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Sunday, December 16, 2007

[vinnomot] Bilateral Trade + Community Effort & Food Security + Sugarcane Price

NEWS Bulletin from Indian Society For Sustainable Agriculture And Rural Development
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On BILATERAL TRADE-----
1. India-EU Series - Austria to invest in India, calls for trade too
2. India-Latin America - Aruba offers to act as India's trade link to LatAm
3. Handicrafts, fruits & veg exports most hit by Re rise
 
4. Community effort springs life into orphan crops
 
5. Sugar mills await SC sweetener
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Austria to invest in India, calls for trade too
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , December 10, 2007 at 1846 hrs IST
 
New Delhi, December 10: The Austria announced its investment plans in India as one of its leading company, Siemens Transportation System decided to join with the Indian public sector, RITES in production of railway wagons.
 
The MoU between the two parties was signed in presence of the visiting Austrian minister of economics and labour, Martin Bartenstein here on Monday.
The Euro 30 million wagon production project would be ready for delivery by 2009. According to the agreement 50% of the production would be for exports and the balance for domestic use.
 
In a luncheon interaction hosted by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), Bartenstein outlined his investment plans for India and identified areas of cooperation in energy and environment, climate change, information technology, infrastructure, automotive industry, renewable energy, electronics and electrical industry and healthcare.
 
Austria, which is a member of the European Union, expected that dialogue between EU and India for a free trade agreement would mature in time, benefiting both sides. "There is now an impasse in the WTO negotiation. We hope this would soon be resolved. Bilateral trade agreements would cement WTO agreements," Bartenstein said.
 
Austrian exports to India have increased from Euro 280 million in 2004 to over Euro 500 million. "The bilateral trade has seen a jump of 40%," said Bartenstein said.
 
He said that Indian Companies like Wipro, Bajaj Motors and Café Coffee Day have planned their investments in Austria. He said that Austria can be India's base for contacts with east European countries and added that Austrian exports performed well despite unfavourable Euro-exchange rate. "We are closely monitoring the depreciation trend in US dollar," he said.
 
Austria is planning to implement its "Going to India" national export initiative. Bartenstein, who is leading a business delegation, would be visiting Chennai and Mumbai in his four-day stay.
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India-Latin America
  
Aruba offers to act as India's trade link to LatAm
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , December 10, 2007 at 1947 hrs IST
 
New Delhi, December 10: The tiny south Caribbean island territory, Aruba has offered itself to be the base for India's trade links with Latin American countries.
Aruba also invited Indian airlines to set up their bases in Aruba and gain in terms of easy connectivity to Latin American countries.
 
With a population of around 100,000, Aruba has per capita income of $22,000. Aruba is an autonomous part of the kingdom of Netherlands.
 
The wave of economic liberalization and growth is literally sweeping across the globe and Aruba is no exception. The visiting Prime Minister of Aruba, Nelson Oduber today showcased the potential of his island territory and invited Indian businessmen to invest.
 
Speaking at a luncheon meet, organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), here on Monday, Oduber said, "Aruba can act as India's hub and gateway to Latin America and provide logistics for transport services We are ready to provide traffic right to Indian airlines."
 
Highlighting the strategic location of the island nation, Oduber invited Indian airline Companies to set up base in Aruba and gain in terms of easy connectivity to Latin American countries. "The airline industry in India is growing exponentially. It is expected that the Indian Companies will place big orders for aircraft next year. Aruba has a well-developed financial system and mature institutions. Apart from providing a strategic hub to Indian airline companies, we can also take care of their financial needs," he said.
 
He also offered Indian Companies certificate of origin on safeguard tariffs. He said, "Aruba has free trade zones which offer ideal business climate. Businessmen can also save as we tax only 2% of the profit."
 
Making a strong pitch for high-value, low-volume industries like pharmaceuticals and information technology, Oduber said. "Companies from these sectors can capitalize from Aruba's strategic location and sound logistic infrastructure."
 
The Aruba Prime Minister also invited tourists from India. He said his country has 8,000 hotel rooms with tourist inflow of around 100,000 per year. The small island nation offers a wealth of natural resources and scintillating landscape.
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Handicrafts, fruits & veg exports most hit by Re rise
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Thursday , December 13, 2007 at 0023 hrs IST
 
New Delhi, Dec 12 The declining trend in the value of the US dollar and consequent rise in the value of the rupee has severely affected the earnings of country's exports. The exchange rate for one US dollar is Rs 39.35, which at one time used to be around Rs 45.
 
