Fruit Export Doubles In April-August

 Triggered by a sharp increase in the shipment of bananas, India's export of fresh fruit doubled in the first five months of the current financial year, on rising demand in Gulf countries after crop failure in Philippines and Ecuador, two major alternative suppliers.

Data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) showed India's fresh fruit export at 409,921 tonnes during the period between April and August, from 195,259 tonnes in the corresponding period last year. In value terms, however, it was up only 26 per cent to $256 million (Rs 1,720 crore), from $203 mn (Rs 1,360 crore) in the corresponding period last year.


This means the realisation from fruit export has failed to keep pace with the growth in volume. This is due to poor post-harvest management, reducing the shelf life. "The exponential growth in volume is mainly because of sharp increase in shipment of banana to the Gulf countries, Malaysia and Southeast Asia. Because of crop failure in competing countries, exporters are getting a good opportunity. This has also resulted in entry of many opportunistic exporters, affecting the entire trade," said Dattatraya More, general manager (fruits), Deepak Fertilisers & Petrochemicals, also known as Desai Fruits.

Trade sources estimate a little over 40 per cent contribution of banana in the overall shipment of fresh fruit in these five months. Indian banana is cheaper than the same fruit sourced from other origins. In Dubai's auction, our banana was sold at half the price of the fruit from Philippines and Ecuador; India is also said to produce the best quality in the world.

Even so, for a 13-kg box, Indian exporters fetched $7.50-8, against $18-24 by those from Philippines and Ecuador. "The realisation for Indian banana exporters is much lower as most are not adopting post-harvest practices of international standard. They adopt short cuts to grab large market shares. Therefore, despite having superior quality, Indian export fetches lower value," said an exporter.

The quality of banana remains in order till harvesting but because of poor handling, the quality then deteriorates. Also, unscientific ripening practices adopted by short-term players reduces shelf life.

The government has mandated modern and scientific packing houses for export of mango and grapes. "The government has taken up the matter very seriously. Already, Apeda has sought compulsory registration of exporters of mango and grapes. Gradually, the same practice will come for banana. Then, fly-by-night operators would run away from the system," hopes More.

More is also being done to educate farmers on quality improvement. "The future for Indian produce is bright. This is just the start. As farmers get more aware of global trends, things will further improve, noted Tarun Arora, Director, IG International, also noting new cold store facilities and improving road infrastructure.

 

Sources :business-standard.com

Tata Steel Expects Steel Demand To Bounce Back

KOLKATA: Tata Steel expects steel demand to bounce back in the second half of the fiscal year, led by segments like passenger vehicle sales, construction and rural homes, in what perhaps marks the first upbeat remark from a top manufacturer about the domestic steel market that has been sagging for a year and half.

“We see the steel sector picking up during the second half riding on auto, construction and rural demand. Indian demand should be met out of Indian production of steel. Imports are not the best way for it,” vice president for steel marketing and sales Peeyush Gupta told ET in an exclusive interview.

The automotive sector accounts for nearly 18% of Tata Steel’s sales by value. A revival in the sector — sales have been strong for car and two-wheeler makers for several months now and they are expecting a bumper festival period — is making the company upbeat about demand from that sector. In commercial vehicles, order books are full in segments like excavation and mining equipment.

State and central government funding in infrastructure and construction, particularly in flyovers, bridges, airport terminals and roads, is expected to see a rise, with the railways too likely to add to the construction boom. “Since steel accounts for 50% of construction, we are betting big on it to raise overall demand,” Gupta said.

“The rural market is doing well, particularly in the individual homebuilding segment where steel accounts for some 12-15% of cost, with growth also picking up in Tier 2, Tier 3 and Tier 4 towns,” Gupta said. In rural and in semi-urban and urban areas in top 40 towns including places like Rohtak, Gorakhpur or Kanpur, Tata Steel expects a spurt in sales of its branded galvanized corrugated sheets for roofing, along with tubes and bearings. It also expects demand from segments related to agriculture. However, in Tier 1 cities, where the builders or promoters are mainly involved in residential segment, demand is yet to pick up.

“Retail and branded steel now account for 45% of our sales by value compared to 2001 when it accounted for only 5% of sales. In this, the SME segment is critical for us since it accounts for nearly 20% of our branded retail sales by value. We have systematically targeted them since they want the steel to come to them,” Gupta said.

Traditionally, the SME segment has been underserved by the steel industry. Tata Steel has created a separate distribution channel for it and also introduced watermarking of steel to add to its authenticity. It is also going deeper into villages with hardware shops located within a 5-10 km radius. Expansion to capacity, like addition of a thin slab caster, and the new Kalinganagar plant in Odisha is poised to reduce the company’s commodity play further.

Share of value-added products, which now contribute some 10-15% of sales, is set to go up further with special quality steels for gas cylinders, oil pipes, medium carbon pipes and high-end engineering being added to its portfolio. An emphasis on value engineering, where Tata Steel is a collaboration partner for auto companies in design and prototyping, is also set to increase its share in automotive segment from the current level of 18%.

“India is a good place to make cars since it has the right ecosystem in terms of technology, talent and policies,”

 

Soources :thehindubusinessline.com

Why India Will Never Have Zero Coal Import Bill

 The Narendra Modi government has been working on cutting the country's coal import bill of over 1 lakh crore annually. Power minister Piyush Goyal has insisted the government would stop coal imports and make way for domestic coal going ahead.

