Govt Gives Rs 241 Cr Debt Relief Package To Coffee Growers- April 30, 2010

On Thursday the government announced a debt relief package of Rs 241.33 crore for the small coffee growers which will also help the sector to revive. On the other hand the finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in his reply to debate on the Finance Bill, 2010-11 that the government has now decided to approve a fresh Coffee Debt Relief Package, specifically for the small coffee growers.

He added that the total financial help provided by the centre is Rs. 241.33 crore but the benefit for the coffee growers will be around Rs. 362.82 crore. On Thursday's announcement, it is expected to benefit around one lakh coffee growers, who account for 70 per cent of the country's coffee production.

The sector has been facing problem since the prices of coffee fell during the period 2000-04. However the government did sanctioned a relief package earlier to protect the coffee growers from financial crisis but the sanction was not enough to cover all of the coffee grower and therefore the government has now decided to come out with a new relief package under which the government has waived three fourth of loans taken especially by small farmers before 2002, Mr. Mukherjee said. The minister said that 50 per cent of the total liability would be waived subject to a maximum benefit of Rs five lakh per farmer to be borne by the Centre. Apart from this an additional 25 per cent would be waived by banks and the rest of the loan amount will be rescheduled. Further, he said that the relief package would also include a 20 per cent waiver of liability under crop loans with 10 per cent each being borne by the Centre and banks.

He added that the loan taken by the coffee growers after 2002, the government for them has waived 10 per cent of the total liability subject to a maximum benefit of Re one lakh. Over and above this the new package will also provide relief to medium and large farmers by allowing them to reschedule the loans, the minister said. In Asia, India is the third largest producer of Coffee and is estimated to be higher at 2.89 lakh tonnes in the 2009-10 season ending September, against 2.62 lakh tonnes last season.

Select Edible Oil Rises On Pick Up In Demand- April 27, 2010

The select edible oil prices yesterday firmed up by Rs 50 per quintal in the oils and oilseeds market due to increased offtake by stockists and retailers.

However, the mustard oil, which lacked the necessary buying support, declined.

As per the marketmen the main reason for the rise in select edible oil prices at wholesale market was due to pick up in demand.

In the national capital, soyabean refined mill delivery (Indore) and soyabean degum (Delhi) grew by Rs 50 and Rs 20 to Rs 4,500 and Rs 4,370, while crude palm oil (ex-kandla) and palmolein (rbd) oils firmed up by Rs 30 each to Rs 3,640 and Rs 4,180 per quintal. The cottonseed delivery oil also surged by Rs 30 to Rs 4,030 per quintal, but mustard expeller oil (Dadri) fell Rs 50 at Rs 4,600 per quintal for want of buying support.

Oil Price Rises As Confidence Returns- April 22, 2010

World oil prices have increased after investor optimism came back.

It hopes for an end to flight disruptions due to Icelandic volcanic ash were boosted.

US light crude rose added $2 to settle at $83.45 a barrel while London Brent added 57 cents to settle at $84.80.

Meanwhile, the oil price declined by about $4 since fraud charges filed in the US against Goldman Sachs shook market sentiment.

The price of oil hit an 18-month high earlier this month.

Goldman Sachs reported a net profit of $3.5bn for the first 3 months of the year, nearly double the profit it posted a year earlier.

This helped to consolidate earlier gains in the oil price.

Goldman has rejected allegations by the US financial watchdog that it defrauded investors.

The oil price was also boosted by news that some European airports were reopening.

Earlier, the prices touched $85.89, which is the highest since October 2008. Crude has increased over 2 % in the first 5 days of the quarter, as against an increase of 5.5 % in the first 3 months of the current year.

However, on last Thursday, the crude oil settled at $84.87 after positive U.S economic data indicated better oil demand in the coming times.

While, U.S Tesoro Corp said crude oil intake at its Anacortes, Washington, refinery was reduced to around 70 % of its 120,000 barrel per day (bpd) capacity after an explosion and fire on Friday 2nd April.

