Castor Output Seen Decline As Crop Area Dips- Feb 25, 2010

According to a survey, there will be a decline of four percent in the output of castor following the 10 per cent drop in the area under castor.

The survey, which was commissioned by the Solvent Extractors' Association and carried out by Nielsen India, has estimated castor output at 9.34 lakh tonnes as compared to 9.76 lakh tonnes reported a year ago.

This is in view of the area under the cropping dipping from 8.26 lakh hectares to 7.40 lakh hectares. This decline in area is likely to be compensated, to some extent, by a higher yield of 1,261 kg/hectare (1.18 kg/hectare).

Moreover, the survey states that there is a sharp decline in the area and production and yield in Andhra Pradesh. This year coverage stood at 1.35 lakh hectares as against a coverage of 1.92 lakh hectares last year, while the production is estimated at 44,000 tonnes (71,000 tonnes). The yield is seen falling from 369 kg to 325 kg/hectare.

The Solvent Extractors' Association said in a note that this year, all the castorseeds producing district of Andhra Pradesh received average rainfall of 460 mm, which was 10 per cent less than the average. However, huge rainfall reported in the last week of September as well as in the first week of October resulted in the damage of crops at many places, mainly in Kurnool and Mahboobnagar districts..

Meanwhile, the producing areas in Rajasthan received 43 per cent less than average rainfall while the rain during sowing and in the growth state was considered inadequate. Moreover, Rajasthan also reported lower coverage as well as production and yield.

While, the State of Gujarat received lower rainfall of 31 per cent, the crop has been helped by good rain during the sowing period. As a result, despite a fall in the coverage by three per cent, the production as well as yield are seen higher.

The area under the crop has increased in Ahmedabad as well as Surendranagar, Vadodra, Patan and Rajkot districts.

National Meet On Genomics, Crop Improvement Tomorrow- Feb 24, 2010

The pros and cons of Bt technology will come up for discussions at a national symposium to be hosted by the Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) Hyderabad.

Dr. E.A. Siddiq, renowned rice scientist and Honorary Director of Institute of Biotechnology (ANGRAU) said the 3 day meet on "Genomics and crop improvement: Relevance and Reservations" will commence on 25th of February, will see presentations by 45 leading researchers in - biotechnology, genomics areas.

As growth rates of many crops and commodities are narrowing off and technology constraints rising as an essential factor impacting it, India has a long road to go if it has to accomplish the target of 300 mn tonnes of food-grains by 2025 as against around 220 mt at present.

Dr. Siddiq said development in genomics would extend some hope in this sector as conventional breeding methods and existing technologies have reached a - 'technology fatigue' stage.

Where, it does not seem to have the potential to boost the production noticeably.

Also the arable lands are shrinking and 70 % of irrigated land is dependent on monsoon.

Therefore, new technologies are the best solution, said the former Deputy Director General (Crops), Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Since there are genuine apprehensions on these technologies, a special panel discussion with Dr. Sarat Chandra of the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), Bangalore, with equal number of scientists and activists participating has been scheduled.

Dr. Raghava Reddy, Vice-Chancellor of ANGRAU Exhibitions said posters and latest research findings would also be presented during the 3 day meet.

The major issues of concerns raised are - no transparency in technology development and testing as well as long-term effects of Bt gene (especially in Brinjal) on human health not known, impact on bio-diversity and the need for a biotech regulator could come up for the discussions

PM Calls For Meeting On Row Over GM Food- Feb 24, 2010

A meeting on the issue of the introduction of genetically modified (GM) foods, will be held by the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh with the Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar as well as the Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Mr Prithviraj Chavan; and the Union Minister of State for Environment and forests, Mr Jairam Ramesh, later this week.

The intervention by PM comes almost a fortnight after Ramesh's decision to not release Bt Brinjal for commercial use and days after agriculture minister Sharad Pawar's backing GM crops. The panel is expected to consider the recommendations of the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee before a final decision is taken on the fate of the introduction of Bt-brinjal or any GM (genetically modified) food crop.

Backed by the concerns raised by Mr Pawar as well as Mr Chavan on the 'moratorium' on Bt-brinjal announced by the Environment Minister after public consultations, the meeting follows concerns.

A strong pitch has been made by the Agriculture Ministry for a shift to transgenic crops. Earlier this month, Mr Pawar in a letter to the Prime Minister said that the moratorium could prove to be a "setback" to research in the crucial area and pitched for "clarity" on the issue.

Seeking to debunk several myths about GM crops, many experts from around the world gathered in New Delhi yesterday. In that meeting, they argued that demystification of the myths was important before a reaching a decision on such crops.

Debi Barker, international programme director of the Centre for Food Safety (CFS), said, "There are several myths surrounding GM crops and it is important for people and governments to realise this".

Moreover, he added that Farmers and people in India believe that the GM crops increase yield and this is not true.

"We have examples back home in the US where GM crop yields have become stagnant," Barker said.

Sops For Castor Oil, Meal Exports May Go In Budget- Feb 23, 2010

On the reports that the Finance Minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, may go for withdrawing the export incentives on castor oil and castor meal in the coming Union Budget scheduled later this week, the oilseeds-based industry and trade are agog. However, the finance minister may opt to impose export duty on oilmeals in order to discourage export and boost the availability in the domestic arena.

For nearly two years, a special incentive of 5 per cent under Vishesh Krishi and Gram Udyog Yojana in terms of duty credit scrip is being granted on various oilseed products that includes castor oil as well as castor meal, sesame seed and so on. The incentive is likely to be withdrawn.