However, the plan to replace imports with domestic output may falter on a crucial affliction - lack of coking coal reserves that is used as a raw material in steel making and allied industries. The country imported around 200 million tonne (MT) of coal last financial year to top up domestic production of 640 MT.

Coal in India is used either from domestic sources, mostly mined by coal India, or is imported. The imports are mainly to compensate the lack of good quality coal, especially coking coal from the mining sources in the country.

Coking coal is imported by state-run Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and other steel manufacturing units mainly to bridge the gap between the requirement and indigenous availability and to improve the quality.

Coal based power plants, cement plants, captive power plants, sponge iron plants, industrial consumers and coal traders are importing non-coking coal. Coke is imported mainly by pig-iron manufacturers and iron and steel sector consumers using mini-blast furnace.

However, India does not have enough reserves for good quality coking coal and most of it is imported from Indonesia, South Africa, Russia and Australia.

Experts say, it is this requirement of coking coal added with power plants whose boilers are designed to run only on imported coal, which is likely to continue importing coal in the coming years.

"Talking in aggregate terms does not really help. Let us subdivide the import requirement of the country into three parts. One is of coking coal, where we have traditionally had a deficit. So, we have been importers of coking coal for a long-long time," Vivek Bharadwaj, joint secretary, Ministry of Coal, told ETEnergyworld.

He added this coal requirement will not end any time soon. "Also, we have power plants at the coasts which are based on imported coal. Their boilers are designed only for imported coal. They will continue to use imported coal. So, it is only the third category of thermal power plants which were using imported coal as a substitute for domestic coal because if its scarcity, which we can do something about," Bharadwaj explained.

As per provisional government figures, India's 200 MT of coal imports last fiscal included 43.50 million tonne of coking coal and 156.38 million tonne non-coking or thermal coal. This financial year (2016-17), the government had imported over 35 million tonne coal by the end of May.

However, the government is now taking steps to ramp up the production of coking coal in the country and curtail the use of imported coal. "Last year, there has been a drop of Rs 23,000 crore in the import bill," Bharadwaj said. "We are trying to map out these industries, with both power and non-power use, which will still continue to import coal in the near future."

Similarly, for plants situated at the coasts, switching to domestic coal would be a big challenge as the process would involve changes in its boilers, which involve huge costs.

 

Sources: economictimes.indiatimes.com

Why The Central Government Should Go All Out To Expand Oil Palm Cultivation

The Indian edible oil sector is the world’s fourth-largest after the US, China and Brazil and accounts for around 9 per cent of the world’s oilseed production.

An irony of this industry is its heavy dependence on imports. Cooking oil imports are all set to touch a record 15 million tonnes (mt) in the current, 2015-16 Oil Year, ending October. Out of the 15 mt, palm oil imports alone account for 9 mt or 60 per cent.

The reason for palm oil occupying the lion’s share of the total consumption is because palm is generally the cheapest commodity vegetable oil and also the cheapest oil to produce and refine globally.

Therefore, focussed palm oil cultivation will undoubtedly play a key role in addressing the domestic shortfall in edible oil consumption and lowering India’s edible oil import bill and saving foreign exchange.
Highest-yielding crop

A distinct advantage that palm enjoys is that it is the highest-yielding perennial edible oil crop and needs a fraction of the area used to grow in comparison to other oilseeds. This is indeed potentially attractive in a country like India, where land is increasingly scarce as the population rockets.

On a per-hectare basis, oil palm trees are 6-10 times more efficient at producing oil than temperate oilseed crops such as rapeseed, soyabean, sunflower or ground nut. For example, while a hectare of land can yield 300-400 kg of groundnut oil, nearly 4 tonnes of palm oil can be produced from a hectare of land.
The case for palm oil

P Rethinam, a plantation crop management specialist, in his detailed report titled ‘Increasing Vegetable Oil Production through Oil Palm Cultivation in India’ observes: “27 million hectares of nine oilseed crops produce about 9 million tonnes of oil per year but 2 million hectares of oil palm could produce 8 million tonnes of crude palm oil, 0.8 million tonnes of palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake, bio mass for bio energy, eco-friendly bio-diesel, etc.” There is a big potential to raise the acreage of palm, which is currently cultivated on about 200,000 hectares. According to OPDPA, India has the potential to expand the acreage to 20 lakh hectares, keeping in view the demand. If this is done, the palm oil industry, which provides employment to 20,000 people, can create two lakh additional jobs.

Indian palm oil production is estimated at 1.7 lakh tonnes for 2014-15, up from 0.6 lakh tonnes in 2010-11. Palm oil cultivation has grown from zero to 2,00,000 hectares in the past two decades.

The Central government has been trying, for many years now, to reduce its dependence on imported edible oils by encouraging farmers to take up palm cultivation. In an encouraging move, the current government has announced a package of ?10,000 crore over three years, which is intended to support farmers until the trees begin to yield (it takes three to five years for the palm tree to start yielding fruit).

The government has identified nine States with suitable climatic conditions. In November 2015, the government has also allowed 100 per cent FDI in palm oil plantations, a move the industry believes will boost domestic production, bring in more funds and newer technologies into the sector.
Industry challenges

However, there are several road blocks for India preventing it from successfully expanding on its domestic palm oil cultivation. First and foremost, lack of large land tracts is a major constraint.