Mr. Yu said that signs of a recovery in the airline industry and stronger demand for distillates were encouraging for the market.

He added improving demand for distillates were noted. Rising air traffic are also noticed - which is a good signs for jet fuel demand and diesel.

U.S. durable goods orders have also rose strongly and all of this bodes well for distillate demand for the months to come and signs of rising demand will be a strong vote of confidence for the market.

Prolonged gas oil cracks of around $10 per barrel have generated a rise in demand for crudes with high yields of gas oil and diesel in the Asia-Pacific market.

Sales Of Coir Board Touch All-Time High- April 19, 2010

The sale of coir products through the Coir Board's 31 showrooms and sales depots in India touched a record high of Rs.14.06 crore during the 2009-10 fiscal.

This was said by Coir Board Chairman V.S. Vijayaraghavan.

He said the target was Rs.14 crore and the sales figure in the previous year was Rs.11.14 crore.

Meanwhile, 12 registered more than 50 % target achievement, while eight showrooms attained cent % target.

The showrooms which attained more than 100 % target were Jammu Tawi (Rs.2.97 crore) and Hyderabad (Rs.2.42).

This was followed by Ranchi, Chennai, Mumbai, Guntur, Madurai and Bhubaneswar.

Moreover, major items sold through these showrooms were rubberized coir, power loom matting and handloom products.

The board plans to launch e-marketing of coir products.

An exclusive portal will be launched and the customers would be able place orders there and payments can be made online and products would be door delivered.

On the other hand, he said that this system will allow people across the country to source coir products directly.

Earlier, it was said that Coir exports had been hit by appreciating of rupee, dwindling demand for traditional products and credit defaults by buyers in the US and Europe during last few years.

It have achieved an impressive growth rate of close to 25% during the last fiscal. Preliminary figures released by the state-run Coir Board reveals that the performance for 2009-10 has exceeded the target fixed by the commerce ministry of Rs 700 crore by more than 10%.

On the other hand, export realisation for the last fiscal stands at Rs 775.95 crore as against Rs 623 crore during 2008-09.

Volume of export for the last fiscal is higher by 42% over the preceding fiscal.

Meanwhile, China controls almost 40% of the Australian mattress market.

They are keen on expanding their market share and Chinese government helps in exports by providing subsidised freight.

Exports of coir fibre have increased by 273% in volume and 299% in value terms during 2009-10 compared with the same period of the last fiscal.

Curled coir exports are up by 130 % in volume and 186% in value for the same period and the board is also looking to increase the domestic consumption of coir products.

At present, the domestic market is worth Rs 1,500 crore, of which rubberised coir mattresses accounts for Rs 1,100 crore.

Govt's Decision To Check Cotton Yarn Exports Highly Criticized- April 17, 2010

The cotton yarn spinners and exporters have highly criticized the Government's decision to control the export of cotton yarn by announcing registration of cotton yarn exports with immediate effect and imposition of prohibitive duty on export of the same. In a dramatic move, the government has withdrawn the 7.61% concession given to cotton yarn exporters under the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme, in a bid to rein in the prices of the textile product, which has shot up abnormally in recent months, which has exasperated the apparel exporters.

Expressing shock over "this hasty decision and step-motherly attitude" by the Government, the Northern India Textile Mills Association (NITMA) President Mr. Ashish Bagrodia said the price of the cotton yarn had risen because of an abnormal increase in raw cotton prices.

The action was purportedly taken by the government on a request from the Textiles Minister, Mr Dayanidhi Maran, who had written letters to the Finance and Commerce Ministries, to implement urgent measures to control the spiraling prices of cotton yarn and also due to widespread pressure from clothing exporters.

Knitwear exporters were protesting against the unusual hike in cotton yarn prices, which have increased by nearly 30% in the last few months, with the latest hike being implemented on April 1, in protest against which, the Tirupur exporters had even gone on a token fast.