It was asserted by some of the industry representatives that the castor oil and castormeal are neither special farm products nor are they produced in tiny units at the village levels.

Though the raw material is an agricultural commodity, processing takes place in sophisticated factories employing modern technology. So providing the export incentive has hardly served the purpose of supporting the primary producers or oilseeds growers, it is claimed.

Ironically, there has been no incentive for promotion of valued-added derivatives of castor oil. Another reason for the worry for the industry is the possibility of an export tax to discourage the outflow of oilseed extractions. There is belief that the government may not be too comfortable imposing an outright ban on export. However, the exports have to be moderated further and, in fact, reduced in order to ensure sufficient availability of feed in the domestic market.

Mr. Mukherjee may go for the tariff. The shipments of oilmeals totalled 19 lakh tonnes in the first nine months of the current financial year (April-December 2009), substantially down from 41 lakh tonnes shipped out during corresponding period in the previous year.

Yet, the tight domestic availability caused by shortfall in kharif oilseeds output has resulted in a spurt in feed prices.

There is also the possibility that import duty on refined oil, which currently stands at 7.5 per cent ad valorem, may be lowered to zero, in line with duty on crude edible oil. In the event, there will be more refined oil inflow, which will directly benefit the consumers, reduce undue price volatility and help fight food inflation. The edible oil market at the current stage is virtually controlled by a handful of large refiners that are able to influence prices.

Recognise Anti-Cancer Drugs As Life-Saving: Biotech Industry - Feb 23, 2010

A strong ground ahs been made to the government by India's biotech industry to recognize anti-cancer drugs.

This is as pre-clinical studies under the ambit of service tax exemption is brought life-saving drugs and called for creation of a huge regulatory mechanism and world-class accreditation agency.

However, Industry body Association of Biotechnology Led Enterprises (ABLE) said customs duty of 12.5%, excise/countervailing duty of 16.32%, additional duty on customs of 4% and 2% deduction cess result in 36.74% rise in the price of cancer drugs.

Vijay Chandru, the President of ABLE stated that ABLE would like to witness extension of service tax exemption to pre-clinical studies in the Union budget in order to give a fillip to the services sector.

He said that at present, only clinical trials are exempt from service tax and there is no underlying principle to keep out pre-clinical studies from this exemption.

Meanwhile, the government needs to ensure a huge, clear-cut, time-bound and transparent regulatory mechanism in order to boost the growth of the Indian biotech sector and make it a globally-strong industry.

He also said that the government should set up a world-class, internationally recognized, accreditation agency that can set standards and protocols that are in agreement with global regulations and standards.

Moreover, the industry has also sought tax concessions like weighted average tax deduction of 150% on all market development expenditure concerned to innovator products.

Also, 10-year excise duty exemption on all innovator products manufactured in India and customs duty exemption for all innovator products produced in SEZs in India for a 10-year period from the date of marketing approval.

The industry needs weighted average tax deduction on R&D expenditure and inclusion of international patent filing costs and market development costs u/s 35 (2AB).

On the other hand, in order to encourage manufacturing, ABLE has sought the removal of customs and excise duty on raw materials and components.

These are used by domestic manufacturers for production of life-saving drugs and diagnostics since the finished products are allowed to be imported duty-free.

Previously, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, CMD of Biocon Ltd said by 2015, India's biotechnology sector will turn into an industry worth $10 billion and by next year, it is likely to grow to $5 billion as compared to $2.51 billion in 2008-09.

Mazumdar-Shaw said the India's biotechnology industry is at an incursion point, and accomplished a vital goal. At the moment, it has a platform from where it can move ahead and bring exponential growth.

She added that today, India is becoming the Vaccine capital of the world. Bio-manufacturing offers a huge prospective and there are signs of many global contract manufacturers, to shift their foundation from Europe to Asia, and this move will benefit the India.

However, earlier, in order to mark 2010 as International Year of Biodiversity, the government has set 11 goals to facilitate biological diversity in India, which is home to the world's 7-8% of recorded flora and fauna.

Although India has only 2.4% of world's land area, it accounts for 7-8% of the recorded plant and animal species of the world.

UP Mills Dither On Cane Price Cut - Feb 22, 2010

It was earlier decided by the millers that effective from February 19th, there will be a cut in the prices by 8 per cent or Rs 20 a quintal.

The sugar industry both in the states of Uttar Pradesh (UP) as well as Uttarakhand have decided against their decision to cut sugarcane prices by Rs 20 a quintal on the back of fears of a backlash from farmers.

Keeping in view a sharp decline of 15 per cent in sugar realisation in the first fortnight of February, the members of the UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA) as well as the Uttarakhand Sugar Mills Association last week had decided to slash the prices by around eight per cent, or Rs 20 a quintal effective from February 19.

According to UPSMA official, many of its members received the representations from local farmer's associations to drop the proposal. UPSMA for the moment has decided not to go ahead with the cut. At the current stage, the mills in UP are paying between Rs 260-265 a quintal to the farmers, while those in Uttarakhand are paying in the range of Rs 270-275.

The has been a increase in prices at regular intervals by the UP mills ever since the commencement of the crushing in November to take prices to the current level of Rs 260-265 as against the state advised price of Rs 165-170. This was done on account of increasing sugar realisation. Due to the shortage of cane and rise in sugar prices, the farmers in the state had been agitating for a price of Rs 280. The mills last year paid Rs 140-145 as per the state advised price.