The industry wants the government to declare palm oil as a plantation crop to move it out of the Land Ceiling Act. Moreover, the current import duty is not supportive of oil palm farmers and the industry.

Secondly, the Indian edible oil industry has been urging the government to maintain a duty differential of at least 15 per cent on crude and refined oil to protect the interests of refineries. Domestic edible oil refiners are facing a surge of imports of refined oil over the last few months, reducing their capacity utilisation to 30-40 per cent from 55-60 per cent a year ago.

Last month, the Centre lowered the import duty on crude palm oil from 12.5 per cent to 7.5 per cent and on refined oil from 20 per cent to 15 per cent. Hence, there was no change at all in the duty differential and the move is not expected to have any impact on either the industry or farmers.

The government needs to provide a level playing field to the domestic refining industry. Otherwise, Indian edible oil importers will be perpetually fighting a losing battle with cheap rival palm oil from top producers Malaysia and Indonesia.
Conclusion

A focus on palm oil cultivation is key to India’s goal of attaining self-sufficiency in vegetable oils over the next decade. The palm oil industry deserves the highest priority and encouragement from the government to meet the internal demand of edible oil, resulting in a strong imprint on savings of foreign exchange, employment generation and boosting India’s food security.

 

Sources :hindubusinessline.com

Rupee Recovers Over 20 Paise Against Dollar, Ends At 66.72

Indian rupee recovered over 20 paise against the US dollar on Friday on account of increased selling of the American currency by banks and exporters. Rupee closed 22 paise up at 66.72 against the US dollar. The local currency slipped 40 paise on Thursday and closed at fresh three-week low of 66.94 against the dollar on rising concerns over interest rate hike by the US Federal Reserve.

Meanwhile, domestic equity markets traded choppy in a narrow range and ended in green. Concern about the global economy contributed to the early weakness, while value buying at reduced levels after the drop helped the bourses in some recovery. This week has seen brutal cuts on equity markets globally as investors contend with weak China data, weak start to earnings in the US and now almost 70 per cent probability of rate hike by the Federal Reserve.

Foreign institutional investors remained net sellers in the Indian equity markes as they sold shares worth of Rs 846 crore on Friday, according to the provisional data available with NDSL.

US Dollar Index declined by 0.45 per cent in Thursday’s trading session due to unfavourable economic data from the country. However, sharp fall in the currency was cushioned due to rise in risk aversion in global markets which led to increase in demand for the low yielding currency.

US Unemployment Claims remained unchanged at 246,000 for the week ending on 7th Oct’16. Import Prices grew by 0.1 percent in September with respect to decline of 0.2 percent in August.

 

Sources :.financialexpress.com

Pakistan Will Face Difficulty In Exporting Products If India Scraps Mfn Status: P R Chakravarty

P R Chakravarty, former consul general of India in Karachi on Tuesday said if New Delhi scraps the 'Most Favoured Nation' status to Islamabad, it won't affect India whereas Pakistan would have problems in exporting their products.

"This meeting on the MFN status is context with what happened in Uri and what the options are available for India in terms of taking action against Pakistan. So, MFN is one of them because we gave MFN status to Pakistan in 1996 and they have not yet given it to us," Chakravarty told ANI

"If we scrap the MFN, which is part of our obligation under the WTO, it will affect Pakistani exports to India because then India would be able to apply higher tariffs than what we do for other countries. For India even if India-Pakistan trade goes down a bit it makes no difference. Pakistan will have problems in exporting their products," he added.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will chair a meeting with top officials on Thursday to decide whether to withdraw "Most Favoured Nation" status for Pakistan. It is expected that officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and Commerce Ministry would attend the meeting.

Reports are rife that India is considering withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

The decision comes a day after India reviewed the Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan.

It is expected that officials from the Ministry of External Affairs and Commerce Ministry would attend the meeting.

Reports are rife that India is considering withdrawal of the Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to Pakistan in the wake of the Uri terror attack.

 

Sources:business-standard.com

Rupee Closes Up 0.19% Against Us Dollar

The rupee on Tuesday closed stronger for the fourth consecutive session to hit a near three-week high against the US dollar, on continued buying from foreign institutional investors in local and debt markets. Gains in Asian currencies market also helped the rupee.

The home currency closed at 66.49 per dollar, up 0.19% from its previous close of 66.61. The rupee opened at 66.50 and touched a high of 66.44 per dollar, a level last seen on 8 September. So far this year it fell 0.5%.

The benchmark 10-year government bond yield closed at 6.793%, compared with Monday’s close of 6.789%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

India’s benchmark Sensex fell 70.58 points, or 0.25%, to close at 28,223.70. So far this year, it has gained 8.06%.

Most Asian currencies closed higher as Democrat Hillary Clinton was seen as outperforming Republican Donald Trump in the first US presidential debate, improving risk sentiments.

The South Korean won was up 1%, Indonesian rupiah 0.66%, Taiwan dollar 0.65%, Malaysian ringgit 0.18%, Singapore dollar 0.1% and Thai baht 0.05%. However, the Philippines peso fell 0.15% and Japanese yen was down 0.06%.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.33, up 0.04% from its previous close of 95.297.

 

Sources :.livemint.com

Indian Steel Association Requests Government To Consider Extending The Minimum Import Price

 Indian Steel Association (ISA), a lobby group of leading domestic steel majors, has requested the government to consider extending the minimum import price (MIP) regime for some steel items notified in August this year for another six months.