As it is, garment exporters have been badly hit by the slowdown in global markets. Latest figures available indicate that, apparel shipments have fallen to US $7.92 billion in the period April 2009 to January 2010, against $8.81 billion in the same period of the previous fiscal, to post a decline of 10.16%.

In order to moderate the yarn prices in the domestic market, the Central Government has come out with measures including suspension of 7.67% DEPB benefit available for cotton yarn exports, imposing a prohibitive duty on the export of raw cotton, imposing a prohibitive duty on the export of cotton yarn and introduction of a mechanism for registration of cotton yarn exporters.

The measures were taken at a meeting chaired by the Hon'ble Finance Minister, Shri.Pranab Mukherjee, Hon'ble Agriculture Minister, Shri.Sharad Pawar, Hon'ble Commerce Minister, Shri. Anand Sharma and Hon'ble Textile Minister, Thiru.Dayanidhi Maran on 6th April 2010 in New Delhi.

The Government is expecting to get Rs 2,500-per-tonne duty on raw cotton exports and estimates that this can neutralize the rising price of cotton in the domestic market. Further it can help India to strengthen its stand in the international market.

It is learnt that a number of mills had approached banks and institutions for financial restructuring of debts after incurring heavy cash losses of 8-10% on turnover due to the adverse impacts of the global economic crisis. NITMA president, Mr Bagrodia said that the present move by the government would hamper the country's image as foreign buyers would look upon us as unreliable suppliers and it is bound to have an adverse impact on country's global market share.

He added that, "The ideal policy would have been in allowing spinning and cotton farming to remain profitable and help create the necessary capacities to remove supply-side constraints."

India 2009-10 Commodity Bourse Turnover Up 47.93%- April 16, 2010

According to Forward Markets Commission (FMC), the turnover at Indian commodity bourses surged by 47.93 % to Rs. 77,65,000 crore ($1.75 trillion) in the last financial year ending 31st March 2010.

Turnover increased by 21.11 % to Rs. 4,14,000 crore in the fortnight ending 31st March 2010.

Moreover, healthy trade was seen in gold, silver, copper and in the energy and metals pack during the fortnight.

Also, the maximum trade among agricultural commodities was recorded in Guar seed, soyoil, chana, soybean, rapeseed and turmeric.

As per FMC, India has 22 commodity bourses, including 4 operating at the national level. In 2003, India had opened its commodity futures trade.

Earlier, according to a release issued by the Forward Markets Commission (FMC) which stated that the total turnover of 23 commodity exchanges surged by about 50 % to Rs. 73,50,974 crore till 15th February in the current financial year.

However, the total turnover of the commodity exchanges in the corresponding period of last financial year was Rs. 49,07,310 crore.

The data released by FMC also states that the maximum turnover was recorded in farm items like - guarseed, chana, soyabean and soy oil as well as commodities such as energy and crude oil.

Spot Rubber Rules Steady - April 9, 2010

The physical rubber prices yesterday closed almost on an unchanged note. Following the signs of weakness in domestic futures, the market lost its direction as buyers stayed back on NMCE. The sheet rubber closed steady at Rs 159 a kg amidst extremely dull volumes.

On NMCE, the April futures for RSS 4 closed at Rs 157.66 (157.94) followed by May at Rs 161.60 (161.22), June at Rs 163.83 (163.12) and July at Rs 162.30 (162.14) a kg.

Moreover, on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange, the RSS 3 fell with April futures dropping to ¥356.3 (¥356.9) (Rs 170.29) along with May to ¥351 (¥352.8), June to ¥347.7 (¥350.1) and July to ¥339 (¥340) a kg during the day session.

While, on Singapore Commodity Exchange (SICOM), RSS 3 rose to Rs 168.35 (160.67) a kg and to Rs 164.86 (162.04) a kg at Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the spot prices stood at (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 159 (159); RSS-5: 157.50 (157.50); ungraded: 155.50 (155); ISNR 20: 157 (157) and latex 60 per cent: 101 (101).