The farmers in the state are agitating for a price of Rs 280 a quintal on account of the sugarcane shortage in the industry and a rise in sugar prices,. Mills last year had paid a Sap of Rs 140-145 a quintal.

By the end of the month, few of the mills failed to get sufficient sugarcane at the price of Rs 190-195 a quintal including an incentive of Rs 25 a quintal and they were ready to pay Rs 200-205 a quintal.

However, by the end of December the industry paid another incentive of Rs 20 a quintal. So, the prices rose at regular intervals.

The sugar prices in the month of January touched on a peak of Rs 4,300 a quintal. However, there was a decline in the prices on the back of government's efforts like the weekly release mechanism and cap on stocks that can be kept by bulk consumers, prices have started falling down.

As per industry's assumptions, the production cost of sugar is Rs 260 a quintal of sugarcane (linked to nine per cent recovery) and it includes the cost of conversion and interest charges (and offsetting molasses and power revenue and accounting for a 20 per cent levy at a price of Rs 1,300-1,400 a quintal)) stands at Rs 3,700 a quintal.

Meanwhile, keeping in mind the sharp fall of nearly 15 per cent in sugar realisation over the last fortnight, the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), country's second biggest sugar producing state, may lower the price of sugarcane paid by farmers by nearly 6 per cent (around Rs 15 a quintal).

However, this move is expected at ensuring a healthy return in the event of sugar price falling. Last week on Saturday this issue was discussed at a meeting in UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA).

In India there are three top sugar companies (Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini and Triveni Engineering) and they are having their complete operations in the state.

India Tops In Output Of One In Eight Agri Commodities - Feb 22, 2010

It not a real surprise that India ranks top in the output of one in every eight agricultural commodities produced in the world.

According to a 2007 data of the Food and Agriculture Organisation, an arm of the United Nations, India capture the top spot in the production of 25 of 194 agricultural commodities. While on the other hand, China tops in the production of one in four agricultural commodities.

Some of the products in which India share the top slot in output includes bees wax as well as goat milk, castorseed, lemons, banana, mangoes, guavas and mangosteens, safflower, chickpea, pigeon pea and buffalo milk.

Though the data are for 2007, it is unlikely that there will be any significant change in the position.

The country is the number two in 20 commodities includes wheat as well as rice, sugarcane, onions, garlic, green peas and cauliflower. While, it share the third spot in the production of tomato as well as cashewnuts, linseed, rapeseed and sorghum.

India is far ahead of other countries in most of the commodities, in terms of production and this was on account of the rise in output since 2000 in some crops.

For example, the banana production of the country stood at 2.3 million tonnes (mt) as against China's 0.8 mt. While, in case of lemons, the production stood at 2.2 mt as compared to 1.9 mt of Mexico. However, India, with a production of 3.89 mt in goat milk is ahead of Bangladesh (2 mt).

One area where possibly China could catch up is ginger (0.37 mt versus 0.32 mt). However, in case of okra (lady's finger or bhindi), the production (3.28 mt) is more than double that of Nigeria (ranked second at 1.28 mt).

However, in terms of tropical fruits, the production of India stood at 3.5 mt, which is 0.5 mt more than the Philippines (ranked second).

There has been a sharp surge in production of the commodities, in the last few years. For example, the production of wheat has increased to 78.57 mt in 2008 from 72.15 mt in 2004 as against 80.68 mt last year. This year, the crop has been estimated at 80.28 mt.

While, the output in the case of rice has rose from 83.13 mt in 2004 to 96.19 in 2008 and 99.18 mt last year. This year, in view of monsoon playing havoc, production expectation is 87.56 mt.

Pepper Futures Drop On Bearish Activities- Feb 19, 2010

Despite the lack of new pepper arrivals at the terminal market, the pepper futures dipped on bearish activities yesterday.

The new pepper was being traded in the primary markets at Rs 13,200 a quintal in Idukki while at Rs 12,700 - Rs 12,800 in the southern districts and Rs 13,000 - Rs 13,100 a quintal in Pulpally and Sultan Bathery in Wayanad district.

However, no buyers turned up for the pepper maturing at the exchange, which is available much below the spot prices and have been doubled checked and passed by the authorities.

The February contract maturing today was down by Rs 132 to Rs 12,850 a quintal. While, the March and April tumbled by Rs 162 and Rs 174 respectively to Rs 13,149 and Rs 13,445. The total turnover fell by 100 tonnes to 4,561 tonnes.

The total open interest slipped by 150 tonnes to 11,587 tonnes. The February open interest dropped by 334 tonnes to 2,032 tonnes. The March open interest dipped by 4 tonnes to 7,390 tonnes while that of April surged by 86 tonnes.

The spot prices in tandem with the futures market trend fell by Rs 100 a quintal to close at Rs 12,800 (ungarbled) and Rs 13,300 (MG 1).

Scarcity Of Rough Diamonds To Hit Processors- Feb 18, 2010

The Indian diamond processing industry was caught with another problem of rough stone shortage by 25-30 per cent, after struggling to overcome the weak sales in the last year

Many jewellery makers were planning to showcase innovative designs and cuts in one of the largest jewellery shows in Asia, which is scheduled to commence from March 5-9 in Hong Kong.

But the roughs stone shortage has limited their scope. There is a fear among the participants that their overall sales would be hit badly.

Sanjay Kothari, ex-chairman, Gems & Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), said that 30 per cent less roughs was imported by India in 2009 that continued in January 2010 also.

However, he added that the diamond jewellery demand is likely to recover in the coming months.