“The situation with respect to import prices of the 66 HS codes covered under the August 4, 2016 remains low and as per ISA understanding these prices operate on a predatory level. Demand for these products have not picked up domestically. The situation would be affected adversely if these are now imported at dismally low prices leading to an unwarranted glut in the domestic market,” Sanak Mishra, secretary general of ISA said.

The India steel industry is not asking for protection but for fair competition for these products in the domestic market, he added.


While petitions for anti-dumping and other steel products would be taken up concomitantly and take its due course of process it is imperative that the August 4, 2016 MIP notification is extended for a period of six additional months, ISA said. Unless this is done issues pertaining to global overcapacity emanating mainly by China would recreate pressure on Indian steel markets, it added. The situation is reaching crisis proportions which is why it said there is global consensus building up to hold China accountable for its commitment to take swift steps to reduce excess capacity, ISA statement said.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India Likely To Import 2 Mt Wheat To Boost Supplies

: India is likely to import up to 2 million tonne (MT) wheat in the current fiscal after the customs duty cut on the grain to boost domestic supply and check prices, according to flour millers.

"Imports will increase in the coming months and reduce pressure on the domestic availability," Food Ministry Joint Secretary Prashant Dwivedi told PTI on the sidelines of an AGM of Roller Flour Millers Federation of India (RFMFI) here.

He said the government will not discontinue the sale of FCI wheat to bulk consumers like flour millers.

Asked about likely quantity to be imported this fiscal, Dwivedi declined to give any figure.

However, the industry players estimated that overseas purchase of the grain would touch 2 MT in the 2016-17 fiscal helped by duty cut.

Already, about 6,00,000 tonnes of wheat has been imported from Australia, Ukrain, France and Russia, while another 4,00,000 to 5,00,000 tonnes is in the pipeline, RFMFI Ex-President M K Datta Raj said.

    
"Total wheat imports are expected to be 2 million tonnes this year," he said.

Much of the imports are being undertaken by flour millers in south India. Now with the duty cut, imports have become viable for flour millers in Maharashtra and West Bengal, he added.

Four millers are importing Australian white wheat in big quantities, which is costing about Rs 19.50 per kg for delivery at Bangalore after the duty cut, while earlier it was costing Rs 23 per kg, he explained.

Last week, the government had slashed import duty on wheat to 10 per cent from 25 per cent till February 2017.

The country's wheat production is estimated to be 93.50 million tonnes in the 2015-16 marketing year (April-March), while the industry players peg 5 million tonnes less output.

Despite projection of higher production, the state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) has procured only 22.9 MT as against the target of 30.5 MT set for the 2016-17 marketing year (April-March). The bulk of the procurement was done during April-June.

 

sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

In Lean Season, Seafood Exports Increase By 7 Per Cent

 In a sign of strong recovery, seafood exports in first five months of the current fiscal rose 7 per cent from a year ago to touch 333,832 tonnes, according to data from Marine Products Export Development Authority (Mpeda). In value terms, the year-on-year increase was 17 per cent to Rs 13,426 crore, Mpeda's provisional data for the five months to August showed.

"The good performance has come in the lean season, which augurs well for the coming months," Mpeda chairman A Jayathilak said.

In 2015-16, marine exports dipped 9 per cent from the previous year to Rs 30,421 crore as the unit value realisation of frozen shrimp, which constitutes over 70 per cent of total exports, fell by $2 to $8.28 per kg. Jayathilak said the loss of the previous year has been made good in the first few months of the current year. He said seafood exports are expected to touch the targeted $5.6 billion in the current year.

 As per Mpeda data, production of aquaculture shrimp, which is driving exports, touched an alltime high of 550,000 tonnes in 2015-16.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Rupee Trades Higher At 66.96 Against Us Dollar

The Indian rupee on Monday was trading little changed against the US dollar, as traders turned cautious ahead of the US Federal Reserve meeting.

At 2pm, the home currency was trading at 66.96 per dollar, up 0.04% from its previous close of 66.99. The rupee opened at 66.95 per dollar and touched a high and a low of 66.86 and 66.95, respectively.

India’s benchmark Sensex index rose 0.11% or 32.50 points to 28,631.53. So far this year, it has gained 9%.

Most Asian currencies advanced and regional equities rallied for the second day amid improving risk sentiment with the Fed expected to stand pat this week. The Fed meeting will start on Tuesday and end on Wednesday. The Bank of Japan meeting will be held on 21 September.

Taiwan dollar was up 0.73%, Japanese yen 0.49%, South Korean won 0.33%, Singapore dollar 0.29%, Thai baht 0.2% and China renminbi 0.08%. However, China offshore spot was down 0.23%, Malaysian ringgit 0.23% and Philippines peso 0.08%.

The 10-year bond yield stood at 6.867% compared to its Friday’s close of 6.868%. Bond yields and prices move in opposite directions.

The rupee is down 1.17% till date this year, while foreign institutional investors have bought $6.29 billion in equity and sold $666.10 million in debt markets.

The dollar index, which measures the US currency’s strength against major currencies, was trading at 95.881, down 0.24% from its previous close of 96.108.

