South India's sugar production hit by drought
The Dollar Business Bureau Even though sugar demand is expected to decline by 3%-4%, prices are likely to firm up due to record low production estimates in the current year. A prolonged drought in the sugar producing regions of Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu; the second, third and fourth largest sugar producing states of India respectively; has caused productivity to take a serious hit. Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) estimates a 40% - 50% decline in the yield from sugarcane fields during the season ending September 2017. The state of Maharashtra, which had produced 84.2 lakh tonnes of sugar in the previous season, is estimated to contribute merely 42 lakh tonnes to the nation's sugar output in the current season. This is deemed to be the lowest recorded output for the ...
Govt imposes 10% import duty on tur dal, wheat
The Dollar Business BureauThe government has imposed a 10% import duty on imports of tur or arhar pulse (pigeon pea) and wheat with immediate effect. The decision was taken to protect the domestic farmers’ interests after the prices of pulses fell below the minimum support price (MSP) across various pulses producing states. The government expects bumper production of ravi crop, especially pulses and wheat this year on the back of normal monsoon season last year. This restrictive measure will control a further fall in the wholesale prices of tur dal and wheat and thus provide better MSP to farmers during ongoing procurement drive. The good production of tur dal during last kharif (summer) season had resulted into a fall in wholesale prices. Since the ...
