Cotton
rolls over to lower ground
Cotton
Outlook has lowered its forecast of 2002-03, world cotton production
by 26,000 tonnes in the past month to 19.096 million tonnes. “The
world production estimate is 26,000 tonnes lower than in December,
an increase of 30,000 tonnes in Turkey having been more than offset
by lower forecasts for Colombia, and for several Southern Hemisphere
countries (Argentina, Zimbabwe and South Africa),” Cotton Outlook
said in a statement.
Russia
grain export rises
According
to Russian Agriculture Ministry information, Russia exported a total
of about 14 million tonnes of grain last year, which is over four
times as much as in 2001. Russia exported 1.258 million tonnes of
grain in December last year, which is 220 per cent more than last
year, said Vladimir Petrichenko of the Unidell group of companies,
citing the Russian State Statistics Committee.
At
the same time, compared to November 2002, December grain exports
dropped by 40 per cent, Mr Petrichenko added. He attributed this
to the suspension of river navigation and the complicated piloting
of ships on the frozen Sea of Azov in winter.
As
in previous months, exports principally consisted of wheat (974,300
tonnes, or 77.4 per cent), with barley accounting for 20.8 per cent
(261,300 tonnes), and rye 1.8 per cent (22,500 tonnes).
US
slams door on Indian basmati
India’s
basmati rice exports have run into trouble in US on quality grounds,
and the whole consignment has been termed as ‘filthy’. Traders however
say that rice of Indian origin is classified differently and made
to go through a hindering inspection procedure in the US.
India’s
basmati exports to the US have fallen this fiscal year to 18,285
tonnes in April-October against 19,709 tonnes in the same period
last year according to the latest official data. “Many Indian basmati
exporters are on a detention list of the US Food and Drug Administration
(USFDA), leading to delay in execution of orders and being put at
a disadvantage vis-à-vis Pakistan whose exports are not subjected
to such inspection,” said Ajay Katyal a leading exporter.
USFDA
authorities conceded that 40 consignments of 16 companies had been
detained in 1999-2000 alone, 84.62 per cent cases on the grounds
of being filthy and containing pesticide. They, however, said it
cannot be termed as a non-tariff barrier as the detention is due
to sub-standard quality of Indian cargoes and around 25 companies
which could deliver six consecutive cargoes with no quality problems
have been put at an ‘inspection-free’ list.
Mr
Katyal, however, said most exporters are still on the detention
list and their consignments are held up despite exporting produce
of the “highest quality”.
Vietnam
plans to export sugar
Vietnam
plans to join the category of sugar exporters by exporting its own
sugar for the first time after years of import reliance. The plan
has been proposed to help reduce the stockpile caused by smuggling
and thereby to establish a toehold in the world market. Up
to 200,000 tonnes of sugar is expected to be exported this year,
said Le Van Tam, Chairman of the Vietnam Sugar and Sugarcane Association.
To
start with, 50,000 tonnes would be shipped in the first quarter
to Singapore and Hong Kong, and 100,000-150,000 tonnes would go
in the next quarter. “The export is a preparation for Vietnam to
join the Asean free trade area and to deal with the stockpile,”
he added.
ICO,
World Bank to hold talks in May
The
Executive Board of the International Coffee Organization will hold
a one-day conference with the World Bank on May 20, on the situation
of the trade of
coffee and other basic products. Other
issues like diversification, quality, promotion of consumption and
the problems of the boom and bust price cycle will also be discussed
in
the meeting.
Brazil
to export genetic material
The
sales of genetic material will boom by 70 per cent in Brazil, reaching
$10 million units against the $6 million. Farmers, agri-businessmen
and artificial insemination experts have recently created the Consorcio
de Exportacoes de Material Genetico Bovino, which includes the support
of ABCZ (Associacao Brasileira dos Criadores de Zebu) in partnership
with Apex (Agencia de Promocao das Exportacoes). The venture is
aimed at stimulating the sales of Brazilian semen, embryos and livestock
in the external market. The main importing countries are Paraguay,
Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Mexico, South Africa,
Egypt, China, Libya and Mauritania.
Export
to US faces tighter rules
Rules
for food exports to the US are set to tighten manifold by the end
of 2003 as an implication of the Bio-terrorism Act. Consequently
all exporters will have to comply with these rules for exporting
to the US. This was revealed to the exporters during an interactive
session with the US food regulatory bodies organised by the Export
Inspection Council of India, on January 17, 2003 in Delhi.
The
Indian government on the other hand assured exporters that it would
consider a proposal to set up a regulatory body informing exporters
of these regulations required by importing countries for specific
products.
Wheat
groups in US join hands
The
three major US wheat organizations, the National Association of
Wheat Growers, the Growers’ Main Lobbying Group, the Wheat Export
Trade Education Committee, which handles trade issues; and US Wheat
Associates, which promotes the sale of US wheat overseas; joined
hands to tackle the infrastructural and biotechnology issues.
Members
of all three boards said consolidation had been considered for some
time to save on management and office space. But frustration over
the unexpectedly low price of wheat in a tight market led board
members from some States to push for faster change.
The
result was a close vote in the US Wheat Associates board meeting
that split member States and raised questions about how smoothly
the process would move forward and how well leaders of the various
groups could work together over the next year.
The
board also voted to bar the release of studies
on consumer acceptance of biotech wheat,
unless approved by a joint committee of
all
the groups. Participants said the decision reflected
farmer frustrations in US Wheat Associates’ release of studies showing
overseas customers are reluctant to buy biotech wheat.