 

 

Sources:livemint.com

Sudarshan Chemicals Plans Rs 1000 Cr Investment In Five Years

 Pune based pigment and agro chemical maker Sudarshan Chemicals is planning to invest Rs 1000 crore over the next five years. The company is aspiring to become the fourth largest company in the world.  Its products primarily serve the coatings, plastics, inks and cosmetics markets.  It is one of the leading manufacturers of color & effect pigments in India.

"We have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Maharashtra government of Rs 1,000 crore of investment in the next five years. The first stage of the investment has already kicked off and we are already seeing very good utilisation of those capacities," said Rajesh Rathi, deputy managing director, Sudarshan Chemicals.

Sudarshan Chemicals is eying international markets to gain fourth largest position. The global market of pigment manufacturing is of $5.5 billion. It has a dominant 35 per cent domestic market share and are seeing the opportunities towards high margin pigment products with sharpening focus in Europe and North America.

The company would desire to become fourth largest global player in the next three years.  To achieve this, it has started globalising its business from the last two-three years. Its changing the product portfolio to high performance pigments and which go into coatings and also effect pigments which go into cosmetics. Most of these products have a much better margin than the traditional pigments especially in the international markets.

"We are already a dominant player in India and the Middle East market, but we want to majorly increase our market share in international markets because that is where 90 per cent or more of the market is. Our aim is to gain 10 per cent market share in the international markets" adds Rathi.  

This year, the company is planning to introduce new products in the market. It aims at 15 to 20 per cent  increase in sales with these products in the next two years. In the last seven years, Sudarshan Chemicals has introduced more than 100 products.  It has two manufacturing plants in Maharashtra, one is in Roha and other is located at Mahad.

The other three global players in the market are German giant BASF,  Switzerland's Clariant and Japan's DIC Corporation. Domestically, it competes with Pidilite Industries.  

Sudarshan Chemical's FY16 revenue growth 15.7 per cent to Rs 1,409 crore from Rs 1,218 crore in FY16. Its EBIDTA rose 29.5 percent (YoY) to Rs 167 crore in FY17. For FY17, the company is betting on uptick in approvals for its operations in Europe, Asia and North America to clock a higher growth than FY16. Sudarshan Chemical, which has a capacity utilisation iof 80-90 percent tops the Indian pigment manufacturing market with a share of 35 per cent.

Speaking about the expansion plans Rathi said that the company has required infrastructure and already expanded for the utilities and boilers.

"Our exports today would be about 60 percent would be exports and 50 percent would be India market. In near future, we see the export percentage to go much higher up, not that our focus from the India market is going to go away, but 95 percent of the market is out of India," he said.

Plus, it has planned and executing several strategic initiatives within the company to grow the margins and especially a lot of focus on the return on capital employed and the earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) margins.

 

sources:business-standard.com

Pulses Traders Welcome Panel Report

 Pulses traders have appreciated the Subramanian committee’s recommendations on measures needed for long term solutions to the commodity’s inflationary problems.

The committee headed by Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian recommended immediate increase in the minimum support price (MSP) by at least 20% for major pulses with tur and urad at Rs 60 a kg from Rs 50.50 a kg each and chana at Rs 40 a kg from the existing Rs 35 a kg.


“Wheat output stands at four times that of pulses. This means, if a farmer harvests four tonnes of wheat on a piece of land, he would get only one tonne of pulses. Therefore, MSP for pulses (tur and urad) should be four times that of wheat which currently works out to around three times. Assuming that even 10 per cent farmers are diverting there crop from wheat to pulses, India would have enough pulses,” said Pradeep Jindal, President, Pulses and Beans Importers Association.

India’s pulses consumption is estimated at around 24 million tonnes as against its production at 16.47 million tonnes in 2015-16 and 17.15 million tonnes in 2014-15 because of two years of subsequent droughts. Following a more than 30% increase in acreage on favourable monsoon, India’s pulses output is estimated to breach its previous record of 19.25 million tonnes in 2013-14 to achieve at 22 million tonnes for crop year 2016-17.

Further, the panel recommended that the Centre should encourage states to delist pulses from Agriculture Produce Markets Committee (APMC) Act to allow farmers to sell their produce to consumers directly. The government has already adopted this practice in fruits and vegetables.

“The role of APMC is nothing beyond collecting 5.8 per cent of various taxes just to make pulses costlier,” said S P Goenka, Director, U Goenka Sons, a Mumbai-based pulses importer. “Today, farmers should be allowed to sell their produce to anyone who pay higher prices. If they feel, they can sell their output directly to consumers at the prevailing market price. The system which was set years ago as a vote bank for politicians, still continues. Today, APMC has become irrelevant. So, it should be abolished.”

Pulses traders say that this is the first time ever that the government has received right policy recommendations. Some years ago, when pulses’ export was banned, India used to be a hub for processing of varieties of dals. But when dal prices moved up, then Food Minister Sharad Pawar invoked the ban.

“The ban on pulses exports was just an eye wash. India used to import 3 million tonnes of pulses about a decade ago of which 10 per cent was processed locally for re-export which used to earn forex for India. Now, export of 10 per cent of imported goods makes no difference in its availability for domestic market as dal mills could have imported this exportable quantity extra. The ban on export not only killed our industry but also helped emerged many such processing units in the Middle East and Asian countries. It should be immediately revoked to make a market free from any hurdles,” said a senior industry official.

Similarly, traders termed as wrong the stock limit imposed by the current NDA government to control pulses inflation, and have urged the government to intensify procurement to meet its buffer requirement and purchase more in case of distress sale from farmers.

