near two-year high in June on double-digit annual increases in prices of sugar, vegetables and pulses. “The challenge of demand-supply gap of about 7.6 million tonnes (in pulses) is being addressed via public and private imports,” Paswan tweeted. India had said it would help Mozambique cultivate pulses and then import them through government-to-government deals.

India consumes nearly 22 million tonnes of pulses annually, but relies heavily on imports to meet demand as output has been hit by uncertain monsoons.

 

 

Source:thehindu.com

Jsw Steel Gains Edge Owing To Lower Debt, Import Price Curbs

While most steel manufacturers are staring at high debt and finding it difficult to negotiate with banks for additional funding requirements, JSW Steel's relatively better debt position seems to be giving it an edge. In addition, since it never undertook backward integration of operation by owning iron ore mines, it has an advantage amid subdued ore prices, a major raw material for steel. These factors make JSW SteelBSE -0.67 % better placed to benefit from the government's policy to impose minimum import price (MIP) on steel.

With a good share of high-value products such as coated steel products in its offering, the company surprised the Street with much higher realisation per tonne for the June 2016 quarter, a parameter that gives a sense of the demand and operating strength of the business. Realisation per tonne for the quarter was at $124, nearly 20 per cent higher than the estimates. Sales volume was higher by 1.8 per cent sequentially.

Higher realisations and lower costs helped it post 100 basis points sequential jump in operating margin before depreciation (Ebitda margin) at 28 per cent. Net profit rose to Rs 1,085 crore against Rs 300 crore in the preceding quarter.
JSW steel gains edge owing to lower debt, import price curbs
Despite a rise in the company's debt to Rs 45,355 crore — around 10 per cent rise after adjust for new accounting standards — the debt situation has not worsened. While debt-to-equity is at 2.3 times, debt-to-Ebitda improved to 5.7 from 6.4 at the end of the March quarter. While it is still high, it is expected to improve in the coming quarters.

Also, If MIP is extended beyond August, it will benefit the company. The company's peers are under pressure. Tata SteelBSE 1.27 % is struggling with its European operations, which is hit by low demand and high debt. The government-owned SAILBSE -0.95 % continues to remain least cost effective with high employee expense, whereas Essar SteelBSE 0.41 %, Jindal SteelBSE -1.82 % and Bhushan SteelBSE -0.92 % are expected to face working capital constraint given their high debt.

    
JSW Steel has been cautious over the past few years by not buying riskier assets. Its stock has risen by over 55 per cent in the past six months. Shares of Tata Steel, SAIL and Jindal Steel & Power are 65-88 per cent below their all-time highs. Some analysts have given a buy rating on the stock post results with price targets around Rs 1,738-2,108. On Thursday, the stock closed at Rs 1,685, down 3 per cent.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

Nissan's Micra Tops Car Exports Chart In June With 6,800 Units

Japanese carmaker Nissan today said its flagship model Micra has topped the exports chart in June with the company shipping 6,807 units of the car that was developed at its Chennai plant.

The milestone confirms Nissan's position as a major contributor to Make in India, the company said.

Since the beginning operations of its operations in 2010, Nissan has exported over 6,20,000 cars, contributing over Rs 30,000 crore in foreign exchange, it added.

The Micra, rolled out from the Renault-Nissan's Alliance plant at Oragadam near Chennai, is being exported to more than 100 countries with Britain, Germany, Switzerland and Italy being the biggest markets.

The made-in-India Micra has helped Nissan achieve record sales in 2015, making it the top-selling Asian car brand in Europe.

Nissan India Operations President Guillaume Sicard said, "Nissan is proud our made in India Micra is the most exported car in June.
"Our strategy has been to use exports to build a significant presence here with our plant, the largest and most advanced in the Alliance, and our R&D centre which employs 5,000 engineers."

Nissan Motor India is a 100 per cent subsidiary of Nissan Motor Co of Japan and was incorporated in 2005. It offers products across the hatchback (Micra), MUV (Lodgy), SUV (Terrano) and sedan (Sunny) segments.

Nissan, together with its global alliance partner Renault, has set up a manufacturing plant and an R&D centre in Chennai and has two brands.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Cautions Traders About Fraud In Import-Export From China

 Indian diplomatic missions in China have cautioned traders from India that they may end up getting sand, stones, salt, bricks, mud etc in place of items ordered and issued detailed guidelines to avoid incidents of cheating.

The Indian Embassy and the Consulates have issued trade advisories to various trade bodies and associations cautioning traders and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) planning to do business with China after receiving several complaints.

"It is to enhance the commercial cooperation between India and China by drawing attention to some of the risks faced by Indian traders/SMEs to take preventive and/or mitigating action," said the advisory.

"The information contained in this advisory is based on trade-related problems that are periodically brought to the Consulate's attention for information, facilitation and assistance," according to the advisory circulated among the members of he Indian Association of Shanghai.

However, the advisory was not put on the website of the Indian missions in China to avoid misunderstanding considering the strain in ties due to differences on issues relating to listing of Pakistan-based militants and groups as terrorists by UN and Beijing's reluctance to support India's application to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group, informed sources said.

Listing some of the complaints brought to the notice of missions, the advisory said importers should be careful about supply of sub-standard goods, inferior quality.

   
The items to dupe Indian importers included supply of sand, stones, salt, bricks, mud etc in place of chemicals, Silicon Carbide, Aluminium and Zinc ingots, shellac, plastics, polymers etc, it said.

Other complaints included refusal to send consignments on receipt of payment, quantity dispute, stopping of communications on receipt of advance payment, dispatch of defective machinery, diversion of payment into unassociated bank accounts by third fraudulent parties by hacking into email IDs.

Other methods included taking money for sample dispatch and then stopping all correspondences.

The Indian exporters should be careful about refusal to make payment after taking control of consignment exported from India on some pretext and refusal to take delivery of the consignment when the market value of the imported item has gone down from the value fixed in agreement, it said.

 

Source:economictimes.indiatimes.com