The show was to be a good platform in order to overcome the lean season (March-May) sales.

India, which is the world's largest diamond processing hub, imported roughs worth $7.5 billion in 2009 as against $12-13 billion in previous years.

De Beers reported an annual production at 24.6 million carats, which was lower by 49 per cent of 2008 level. While on the other hand, Rio Tinto reported annual production cut by 33 per cent to 14.026 million carats in 2009. The two companies control more than 95 per cent of the world's rough diamond availability.

The two, along with other mining companies are also unwilling to raise output until prices reach profitability levels.

Gem, Jewellery Exports Cross Rs 1 Lakh Crore- Feb 18, 2010

The exports of India's gem and jewellery during April-January surged 14.30 per cent on year at Rs 1.07 lakh crore, according to provisional data by Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC).

However, the exports of gem and jewellery in the same period, in dollar terms, surged only 7.42 per cent on year at $22.54 billion, the council said.

The council said tat the data does not include figures from Vishakhapatnam SEZ.

Meanwhile, GJEPC said that the exports of cut and polished diamonds have grown 18.46 per cent on year to Rs 65,693 crore during the period under review.

Moreover, the gold jewellery exports from the domestic tariff area surged 0.49 per cent to Rs 7,958 crore, while the exports from the special economic zones grew by 11.28 per cent at Rs 28,513 crore, it said.

The total exports of gold jewellery surged by 8.73 per cent on year to stood at Rs 36,471 crore, the data showed.

However, the data showed that the exports of coloured gemstones during April-January surged 14.59 per cent on year to Rs 1,160 crore. On the other hand, the exports of rough diamonds fell 6.95 per cent on year to Rs 2,790 crore, GJEPC said.

On the import front, the data showed that the imports of rough diamonds during April-January period rose 4.82 per cent on year at Rs 33,900 crore.

Moreover, the council said that the imports of gold bar surged 21 per cent on year at Rs 21,329 crore in the same period, while the imports of cut & polished diamond grew 23 per cent on year at Rs 40,430 crore.

Vegetable Oil Imports Fall 2 Percent In January- Feb 17, 2010

In January, the import of vegetable oils fell down by 2 per cent due to a comfortable inventory with refining mills as shown in industry data.

The imports stood at 872,395 tonnes as compared to 888,102 tonnes in the corresponding month of the previous year, a two per cent decline and it is based as per the data of the Solvent Extractor's Association of India (SEA).

However, the total imports during the first quarter of the current oil year (November- October) went up by 10 per cent to 2.4 million tonnes (mt) from 2.19 mt compared to the same quarter of last year.

It was said by BV Mehta, executive director of SEA that the stocks has been built up by the domestic refiners from the past couple of months. Favourable rupee movements against the dollar and low (7.5 per cent) tariffs helped.

However, the plunge observed was also due to the ongoing crushing seasons. Usually, the imports decline in the peak crushing season (October-March) and then it starts to pick up in the lean season.

Totally there was 1.5 mt of oil and from which it was estimated by SEA that 800,000 tonnes of vegetable oil was docked at various ports, while 700,000 tonnes was held with refiners.

Therefore, the quantity was equal to 35 days of domestic consumption, which was way above the normal inventory level, where it does not more often exceed than 25 days.

UP Mills May Cut Cane Price By 6 Percent- Feb 16, 2010

Keeping in mind the sharp fall of nearly 15 per cent in sugar realisation over the last fortnight, the state of Uttar Pradesh (UP), country's second biggest sugar producing state, may lower the price of sugarcane paid by farmers by nearly 6 per cent (around Rs 15 a quintal).

However, this move is expected at ensuring a healthy return in the event of sugar price falling. Last week on Saturday this issue was discussed at a meeting in UP Sugar Mills Association (UPSMA).

In India there are three top sugar companies (Bajaj Hindusthan, Balrampur Chini and Triveni Engineering) and they are having their complete operations in the state.

It is been expected that by this week a final announcement will be declared for this effect, said by a top association official.

Ever since the crushing started in November, the prices had been increased at regular intervals by the mills in the state in order to take prices to the current levels of Rs 260-265 a quintal (compared to the state advised price or SAP of Rs 165-170) since sugar realization had also been rising.

The farmers in the state are agitating for a price of Rs 280 a quintal on account of the sugarcane shortage in the industry and a rise in sugar prices,. Mills last year had paid a Sap of Rs 140-145 a quintal.

By the end of the month, few of the mills failed to get sufficient sugarcane at the price of Rs 190-195 a quintal including an incentive of Rs 25 a quintal and they were ready to pay Rs 200-205 a quintal.

However, by the end of December the industry paid another incentive of Rs 20 a quintal. So, the prices rose at regular intervals.

The sugar prices in the month of January touched on a peak of Rs 4,300 a quintal. However, there was a decline in the prices on the back of government's efforts like the weekly release mechanism and cap on stocks that can be kept by bulk consumers, prices have started falling down.

As per industry's assumptions, the production cost of sugar is Rs 260 a quintal of sugarcane (linked to nine per cent recovery) and it includes the cost of conversion and interest charges (and offsetting molasses and power revenue and accounting for a 20 per cent levy at a price of Rs 1,300-1,400 a quintal)) stands at Rs 3,700 a quintal.

Imports Of Cooking Oil Declines- Feb 16, 2010

The imports of India's cooking oil fell by about 29,000 tonne in January 2010, after two months of continuous surge in the current season and this was on account of huge inventory built up here over the last one year, experts said.