“By imposing a stock limit, the government restricted stockists to hold limited quantity which means supply is restricted. Instead of taking all corrective measures, why the government has not convened a meeting of farmers to understand the problems faced by them for growing less pulses. The increase in pulses area this year is the result of high prices during the last two years. The government, therefore, needs to take a long term measures to encourage farmers with adequate returns to their produce,” said Jindal.

Apart from urging the government to allow genetically modified seeds in pulses for higher yield, traders called for immediate ban on futures trading due to excessive speculation by certain groups of traders.

 

Sources:.business-standard.com

We've Improved And Expect A Rebound In Demand Over The Coming Years: P K Singh

The steel industry in India, like other countries, has been affected by the global oversupply created by China, which led to cheap imports replacing domestic steel. This impacted the margins of all steel makers. However, the government’s intervention by bringing in protective trade measures of various forms provided some respite.

Since the last quarter of the earlier financial year, we’ve improved and clocked record sales of around 3.8 million tonnes, about 20 per cent up over the same period last year. In the first quarter of FY17, we have posted the highest ever in saleable steel production, with 11 per cent growth and a nine per cent growth in operating earnings. Simultaneously, the government’s plans to invest heavily in infrastructure is expected to boost the demand for domestic steel in coming times.

Is there a demand pick-up? What are the factors preventing a rebound?

In the April-August period, domestic steel consumption grew only 1.3 per cent. During the same period, there was a fall in the import of finished steel of 30 per cent and exports rose 24 per cent. We had a good monsoon and that will surely translate into a rise of steel consumption in rural markets and, demand-wise, a better second half for domestic steel makers.

The huge infra push from the government in form of smart cities, expansion of road and rail network, favourable policies like Make in India, indigenisation of sectors like defence, heavy engineering, etc. will all require substantial amounts of quality steel as a major input. So, we expect that in the coming years, there will be a spurt in demand and no factor would stop that rebound.

How far have the minimum import price (MIP) and anti-dumping and safeguard duties helped? If MIP had not been implemented, what would have been the price scenario? Should MIP be further extended?

The government extended MIP on August 4 on 66 items for a further two months. Further, in March, it extended the safeguard duty on hot-rolled coil (HRC) imports, placed in September 2015, till March 2018. The Directorate General of Anti-dumping & Allied Duties recommended provisional anti-dumping duty on HRC and cold-rolled flat products, which also have been issued. Imposition of provisional anti-dumping duty on wire rods is also under consideration.

In the face of huge global oversupply, almost every other country has resorted to trade safeguard measures of some degree to shield their domestic steel industry. At such times, these are required to give a level field to your own industry.

What is your capital expenditure and your major projects?

For this financial year, capex is planned at Rs 4,000 crore. We spent a little over 25 per cent of this amount in the first quarter of FY17.

SAIL had undertaken modernisation and expansion of its five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur and Burnpur, and the special steel plant at Salem, at an investment of Rs 62,000, to enhance crude steel production capacity from 12.8 million tonnes per annum to 21.4 mtpa. All major facilities under this plan at Rourkela, IISCO (Burnpur), Durgapur, Bokaro and Salem have been completed and are under operation or stabilisation. Many of the major projects at Bhilai has been completed; others are in advance stages of installation.

What is the status on your foreign projects?

The major overseas project is at Mozambique. Our joint venture in coal mines there is a strategic investment, our first footprint outside India to acquire any coal mines. Till date, we have exported around 1.3 mt of coking coal from the mines. The cost of operations at the time of acquisition was quite high but in due course, a number of steps were taken that have resulted in considerable reduction of the coking coal price.

 

Sources :business-standard.com

Tea Board Hopeful Of Doubling Exports To Australia In Five Years

 After his recent visit to Australia with a 15-member delegation of tea exporters, Executive Director of Tea Board C Paulrasu said he is hopeful of doubling the export volumes to that continent.

“Indian tea exports to Australia now stand at 3 million kg. This could double in the next five years,” he said, adding that Australia is looking only for speciality products such as organic tea, value-added teas, flavoured teas and green tea.

The total volume of tea imports into Australia is estimated at 15 million kg. “Indian tea exporters are fully geared to cater the international market,” he added.
Tea exports

Tea export has risen by 10 per cent in 2015 -16 compared to the earlier year to touch 221 million kg.

As per Tea Board figures, the CIS continues to be the largest importer of Indian teas at 60.52 million kg in 2015-16. Other major importers of Indian teas are Iran (20.41 million kg), Pakistan (18.94 m kg), the UK (17.70 m kg) and the UAE (15.01 m kg).

The export volumes to the CIS countries have seen some improvement from 54.26 m kg in 2014-15 to 60.52 m kg in 2015-16, which industry sources say “is consequent to the visit of a tea delegation to Moscow just over a year ago.”
Production

Indian tea production rose in 2015-16 by 36 m kg to 1233 m kg compared to the corresponding 12 months of the previous year. While north Indian production increased by 52 m kg to 1,008 m kg, tea production in the South took a huge hit slipping by 16 m kg to 225 m kg.

At the 34th annual general meeting of the Tea Trade Association of Coimbatore, its Chairman UV Saraf said the situation in the South is worrisome. “We do not expect the crop situation to improve during the later part of this year, until and unless rainfall improves in the tea growing areas.”

