Forecast
for rabi crops in Rajasthan bleak
Drought
and famine is not yet over in Rajasthan due to the failure of monsoon
during the last kharif season and production of rabi crops, is predicted
to be just half as against last year’s production in the state.
Once the leading producer of mustard in the country, Rajasthan will
have only 12 lakh tonnes of it as against over 20 lakh tonnes of
the commodity in the last rabi season.
Agri
insurance company to start operations soon
The
Government has appointed Suprass Bhandari, General Manager of Oriental
Insurance Company, as the first Chairman of the Agriculture Insurance
Company (AIC). This move may mean that the proposed company would
soon start its operations in the country.
Nabard
will have 30 per cent stake in the AIC while the GIC (General Insurance
Corporation) will have a 35 per cent stake. The four subsidiaries
of the GIC, namely Oriental Insurance, National Insurance Company,
United India Insurance Corporation, The New India Assurance Company
will each hold equity stake of 8.75 per cent. So far the GIC has
been the implementing agency for National Agricultural Insurance
Scheme (NAIS) and the seed insurance scheme of the government.
But
in recent decisions taken by the Government it has been decided
that the AIC would administer and implement both the schemes and
would also be free to undertake other insurance business on its
own in the farm sector. The government has also decided that NAIS
will be implemented in all states and Union territories of the country
at the gram panchayat level within one year in lieu of the existing
wider area approach. The NAIS will cover more perennial crops like
apple, orange, mango and coconut. At present, NAIS covers all food
crops (cereals, millets and pulses), oilseed, sugarcane, potato,
cotton, onion, chillies, turmeric, ginger, jute, tapioca and banana.
It
has also been decided that the premium rates for food and oilseed
crops would be rationalised and 50 per cent of the actuarial premium
rate or the existing flat rate whichever is higher will be charged.
At present, the premium rates are 3.5 per cent for bajra and oilseed
and 2.5 per cent for other kharif crops, 1.5 per cent for wheat
and 2 per cent for other rabi crops.
Grain
exports depending on the monsoons
The
Centre recently announced that the country’s forays in the world
grain market will be reconsidered if the monsoon fails for the second
consecutive year as the country’s food security is of primary concern.
According to the Union Agriculture Minister, Ajit Singh, the country
has sufficient food stocks despite the 28 million tonnes fall in
production in 2002-03 but in case the monsoon fails again this year,
grain exports policy will be given a relook.
The
Met department has forecast a below normal monsoon in 2003 with
new models indicating 39 per cent probability of below normal rainfall
and 21 per cent probability of drought.
On
the other hand, the Food Ministry officials said that at present
there are no plans to halt exports of wheat and rice and it will
be too early to assess the likely monsoon trend and its agri impact.
Coca-Cola
to source tea from Goodricke
Coca-Cola
India has entered into a long-term agreement with Goodricke Group
to source the entire range of tea for the newly launched Georgia
tea and coffee. Apart from the domestic market Coca Cola retails
premium quality tea and coffee under the ‘Georgia Gold’ brand in
Southeast Asian markets including Thailand and Singapore. At the
moment the company is test marketing its products in India’s bigger
cities.
It
will take another year to standardise quality and set up delivery
before the company explores mass marketing opportunities for Georgia
in India.
Egypt
throws open doors for Indian Wheat
Egypt
has opened its seven million tonnes worth wheat market to India.
The technical authorities of India have cleared the Indian grain
quality for imports. “This was one of the agenda items we agreed
upon during discussions with Indian authorities and now our grain
market is open to Indian produce,” said Egyptian Under-Secretary
of State, El Said Fouad Kassem.
Proposals
are also being examined to set up wheat silos and flourmills in
Egypt in tandem with certain Indian companies. Egypt consumes 10
million tonnes of wheat annually, of which only 2-3 million tonnes
is produced within the country leaving immense potential for exports
by India.
EU,
India get closer ahead of crucial WTO meet
The
European Union (EU) and India have reduced their differences in
the key area of agriculture ahead of an important World Trade Organization
(WTO) meeting. According to Herve Jouanjean, Director of the Directorate
General of Trade in the European Commission’s Brussels office, “EU
and India have been able to identify areas of work where we can
work to develop agriculture.”
The
talks come ahead of the upcoming WTO meeting in the Mexican city
of Cancun in September 2003 and in the wake of last month’s visit,
to India, of European Trade Commissioner, Pascal Lamy. This will
definitely prove to be boon for exporters targeting EU countries.