The imports of edible oil fell from 8.56 lakh tonne in January 2008 to to 8.27 lakh tonne in January 2009, according to data released by Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) yesterday.

However, non-edible oils' imports, has surged by about 14,000 tonne, it said.

The importers in the last season had purchased cooking oil continuously from Indonesia and Malaysia due to the low prices globally and thus taking the total imports of the country to a record 81.83 lakh tonne, expert said.

Moreover, he said that the high level of import has helped to build up a comfortable inventory and also added that for 2008-09, the requirement was estimated at 130-140 lakh tonne and out of that oils estimated 70-75 lakh tonne was produced in the domestic arena. The import of vegetable oils- both edible and non-edible- duringn 2008-09 oil year (November-October), was higher in every month except October. However the imports in November and December 2009 again started rising. The cooking oil earlier this month has gone down by Rs 5 per kilo as sudden losses burst a bubble in the oil seeds market.

The soyabean price was prevailing at Rs 45/kg as against Rs 50/kg at the start of 2010. The business remains tough for cooking oil companies. However, the prices of Soyabean prices rose significantly in the new marketing season, starting October 1, thus touching Rs 25/kg by December-end, as companies raced to buy raw material for their factories.

Meanwhile, India last month surpassed China as the world's biggest buyer of palm oildue to the increase in incomes along with rising demand for fried and processed foods and drought reduced domestic cooking oil production, according to a processor group.

The country imported 7 million tonnes in 2009, more than China, according to the data from Mumbai-based Solvent Extractors' Association of India.

The imports of China rose 23 per cent to a record 6.4 million tonnes last year, the National Grain & Oils Information Center had said.

Soya Going The Transgenic Way - Feb 11, 2010

Scientists in Madhya Pradesh are working on transgenic varieties of Soya, though there is a release in the transgenic brinjal, the central has forcefully stopped the progress on it.

On the other side, Indian scientists are working on other food varieties like gram, toor, potato, papaya and castor seed.

By 2012 Indian framers will have their own transgenic varieties as scientists are working at the developing and testing protocols for transgenic varieties of soya. It is been admitted by the Indore based National Soyabean research Centre.

Director of the National Soybean Research Centre SK Srivastava said that our teams are working at the developing and testing of protocols for transgenic varieties of soya so that if in future demand rises for it, we should be ready.

But it is a time taking process and on the other hand, transgenic varieties of rice are in progress at Cuttack and New Delhi.

Despite the fact he refuses to comment on other food varieties, a scientist who has worked with Indian Council of Agricultural Research ( ICAR) said Indian scientists were functioning at testing and developing transgenic varieties of 12 different crops.

The new homegrown transgenic cotton variety 'Bikaneri Narma' is also being grown privately.

There is a loss of 12 per cent of India's annual soyabean yield due to hundreds of pathogens fungi, bacteria, viruses, phytoplasma, spiroplasma and nematodes.

Previous year at the same time speaking with the director general of ICAR Mangla Rai had said in Bhopal while participating in the 5th International Soya Conference, that Indian scientists had introduced "AmA1 gene" to potatoes to increase its protein content by 50 per cent.

'AmA1' is a seed albumin gene encoded for a protein of high lysine and sulfur containing amino acids from "Amaranth" seeds, this is a plant which is used by Indian women during fast.

Cement Despatches At New High- Feb 10, 2010

With the strong demand from the cement consuming sectors, In January the 240 million-tonne cement industry registered new high in despatches

In January, the industry which is having more than 50 players has sold 18.19 million tonnes (mt), surpassing its previous hike of 18.1 mt in March.

At the same time, the growth despatch of the industry stood at 12.77 per cent on a year-on-year basis. The highest growth compared to last year's August.

Sumit Banerjee, managing director, ACC, the country's largest cement maker, said, "As the country is getting its act together in infrastructure, there is more cement consumption growth".

Vinita Singhania (President of Cement Manufacturer's Association) said that Indian economy is in a force with special emphasis on infrastructure development. The recently set up capacities are now getting stabilised and month by month there is a increase in the production and despatches in reflecting the same.

Hari Mohan Bangur, CMD, Shree Cement, said, "Demand for cement is being felt from all corners. Individual house builders, infrastructure and real estate are the major drivers for growth.

Moreover, demand from the developers in the big cities have picked up as before these were relatively numb in the current financial year.

Industry analysts pointed out those north-based emerging players are reaping benefits of the growth momentum as they have materialized their expansion projects.

Till now the industry has added around 22 mt of new capacities and is in a plan to take its overall capacity to close by 245 mt in the current financial year.

Likewise, during this period, industry has almost added another 100 mt of manufacturing capacity in its kitty from 144 mt to 240 mt currently.

Global Coffee Output May Dip 3.6%: ICO- Feb 10, 2010

With the expected dip of 3.6 per cent to 7.41 million tonnes (mt) in Global Coffee, there is a crop year on fall in production in Brazil and Africa by 2009-10. The International Coffee Organization (ICO) said.

Adding to it, the organization said, due to poor climate conditions it may also cause the growth in few regions and affect the crop quality.

Last year, world coffee out was stood at 7.69 mt and the estimates for this year is preliminary as data from Colombia and Vietnam is pending.

ICO said in the latest market report that if there is delay in such, the dry season and high levels of coffee berry borer infestation, there is a possibility of increase in global production.

According to ICO, the production in Brazil will fall by more than 14 per cent to 2.37 mt from 2.76 mt in the year-ago period. Brazil is world's biggest coffee exporter and it is through with crop harvesting.