 

Sources:.thehindubusinessline.com

Plan To Boost Exports To Islamic Nations Flounders

India’s move to boost its goods and services exports to over 50 Islamic nations mainly in Africa and Asia through a $100 million commercial Line of Credit (LoC), has failed to take off even five months after a pact to that effect.

There have been no disbursements under the financing mechanism -- though Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) and the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for it in April this year. A worried Exim Bank has now urged ICD to raise awareness about the facility in the 52 Islamic nations that are ICD members. ICD is the private sector arm of Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group.
No disbursements

Yaduvendra Mathur, Chairman & Managing Director, Exim Bank, told The Hindu: “The disbursements (under the LoC) have not started. We have told the ICD to push it (the financing mechanism).” Mathur said Exim Bank has also asked several exporters in India as well as Indian companies executing projects in various Islamic nations to inform the importers of their goods & services and sub-contractors operating in those countries to seek access to the commercial LoC.

According to the Indian government-owned Exim Bank, it extends commercial LoCs to recipients – who are overseas financial institutions, foreign governments, regional & national development banks, and commercial banks. These recipients – in this case, in the 52 Islamic nations – can then on lend to buyers for financing items that are imported from India including machinery, vehicles and equipment as well as related services. This loan is also helpful in cases where Indian firms win bids to execute projects in those countries. Credit periods for these LoCs are usually medium-to-long term and it carries London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR)-linked interest rates.

Once a contract gets the required approvals to be covered under the LoC mechanism, the Indian exporter/contractor can claim payment from Exim Bank against conforming documents & certificates regarding the export of goods & the services rendered. The (overseas) buyers of Indian goods & services repay the recipient financial institutions/bank/foreign governments (in this case, in the 52 Islamic nations). These recipients then make the repayment to Exim Bank. The ICD, under the LoC mechanism, will step in and make repayments to Exim Bank in case the recipient financial institutions/banks/governments in the 52 Islamic nations fail to make repayments on time. This ensures that the Exim Bank and Indian exporters are covered from risks.

The LoC has not taken off due to several reasons including lack of awareness, according to official sources who did not want to be identified. They said another reason is that though the MoU does not state that the LoC is only to promote trade between Muslims in India and in those Islamic nations, there is an apprehension that a section of officials in the financial institutions / banks / governments in the 52 Islamic nations and within the ICD are keen that the mechanism is used, among other things, to promote trade with Muslim suppliers in India. Export sector sources said most Indian exporters from the Muslim community are confined to segments such as meat, leather, ready-made garments, weaving, cashew and handicrafts. This particular LoC, however, is mainly for machinery, vehicles and equipment as well as related services, where it is difficult to find only Muslim suppliers, they said, adding that even otherwise there will be problems in linking a Muslim supplier in India to a Muslim buyer in those countries.

Sources :thehindu.com

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Vietnam Price Drop Raises Hopes For India Robusta Coffee Exports

 Continuous rainfall in Vietnam, the largest producer of robusta coffee, has kindled hopes of a fall in prices which could boost exports of the commodity from India that have been declining due to sluggish demand and high robusta bean prices.

A large chunk of India's coffee exports comprises robusta coffee variety, the prices of which have been rising in the past few months on concerns of a lower crop in Vietnam and Brazil, two major producers that set the price in the world market.

The ICE London November robusta coffee futures fell 1 per cent to $1,909 per tonne on Friday last week, ending seven consecutive sessions of gains.

Many Indian exporters said rains at this stage may not help make good damage suffered by the coffee crop in Vietnam due to drought. "Vietnam is expected to end up with less than 25 million bags (each bag of 60 kg), about 10 per cent less than in the previous year. Harvest begins in November," said a senior executive of NKG Jayanti Coffee, a major exporter.

Traders said global futures may rise another $200 in the coming months given that the next robusta crop in Brazil, Indonesia and India is likely to be lower.

   "In India the robusta prices have climbed to Rs 130 per kg from Rs 110 per kg in a few weeks. If it goes above Rs 140 per kg, there could be consumer resistance," said a leading coffee broker, who did not wish to be identified.

India's coffee exports increased nearly 17 per cent from January 1to September 9 to 265,860 tonnes from that a year ago. In the earlier months, exports grew 20 per cent over the previous year's figures.

"In India, most of the stock has been sold out. Maybe 15 per cent of the stock is left. Moreover, the European buying is sporadic. As a result export trend will be slack for next three months," said Ramesh Rajah, president of Coffee Exporters Association of India.

The stock has thinned despite a bumper crop last year. Only the large growers are left with some stocks, Rajah said.

India's coffee growers have revised their estimate of fall in the next robusta output from more than 20 per cent to 15 per cent since the monsoon has been good. Coffee Board has forecast in its post blossom estimate that the robusta crop will be down 10 per cent to 2.2 lakh tonnes.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

Palm Oil Price Up 10% In A Month

 Frying samosas and namkeen will be costlier this festive season, with prices of palm oil having shot up 10 per cent in the past month and little respite in sight.

Edible oil makers have already passed on the hike in palm oil prices to consumers. Palm oil, the cheapest among all edible oils, is widely used across India, with the south consuming the largest volume.

Experts said crude palm oil prices may remain firm throughout 2016 since the global output of palm oil is expected to shrink after the prolonged El-Nino related dryness that hit palm producing regions in Southeast Asia this year. Media reports indicate that production of palm oil in Indonesia is likely to be around 31 million tonnes in 2016 compared to 32.5 million tonnes last year.

