Central government allows import of 3 lakh MT of raw sugar at 25% duty
The Dollar Business Bureau The Central government has allowed imports of 3 lakh metric tonnes of raw sugar at a concessional rate of 25% tariff duty. The sugar can be imported only through southern ports such as Tuticorin, Chennai in Tamilnadu, Karaikal in Puducherry, Mangalore in Karnataka, Kakinada, Vishakhapatnam and Gangavaram in Andhra Pradesh. According to the notification released by the DGFT No- 27/2015-2020 dated September 7, 2017, the validity of the tariff duty of 25% is for 60 days ie until the 1st week of November. The move to allow the imports of raw sugar by the government comes after sugar mills in Tamilnadu sought permission to import the commodity duty-free. Harvesting of sugar in the state has come down drastically due to ...
Glimpses of last week: Despite good monsoon, farming for food grain falls; Vegetable oil imports increase
By Abin Daya The first round of returns filing for GST has happened, and businesses are slowly getting a hang of the processes, and are also understanding the tax better. Much work still needs to be done, and it will take at least two quarters, if not more before we can say that we have become comfortable with it, and it is business as usual again! In the meantime, though, despite a good monsoon, aggregate acreage under cultivation is falling, particularly for food-grains. While the bumper harvest of last year should provide some relief, we will need to do much more to meet our ever-growing demand. The kharif acreage is one of the topics that we deal with this week. Under the same ...
Indias food grain output to record 275.68 MT in 2016-17
The Dollar Business Bureau With good monsoon rains and various policy initiatives by the Government, India’s overall production of food grain to be increased by 2.3 million tonne to an all-time high of 275.68 million tonnes in the crop year 2016-17, according to the fourth advance estimates released by the Agriculture Ministry on Wednesday. Record production has been achieved in wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals in the crop year that ended in June. The previous record of food grain production was 265.04 million tonnes, achieved in the crop year 2013-14 (July-June). However, the output had dropped to 251.57 million tonnes in crop year 2015-16. “As a result of very good rainfall during monsoon 2016 and various policy initiatives taken by the Government, India ...
Kharif foodgrain production to surpass last year numbers: Agri Secretary
The Dollar Business Bureau Agriculture Secretary Shobhana K Pattanayak said on Saturday that the foodgrain production in the ongoing kharif season 2017-18 is expected to exceed last year's record output of 138.04 million tonnes on account of higher sowing area and good monsoon. Till now, more than 80% of the sowing of kharif crops such as pulses, paddy, cotton, oilseeds, jute and sugarcane, has been completed and the sowing will continue in some regions until next month, he told PTI. Crop area of around 19 lakh hectare across the country has been impacted by floods and farmers are expected to take up other crops in the season once the water goes down, Pattanayak said. He also expressed concerns about poor rainfall in ...
Indian diesel imports intensify, could slow during monsoons
The Dollar Business Bureau Diesel imports of India have increased with state-run oil refiner Hindustan Petroleum Corp (HPCL) on Tuesday entering the crude spot market for seeking its seventh consignment of the fuel for the month of July, according to trade sources. However, imports of the fuel could be slowed down as monsoon season begins in India, the sources told a leading international news agency. The state-owned refiner is seeking delivery of 60,000 tonnes of 40 ppm sulphur gasoil into Vizag during July 20-25 in a tender which ends on July 5. This is HPCL’s seventh consignment requirement for the month of July, however, it was not clear if all the earlier tenders have been given. HPCL-Mittal Energy Ltd (HMEL) was likely to begin its 230,000 barrels a day ...
Foodgrain output to reach a new record in 2017-18
The Dollar Business Bureau India’s foodgrain production is expected to reach a new high in the crop year 2017-18 which begins from July, on the hopethat India has normal rains consecutively for the second year, said Agriculture Minister Radha Mohan Singh. Foodgrain output is projected to be at a record high at 273.38 million tonnes in the current crop year (July-June) on the back of good monsoon after drought for two years, compared to 251.57 million tonnes previous year. The last all-time high output was 265.04 million tonnes in the crop year 2013-14. Foodgrain list consists of wheat, rice, pulses and coarse cereals. “The Met department has forecasted normal monsoon for this year. If the monsoon is good, I am confident that foodgrain output will boost growth rate to more than 4.4% achieved in ...
Indias cotton planting area likely to rise by 15% to a 3yr high as prices increase
The Dollar Business Bureau Buoyed by increasing cotton prices, Indian farmers have started sowing cotton in a larger area. Sowing has begun on a stronger note in Haryana, Punjab, Karnataka for the 2017-18 season. India is the world’s biggest producer of cotton and a higher output in the country could enrich the cotton farmers who have been under distress due to prolonged drought, adverse market conditions, non-payment of bank loans and climatic aberrations. India’s current cotton crop for the season ending this September is expected to be 170 kgs or 34.1 million bales. According to M.M.Chockalingam, Chairman of the State run Cotton Corporation of India, “this year farmers received higher prices, so they are going to raise the area under cotton. We are ...
Good monsoon, reforms will drive 8% growth: Panagriya
The Dollar Business Bureau NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya has said that a good monsoon, reforms and good decisions in a timely manner by the Government of India will definitely drive the country’s growth above the mark of 8% in the following quarters of this financial year. “I am confident that it (GDP number) will be over 8 percent in subsequent quarters (this fiscal),” Panagariya said. He briefed, “Besides a good monsoon, this will be achieved as a result of the reforms. We have not yet seen the effect of reforms. Earlier, there were grave issues of governance. The projects were stuck and the decisions were not taken by the government.” The growth rate of India dropped to one and a half year low of ...