The fall of coffee's output is also seen in a number of other countries of Africa (Cote d'Ivoire, Uganda and Tanzania), Asia (Papua New Guinea and Vietnam), Mexico and Central America (El Salvador and Mexico) and South America (Ecuador and Peru), it said.

Coffee production in Africa is estimated to decline by 3.19 per cent to 886,000 tonnes in the current crop year from 915,000 tonnes in the same period last year, the ICO data showed.

In Vietnam, the world's third largest coffee exporter, output is expected to fall marginally by 2.70 per cent to 1.08 mt from 1.11 mt, it said.

In case of Colombia, crop size in the first three months of the current year (October-September) is below last year's level, it added.

On the other hand, production in Indonesia and India are expected to be higher in the current crop year. In Indonesia, the world's fourth largest coffee exporter, output is pegged at 690,000 tonnes for 2009-10 seasons against 561,000 tonnes last year.

In the same way, India's output is estimated to be 289,000 tonnes against 262,000 tonnes in the review period, as per ICO data.

Spices Exports Decline 2% In Apr-Dec- Feb 09, 2010

Spices exports carried on their declining trend, as for the period of April-December of 2009-10 the fall was from 2 per cent in volume and 4 per cent in the value.

During this period, 358,205 tonnes of spices valued at Rs 3,953.74 crore ($825.55 million) were exported as against 366,100 tonnes valued at Rs 4,116.31 crore ($926.95 million) during the same period in 2008.

The decline in spices exports, compared to the first two quarters of the financial year which was in the range of 20 to 25 percent has now come down to 2 per cent. This shows that there is sign of improvement in the spices market.

During the period the main spices exported were chilli, mint products, spice oil & oleoresins, cumin, turmeric, pepper and coriander.

The spice oils & oleoresins including mint products contributed 34 per cent to the total export earnings. Chilli contributed 23 per cent followed by cumin (10 per cent) and turmeric (7 per cent).

As compared with the exports during December 2008, the exports increased by 5 per cent in dollar terms. During December 2009, 29,850 tonnes valued Rs 408.06 crore ($87.50 million) were exported as against 31,375 tonnes valued Rs 404.89 crore ($83.25 million) in December 2008.

Treat Commodity Derivatives Trading In Line With Equity: FMC- Feb 08, 2010

The Forward Markets Commission (FMC), which is a commodity market regulator, has requested the Ministry of Consumers Affairs to treat commodity derivatives equal with equity derivatives. Meanwhile, a senior FMC official confirmed the development.

The main reason behind thin volumes at exchanges was this misunderstanding. In addition this also flourished parallel markets and bucket shops in various cities and towns, according to Deputy managing director at MCX, PK Singhal.

On the other hand, the income tax rules and payments of commission and brokerage is subject to 10 per cent TDS (tax deduction at source). However, the Section exempts securities brokerage or commission from TDS.

FMC said, trading in commodity derivatives was similar to trading in stock derivatives and therefore brokers getting commission from commodity derivatives trading should be exempted under this Section.

An additional provision was inserted under clause (5) of Section 43 of the Act by the Finance Act, 2005, in order to promote derivatives trading on stock exchange.

The additional provision states that eligible transactions in respect of trading in derivatives carried out on a recognized stock exchange will not be deemed to be speculative transactions.

Allowing speculative participation in commodity markets will help bourses generate a critical mass of trade that will attract physical market players as well.

As a result, in its pre-Budget memorandum to the finance ministry, MCX has also demanded fair treatment to derivatives transactions on commodity bourses.

It has also requested the government to provide allied agricultural infrastructure facilities and infrastructure status to commodity exchanges.

Win-win Situation For U'khand Farmers, Sugar Mills- Feb 08, 2010

It is virtually a win-win situation for both farmers and sugar mills in Uttarakhand, after two months the sugarcane crushing season began on the face of violent protests.

After waiting for so long agitation, farmers are getting at present the best price of Rs 270-275 a quintal. Besides protests, another reason for getting the desired price is the shortage of sugarcane this season.

Official conceded that the situation was no different in close areas of western Uttar Pradesh. Except the government-controlled sugar mills, all the private ones are paying heavy bonuses to farmers.

In the meantime, the price of Rs 270-275 is said to be the highest in the country.

December, first week, the government announced the state advised price (SAP) of Rs 192-197 at a time when farmers were agitating for price of Rs 250.

But soon after this, the private mills started paying the farmers good bonuses due to acute shortfall and to make the factories keep running for them.

An official of the Uttam Sugar at Haridwar district said, "We have to pay good prices to the farmers to keep our factories running and there should not be any shortfall of sugarcane and same way if we run our factories at half the capacity, the losses will be higher.

For the time being, farmers have also started building renewed pressure on the government to pay the sugarcane price at par with the private mill owners.

During the past few days, farmers in Dehra Dun district forced the closure of Doiwala sugar mill in this regard. "We are considering the demand of farmers. We are ready to pay around Rs 250," a top government official said.

However, sugar mills are expecting its retail price to hang around Rs 40-50 per kg. Another mill official said, "So long we are getting sugar price at Rs 4,000-4,500 per quintal, and will make profit. For some more time most of the Sugar mills are expecting the sugar price to be at the level of Rs 4,000-4,500. After touring the areas of Haridwar and Dehra Dun, the sugarcane district development inspector Sheeshu Pal Singh said that our framers are very happy now and rejoicing.