Soya
prices firm despite record crop in Argentina
The
Southeast Asian soyabean trade is struggling to source cheaper Argentine
soya as farmers are reluctant to sell their produce. Argentina,
the world’s third-largest soyabean producing nation, will likely
harvest a record crop of 34-35 MT compared with last year’s 30 MT,
but farmers are holding on to the crop due to the weakening peso.
As a result Southeast Asian importers said they might be forced
to cover at the current high prices.
The
Argentine peso is down more than 65 per cent since the Government
devalued the currency in January ‘02 at the height of the country’s
worst-ever economic crisis. But, despite the difficulties, some
traders were optimistic that Argentine soybean and soyameal prices
would ease in another week to 10 days.
“There
is a limit to which stocks can be held. Otherwise, they will have
to struggle to sell at the end of their season but they may not
find any takers, and at the same time, face competition from the
US,” said a trader.
Urgent
assistance needed for Iraq’s spring harvest
Farmers
in Iraq are in urgent need of spare parts and fuel for combine harvesters
and tractors for the upcoming spring harvest, said the Food and
Agricultural organisation (FAO). “Every effort should be made to
enable farmers to return to their fields and start harvesting wheat
and barley at the beginning of May,” said Laurent Thomas, Chief,
Special Emergency Programmes Service.
The
outlook for this year’s spring crop, which is the main harvest,
is uncertain, following the recent military conflict, Thomas said.
Earlier estimates based on satellite images showing rainfall and
vegetation; indicate a spring cereal production, mainly wheat and
barley, of about 1.7 million tonnes. “This would cover nearly 30
percent of Iraq’s overall cereal requirements for the period July
2003-June 2004,” he added.
Spoils
of War: Wheat, maize and pulses
US
wheat has a bright future ahead after the Iraq war. The removal
of sanctions against a post-Saddam Iraq will open the way for US
companies to once again start exporting wheat and rice to the war
torn desert country.
This
would also ease some of the pressure on US wheat prices due to surplus
supplies. Till just five years ago, Iraq was a significant buyer
of US wheat, importing more than one million tonnes annually, worth
$165 million at current prices.
That
is not all. Other US farm products like maize, pulses, planting
seeds, apart from foods like breakfast cereals, readymade mixes
and poultry may also start sniffing out business opportunities.
Funds
crucial for food security in Afghanistan
Outbreaks
of animal diseases threaten food security and risk crippling the
recovery of Afghanistan’s fragile rural sector, warned FAO as it
appealed for funds for essential veterinary services. FAO is appealing
for a total of $6.89 million over a period of five years to fund
projects to help the Afghan government monitor and prevent outbreaks
of diseases in cattle, sheep, goats and poultry and to support veterinary
field clinics providing vaccinations and treatments.
Private
veterinarians need business loans to buy medicines and vaccines
to sell to farmers and the Government needs training in order to
deliver public services such as disease control and prevention,
said FAO. The Government simply has no resources to dedicate to
animal health, quality control and safety. It was a role that, up
until now, had been played by FAO.
FAO
has pledged further assistance to help the Afghan government to
provide these much-needed public services and strengthen its abilities
to prevent and deal with potentially devastating disease outbreaks.
US
dumps farm produce in global markets
In
clear violation of WTO agriculture rules, US is dumping five primary
farm commodities in global markets. It is exporting corn, soyabean,
wheat, rice and cotton at prices far below their production cost
in an effort to wipe out global competition.
The
US is exporting wheat at prices 40 per cent lower than production
costs. In the case of soyabean, the price difference has been increasing
steadily over the last four years and is currently at 30 per cent
while for maize it is 25-30 per cent. In 2001, cotton was being
sold in the international markets at 57 per cent lower than its
production cost, while the price difference for rice has stabilised
at 20 per cent. As a result of these prices, the US is the world’s
largest exporter of wheat, corn, cotton and soyabean, and the second
largest in rice.
Needless
to say the effects are serious. The structural price depression
caused by the agricultural dumping affects developing countries
whose farmers grow the same products. First, below-cost imports
drive developing country farmers out of their local markets. This
is happening around the world - in Jamaica, Burkina Faso and the
Philippines. Second, farmers who sell their products to exporters
find their global market share undermined by low-cost competition.
India
spurns genetically modified food aid
Not
too many people were surprised when India, which is staggering under
a 48-million-tonne foodgrain surplus, rejected imports of 23,000
tonnes of corn and soya blend suspected to contain genetically modified
corn. "The surprise really was that the proposals were made
at all," said Devinder Sharma of the Forum for Biotechnology
and Food Security, a group of leading voluntary agencies that has
been resisting the importation of genetically modified food and
calling for the rationalization of India's food distribution system.
This consignment has been rejected by several countries on suspicion
of being contaminated with genetically modified Star Link corn.