Spot Rubber Slips As Buyers Resis - April 8, 2010

The rubber market witnessed weakness yesterday. The prices in the spot market dipped following the declines in futures on National Multi Commodity Exchange (NMCE).

The sheet rubber fell from Rs 160 a kg to Rs 159 on buyer resistance.

On NMCE, the April futures for RSS 4 weakened to Rs 158 (158.93) followed by May to Rs 161.26 (162.05), June to Rs 163.05 (163.92) and July to Rs 162.25 (163.03) a kg. While on Tokyo Commodity Exchange, RSS 3 improved with the April futures rising to ¥356.9 (¥353) (Rs 169.33), May to ¥352.8 (¥348.1), June to ¥350.1 (¥346) and July to ¥340 (¥333.4) a kg during the day session.

On Singapore Commodity Exchange (SICOM), RSS 3 rose to Rs 160.67 (159.97) a kg on. However, it slipped to Rs 162.04 (162.97) a kg at Bangkok.

Meanwhile, the spot prices stood at (Rs/kg): RSS-4: 159 (160); RSS-5: 157.50 (158); ungraded: 155 (156); ISNR 20: 157 (157) and latex 60 per cent: 101 (101).

Govt Extends OMS Wheat Sale For Bulk Consumers - April 7, 2010

Giving a shy of relief, the government has extended the deadline for sale of wheat under the Open market Sale (OMS) scheme till June 30 for bulk buyers from non-wheat producing states.

The scheme, which was launched in October last year, was to expire on March 31.

According to a senior food ministry official the extension of the period had been given to bulk buyers like flour millers and biscuit makers in southern and northeastern states in order to offload grains stored in Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns and also make space for fresh arrivals that had started coming from April 1.

The official also mentioned that to create more space for new crop, states in the Northeast and Jammu & Kashmir had been given time till June 30 in order t o lift the stock offered to them for retail distribution.

Oil Prices Extend Gains, Race Toward $86 - April 6, 2010

Oil raced toward $86 a barrel in Asian trade on April 5, extending gains on demand optimism.

This was in the midst of signs of a global economic upswing.

New York's light sweet crude for delivery in May was up 84 cents to $85.71 a barrel.

New York crude briefly traded above $85 last week, its highest level since October 9, 2008.

Brent North Sea crude for May climbed 72 cents to $84.73 a barrel.

Meanwhile, the market's rally was helped by a string of optimistic economic data, including Friday's US jobs report.

It showed the biggest growth in 3 years and raised recovery hopes for the world's largest economy.

Investor sentiment was also boosted by last week's data showing the US manufacturing sector grew at a faster pace than expected and a government report that said Chinese manufacturing picked up in March.

Manufacturing in the eurozone also defied forecasts in March, with a key index hitting a 40-month high.

On the other hand, a weaker dollar which makes dollar-priced commodities like crude cheaper for investors using other currencies have also helped push oil prices higher, analysts said.

Earlier, it was said that India's domestic oil product sales in February declined 0.2% from a year ago to 11.39 million tonnes.

The sales had declined an annual 1.6% in January.

Crude oil imports, excluding purchases by Reliance Industries' new export refinery, rose 13.2% to 10.67 million tonnes.

Earlier, it was said that Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) oil firms will now invest more than Rs. 77,500 crore on expansion projects by adding 44.2 mn tonnes of refining capacity by 2012.

Petroleum Minister Murli Deora said Indian Oil Corp is investing Rs. 29,777 crore in building a new refinery at Paradip (Orissa) with a production capacity of 15 mn tonnes per annum.

Bharat Petroleum Corp's joint venture is investing Rs. 11,397 crore in a 6 mn tonnes unit at Bina (Madhya Pradesh), while Hindustan Petroleum Corp is spending Rs. 18,919 crore in building a 9 mn tonnes refinery at Bhatinda (Punjab).