Rubber Output Goes High By 6% In January- Feb 05, 2010

In January Domestic Rubber production increased by 6 per cent. For this year rubber output for January was 97,500 tonnes ( 91,900 tonnes)

On the other hand, the Rubber Board officials said that the main reason for the increase last month was due to a lower base as production in January 2009 was far lower and mainly due to poor weather conditions.

In February and March the production is estimated to go down because most of the rubber trees shed their leaves and tapping operations stop their progress.

January, every year is the month when rubber stocks are at their highest levels, and they begin to dip in the succeeding months as consumption overtakes production. At the same time, consumption of rubber was lower than production in January.

In January, the consumption was 79,500 tonnes that resulted in an addition of 18,000 tonnes to the country's inventories and for the first ten months of the current fiscal, the production fall down by 5 per cent at 7, 29,250 tonnes.

For the time being, consumption for the first 10 months went up by 6.6 per cent at 7, 73,815 tonnes leaving a deficit which has been bridged by imports.

In January, the Rubber imports went up by 114 per cent at 1,46,653 tonnes. Imports stood at 6,555 tonnes as well as the exports stood at 2,480 tonnes.

During the time of April-January, as the domestic demand continued to outstrip supply, exports plunged 69.8 per cent to 12,912 tonnes.

Even though, rubber stocks stood at 2.8 lakh tonnes, they are bound to be eroded from their current high levels as the lean season has begun.

The revised production target been set for the fiscal is 8.4 lakh tonnes and going by the trends so far, the country is not expecting to reach these targets.

Cooking Oil Prices Drop Rs 5/kg On Weak Demand- Feb 05, 2010

Bringing roots for consumers and the government battling food inflation, cooking oil has gone down by Rs 5 per kilo as sudden losses burst a bubble in the oil seeds market.

The price for soyabean is now available for Rs 45/kg, down from Rs 50/kg at the beginning of 2010. The business remains tough for cooking oil companies. Soyabean prices climbed sharply in the new marketing season, starting October 1, touching Rs 25/kg by December-end, as companies raced to buy raw material for their factories.

However, once they bought over-priced beans, companies found no takers for equally expensive soya oil and meal. Farmers encased the boom by offloading more than half their crop in the first quarter of the new season. Closest rival, palm oil, prices dropped in line with international commodity markets, leaving soya oil out-priced.

At the same time, there were few export orders for soya meal as India was outbid by chief competitors Brazil and Argentina. Mills were able to crush only half the high-cost beans they had bought till December.

Factories have suffered heavy loss in the crushing that is the reason it slowed down the operations. Once the crushers stopped buying beans, prices cooled down automatically.

But even at the new bean price of Rs 20.50/kg, crushers stand to lose 50 paisa/kg or Rs 500/t ($10/t). If the crush 50,000 tonne, you lose Rs 2.5 crore. That's more than a season's earnings.

The industry is hoping that once beans touch Rs 18/kg, meal export will increase.

India, meanwhile, may become increasingly desperate to crush and sell soya products over the next six months. There is pressure on the largest players to improve capacity utilization and average realisation. Otherwise, high-cost inventory may eat into next season's profit.

Caustic Soda Prices Fall 40% On Cheaper Imports - Feb 04, 2010

The manufacturers are facing a hard hitting as the prices of the caustic soda have fallen down by 40 percent in the past one year. It is due to the sudden surge in cheaper imports of caustic soda from US and sluggish domestic demand.

At present, caustic soda price is being declined to Rs 12,000-12,500 a tonne from Rs 20,000-21,000 a tonne a year back. A small number of industry players pegged the current price at Rs 10,000 a tonne. Mixes of factors were responsible for the substantial erosion of caustic soda, where as the prime factor being cheaper imports from US.

Gujarat Alkalies and Chemicals Ltd is the largest caustic soda manufacturer in the country. The MD (Guruprasad Mohapatra) of the company adding to his speech said, when there was down turn of recession, the US based manufacturers started selling their product (caustic soda) at cheaper prices where the rate was quoted at around $500-600 a tonne in the international market and it was exported to India at the rate of $30-40 as the demand in the US market dried-up.

As a result of lower international prices, the caustic import to India soared to 100,000 tonnes a month as against the normal monthly import of 10,000-15,000 tonnes. Invasion of cheap imports forced domestic players to cut prices.

The government imposed the duty in December. "Being a quasi-judicial process, it took four to five months for government to impose the duty.

Caustic soda manufacturers approached the Union commerce ministry and demanded safeguard duty on caustic soda imports, as they are worried about the situation.

PM Urged To Stop Sugar Supply To Industrial Users- Feb 04, 2010

Kanhaiyalal Gidwani, a senior Maharashtra Congress leader has urged the Prime Minister to limit industrial users from consuming domestically produced sugar, stating that sugar prices could touch a high Rs 60 a kg if supply is not hiked.

However, such a step can augment the supply by a hefty 40 lakh tonne as 20% of the domestic demand come from industrial users.

He said the Centre should change sugar control policy by restricting industrial users like manufacturers of soft drinks, fruit-juices, alcohol, chocolates and ice-creams from using locally produced sugar and instead allow them to import the sweetener.

Meanwhile, Gidwani said these companies should be given 3 months to clear their stocks of domestically produced sugar, else action under the Essential Commodities Act be initiated.

He stated that these industrial users currently consume about 20% of the total domestic demand.

While, if they are restricted from using domestically produced sugar and made to import their own requirement, it will make available that extra quantity in the open market to bring prices down.

Moreover, current price of Rs 50 a kg can be brought to below Rs 40 and an additional quantity of about 40 lakh tonne of sugar will be available for the open market.