Malaysian palm oil output is expected to drop below 19 million tonnes compared to 19.96 mt in 2015.

"A projected short supply in the global markets has pushed up palm oil prices. Additionally, Indians are short covered as far as palm oil is concerned. Consumption in India for palm oil will be on the higher side till Diwali," said Anghsu Mallick, chief operating officer at Adani Wilmar.

Mallick said the company, which sells palm oil under brand name 'Raag Gold', has passed on the price hike to consumers. "The price hike will have an impact on consumption and slow down the movement of palm oil," he said.


Soy oil prices have gone up 6 per cent in the past one month. "The impact of soy oil prices moving up will not be as much as the palm oil. Soy oil is generally consumed by the upper and upper middle-class people," said Sandip Bajoria, CEO of oil consultancy firm Sunvin Group.

Global soyabean production for this season is forecasted to be 314 metric tonnes, down 1.8 per cent from last season's historic high, but it will still be the second-largest harvest. The output of the US, among the bigger producers, is pegged at 107 million tonnes, almost identical to the all-time record of the 2014-15 season.

Bajoria said, "Price hike in soy oil is a temporary phenomenon. Whenever prices of any of the oils in the edible oil complex go up, then other oils also tend to become costlier." The rising prices of palm oil may bring down its imports by India.

"The price difference between RBD palmolein (finished palm oil) and soy oil is narrowing down. This may result in people shifting to soft oil like soy oil," said BV Mehta, executive director, Solvent Extractors' Association of India.

Palm oil import has already decreased to 61.75 lakh tonnes in the first nine months of current oil year (November 2015 to July 2016) from 68.26 lakh tonnes a year ago, while import of soft oils import has increased to 46.12 lakh tonnes from 33.73 lakh tonnes last year.

The share of soft oils in imports increased to 43 per cent from 33 per cent last year while the share of plam oil products went down to 57 per cent from 67 per cent.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

India And Russia Discuss Direct Gas Delivery Line

In a major boost to their energy ties, India and Russia today launched a working group for creating an "energy bridge" for a possible direct gas delivery from Russia and also directed their concerned ministries to finalise "concrete outcomes" in key areas of trade and investment by the next month's summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The discussions were held during the 22nd Indo-Russia interGovernmental Commission meeting today which were co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin.

"The Intergovernmental Commission reviewed the preparations for the forthcoming India-Russia Annual Summit to be held in Goa on 15 October 2016.

"While expressing satisfaction at the progress made in regard to some projects, the Commission also directed concerned Ministries and departments to focus on key sectors in the trade and investment spheres to finalise concrete outcomes by the forthcoming summit in October 2016," MEA said after the meeting.

Noting that there has been substantial progress on the investment front with expanding cooperation in oil and gas sphere, MEA in a release said Indian and Russian oil and gas companies are working towards finalisation of investments in each other's countries.

"Both sides launched an industry level Working Group - led by Gazprom, biggest Russian gas company, and a consortium of Indian oil and gas companies- for creating an 'energy bridge' between the two countries through possible gas pipelines for direct gas delivery from Russia to India," it said.

   

India and Russia reiterated their strong desire to further broaden their strategic cooperation with emphasis on key sectors such as nuclear energy, space, modernisation, high technology, disaster management, and supercomputing.

Asserting that a new milestone was recently achieved in the India-Russia cooperation in nuclear energy with the dedication of Unit 1 of the Kudankulam nuclear power project by Modi and Putin last month, it said the two sides renewed their commitment to work together on remaining stages of Kudankulam 2,3,4,5 and 6; and other projects through localisation under the Make in India programme.

Stating that connectivity was a major theme of discussion during the meeting, it noted that implementation of the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) project and the launch of the 'Green Corridor' project for customs facilitation are major steps towards better connectivity and trade facilitation.

Cooperation between Indian and Russian railways in the field of dedicated freight corridor, modernisation of railway stations, and training of railway personnel emerged as a new area to broaden cooperation in transports and logistics, it added.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com

African Oil Import Funds May Be Put In Vostro Accounts To Settle Exporters’ Dues

The government may soon extend to African countries a mechanism to clear payments of Indian exporters, especially pharmaceutical companies, stuck for months.

The payment model is similar to the one used in the case of Iran and now proposed for Venezuela.

The commerce department has moved a proposal but the final decision rests with the department of financial services and the Reserve Bank of India.

Essentially, the payment for oil imports from these countries will be used for paying for Indian exports. It will be a rupee mechanism wherein payment for imports from these countries will be made into a vostro account that will be then used to settle dues of domestic exporters.

Vostro account is a bank account held by a foreign bank with an Indian bank. Nigeria and Angola, the two top oil producing African countries, have been hit by a series of economic and political crises that have forced their governments to hold on to precious foreign exchange. These countries are not releasing dollars for payment to exporters.

The currency crisis is worsened by falling commodity prices, especially of oil. Nigeria is Africa's largest economy. "Many exporters are not able to do business because the payments are delayed," said PV Appaji, director general of Pharmexil. A least 15 complaints of delayed payments have been received, he said.

 "For three to four African countries, including Nigeria & Angola, we have suggested a payment mechanism to resolve issue of pending payments for our exporters," a commerce department official said, requesting not to be identified.

 

Sources :economictimes.indiatimes.com