Meanwhile, the government has stated that it will receive an additional Rs 40,000 crore from the increase in excise and restoration of duties on petroleum products.

Whereas, it also said that it will lose Rs 21,000 crore due to income tax sops.

India To Re-Enter Egyptian Tea Market After Two Decades - April 3, 2010

Indian tea is ready to make its way back into the Egyptian tea market in a big way. The India's tea manufacturers are aiming big on the huge Egyptian tea market after a gap of two decades.

The point to be noted is that India was the single largest player in the Egyptian tea market till the mid-eighties. The country was virtually forced to leave the booming market due a highly unfavorable duty regime as result of the Common Market for East and South Africa (COMESA), trade agreement.

The trend is to be led with the establishment of the India Tea Promotion Centre (ITPC) in Cairo. The move has immensely helped in reviving the consumption and promotion of Indian teas following which the volume and value of Indian exports have been looking up. Mr. Ullas Menon, Secretary-General of the United Planters' Association of Southern India (UPASI), said, "Samples of Indian teas will be displayed at the centre, to be viewed and tasted by the importers before fresh shipment orders are placed. The India Tea Promotion Centre will assist in the transportation and warehousing of Indian teas in Egypt".

The task of establishing a marketing set-up was entrusted to UPASI based on a public-private-partnership model. The step was taken by the Central government and the Tea Board jointly, considering the importance of Egyptian market for Indian teas. With the opening of the ITPC in January this year, Indian teas will have a permanent address in Egypt.

The other positive has come in the form of the rectification in the duty regime according to which the Indian teas will also have to pay same duty of 2-3 per cent as is paid by Kenya ever since the commissioning of COMESA . Earlier India had to pay 25-30 per cent. Kenyan teas accounted for close to 65-70 per cent of the 80-90 million kg Egyptian market, until a couple of years ago. Indian tea exports are expected to touch 15-20 million kg this year from 5 million kg last year.

The introduction of ITPC is expected to help in roping in more quality-conscious customers and change the profile of Indian tea exports. The centre will play host to the new generation tea-consuming fraternity in Egypt giving them a taste of the teas available in India. The centre is also expected to host tea tasting and selection services for Egyptian buyers. It will also develop an exhaustive database on tea trade in India and Egypt for the benefit of exporters of the two countries. Currently some amount of orthodox and North Indian varieties are also being exported to Egypt but the revival of this traditional market is expected to facilitate greater exports from South India as in the earlier phase, South Indian CTC grades were the preferred choice of the Egyptian consumers.

Oil Up Near $83 On Dollar, Mixed US Supply Report - April 1, 2010

Oil prices increased to near $83 a barrel as the dollar weakened and the market awaited a key government report about the strength of US crude demand.

However, by early afternoon in Europe, benchmark crude for May delivery was up 48 cents to $82.85 a barrel in electronic trading.

The contract rose 20 cents to settle at $82.37 on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, crude inventories rose last week by 421,000 barrels and an increase of 2.7 million barrels is expected.

This is as per a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.

Inventories of gasoline and distillates fell less than expected.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report, the market benchmark.

Moreover, it is said that increasing crude demand in China and the rest of Asia is offsetting slow consumption in the US and Europe and justifies higher oil prices.

The eastern hemisphere has been growing at an almost insanely strong rate while speculative investments betting on higher oil prices were on the rise.

On the other hand, the release of March US unemployment figures on Friday will be closely watched as another indication of the strength of the economic recovery.

The dollar's retreat against the euro and the British pound helped lift prices by making oil cheaper for investors in those currencies.

The euro rose to $1.3479 from $1.3419 in New York late Tuesday, while the British pound advanced to $1.5158 from $1.5061.

Meanwhile, in other Nymex trading in April contracts, heating oil rose 1.31 cents to $2.1378 a gallon, and gasoline slid 0.41 cent to $2.2706 a gallon.

Natural gas jumped 9.1 cents to $4.064 per 1,000 cubic feet.