On the other hand, Gidwani cautioned that if these drastic and prompt actions are not taken, the price of sugar will go as high as Rs 60 a kg in the open market.

Previously, the Centre has extended the stock limit order for sugar till September for Sugar, where the states are authorized to take action against the hoarders and black marketers.

Earlier the validity of the anti-hoarding order was issued in March, 2009 and was supposed to expire on 31st of January, which has been further extended till September. Previously, the order was extended for 6 months till July, 2009.

However, earlier, it was said that inspite of the promise made by Mr. Sharad Pawar, Food Minister of the country, to reduce the retail prices of sugar, still the prices are increasing.

Therefore, to boost the domestic supply and temper prices, the Prime Minister - Dr. Manmohan Singh approved the proposal to sell imported raw sugar stocks lying at Mundra and Kandla ports.

Meanwhile, the government had announced a vital repose of norms for the import of raw sugar, where the sugar could be refined anywhere in the country and not only by the mill that had imported it.

Mr. Sharad Pawar, Agriculture Minister said to accelerate the refining of raw sugar and improve its availability in the market, the government has relaxed the central excise rules to enable the processing of sugar in any mills of the state.

On the other hand, Mr. Sharad Pawar our Food Minister has said, the country will have enough sugar this year, but the prices of sugar will continue to be higher because of the low output in sugar. Further he said rising prices of sugar is a big concern for the government.

Along with the Food Minister our Prime Minister Man Mohan Singh in a meeting with the Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) has also expressed concern regarding rising of sugar prices and their possible impact on consumer prices , said an official.

Government Extends Stock Limit For Sugar Till September- Feb 03, 2010

The Centre has extended the stock limit order for sugar till September for Sugar, where the states are authorized to take action against the hoarders and black marketers.

Earlier the validity of the anti-hoarding order was issued in March, 2009 and was supposed to expire on 31st of January, which has been further extended till September. Previously, the order was extended for 6 months till July, 2009.

The Centre has prescribed the maximum quantity a trader can keep and it has to sell his stocks within 30 days from the date he receives the consignment. Moreover, all the sugar traders have to be licensed. Nationally, a registered dealer can stock only up to 2,000 quintals, each dealer in Kolkata and its adjoining areas can keep a maximum of 10,000 quintals at any point of time. This is because, it is the largest sugar market in India as it also caters to the entire Northeastern markets.

Until now, 20 states including all the major producing states, have notified the stock limit order. However, only Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and Punjab have taken noticeable actions under the anti-hoarding instrument.

Indian spot sugar price jumped 3.5 % as millers raised prices in tenders due to lower recovery rates in key producing states.

India has released 1.597 mn tonnes of non-levy sugar for February, including 1.2 mn tonnes as normal non-levy sugar quota and estimates 397,000 tonnes will come in from imports.

The government last month has announced a vital repose of norms for raw sugar import, where the sugar could be refined anywhere in the country and not only by the mill that had imported it.

Mr. Sharad Pawar, the agriculture minister said that in order to accelerate the refining of raw sugar and improve its availability in the market, the government has relaxed the central excise rules to enable the processing of sugar in any mills of the state.

Mr. Pawar said the government has withdrawn the current measure where the raw sugar was imported under the name of a particular mill at zero duty and supposed to be processed only in that mill and if done elsewhere, then the duty has to be paid.

Jute Firms May Lose Rs 1,061 Cr On Dilution Of Packaging Act- Feb 03, 2010

The Ministry of Textiles has recommended a 78 per cent dilution in the packing of foodgrain in B Twill jute bags. The recommendation came with the deadlock over jute mills still continuing.

The dilution would allow use of plastics instead of B-Twill jute bags for the rabi marketing season. Meanwhile, the diluted quantity will be made up by alternate sources like polymer bags.

The total requirement for jute bags for the rabi marketing season of 2010-11 has been pegged at 1 million bales. A 78 per cent dilution means that the government procurement agencies can use alternate packaging material like polymer bags for up to 780,000 bales of foodgrain and sugar. The jute industry is set to lose Rs 1,061 crore due to this dilution proposal which will be applicable to the rabi marketing season of 2010-11.

30% Offerings Unsold At Coonoor Tea Auctions- Feb 02, 2010

The final sale of January, Sale No: 4 of the auctions of Coonoor Tea Trade Association caused concern to the producers as around 30%of the 13.44 lakh kg offered remained unsold. Even after shedding Rs 2 a kg, some teas had to be withdrawn as the bids did not match the base price in the e-auctions.

As much as 23% of leaf and 37% of dust offered remained unsold. "Orthodox leaf teas sold Rs 3-5 a kg less. CTC leaf market was irregular. While some high-priced teas managed to remain firm, better mediums got Rs 2-3 more, but plainers suffered withdrawal even after shedding Re 1-Rs 3. Better quality primary orthodox dusts managed to fetch Rs 2-5 more, but secondaries lost up to Rs 5. CTC Dust market witnessed a dull demand. There was disruption in sale for a few hours due to link failure in the e-auction. Despite shedding Rs 2-3, huge withdrawal took place," an auctioneer said.

Agro Food Chamber Formed- Feb 01, 2010

A new association has been formed in Madurai. The association is aimed to protect the interests of those engaged in agriculture and agro-based industries.

The Agro Food Chamber of Commerce and Industries will render service to farmers cultivating foodgrains by advising them on methods to increase yield, use of bio-fertilisers, procedures for export of foodgrains and provide solutions to other problems.