The impact has been more severe in those sectors whose inputs are less import-dependant, labour intensive and where value-addition is low. In response to the situation, the government is working out sops to be extended to exporters.
 
According to an estimate of the government, textiles export in value terms has registered a decline of 10.4% in the current fiscal till August as compared to the previous fiscal. Similarly export of other products like cotton yarn, fabrics and made-ups declined by 15.7%, that of leather and leather products by 2.4%, that of marine products by 13%, carpets by 19.2%, that of fruits and vegetables by 32%, that of cashew by 19.1%, that of coffee by 21%, that of tea by 33%, that of jute products by 17.4% and that of handicrafts by 58.4%.
 
"In the past 15 months, the rupee has been appreciating against all the four major freely convertible currencies and in the last six months, it has recorded the highest appreciation against the US dollar. While the appreciation of the Indian rupee is a reflection, in part, of the growing strength of the Economy and has positive economic benefits by way of cheaper imports but the rapidappreciation of the rupee had adversely affected the exporters," an official note said
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Community effort springs life into orphan crops
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Monday , December 10, 2007 at 0052 hrs IST
 
Zaheerabad (Andhra Pradesh) Community efforts in some villages in the Zaheerabad mandal in Andhra Pradesh have resulted in cultivation of orphan crops like sorghum, pearl millet, finger millet, foxtail millet and local varieties like proso and kodo millets. These crops are being cultivated mostly by women farmers in the wastelands of this dryland area.
 
Zaheerabad mandal in AP's Medak district is largely an unirrigated rainfed area with red laterite soil. A few patches of black soil are used for growing cotton, potato, sugarcane, where groundwater is available. Yet, villages around Zaheerabad look green as farmers have cultivated the wasteland distributed to them by the state government. Most of this wasteland has been used for growing different varieties of local millets, suited for dryland cultivation.
 
''We have been able to use the wastelands for our food and fodder,'' said a dalit woman farmer, Sattamma.
 
Helping the farmers in marketing their produce and getting remunerative prices is a coalition of 10 non-government organisations and farmers, the Andhra Pradesh Food Sovereignty Network (AFSN), which has set up community-owned grain and seed banks that sell seeds to farmers and distribute grains to the poor. ''We have been able to create an alternative model for community-owned grain bank and public distribution system,'' said PV Satheesh of Deccan Development Society, a part of this initiative. He wanted the government to adequately hike the minimum support prices for coarse cereals to encourage its cultivation across the country.
 
The average yield of jowar (sorghum) in this dryland region is 400 kg per acre, that of red gram (pigeon pea) done with inter-cropping with sorghum is 150 kg per acre. The stalks of sorghum are used as fodder, while pigeonpea stalks are used as fuel wood or sold to sugarcane crushers.
 
While sorghum millet is largely consumed by people in this dryland area as a staple food, other millet crops like sajja (pearl millet), korra (foxtail millet) and pulses green gram (moong) and black gram are also grown in inter-cropping with an average yield of 60 kg per acre The self-help groups of dalit women, called sangams, are the cornerstone of success, says Easwaribai, another farmer. She says, ''Everything is managed at the community level. The proceeds are ploughed back to the community fund.''
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Sugar mills await SC sweetener
 
 
ASHOK B SHARMA
Posted online: Thursday , December 13, 2007 at 2330 hrs IST
 
New Delhi , Dec 13 The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Friday a special leave petition, appealing against the order of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court reducing the state advised price (SAP) for cane from Rs 1,250 to Rs 1,100 a tonne.
 
Sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh had filed a writ petition against SAP announced by the state government at Rs 1,250 a tonne and the HC bench passed an interim order on November 15 asking sugar mills to pay Rs 1100 a tonne for cane. Thereafter, farmers group Kisan Jagriti Manch (KJM) appealed to the Supreme Court on December 4 against the interim order.
 
Speaking to FE, the KJM general secretary Anil Singh said, "UP cane growers have not paid the previous year's arrears which have accumulated to over Rs 2,000 crore. The farmers do not want to sell canes at prices lower than Rs 1,250 a tonne as the input costs have gone up considerably. It is for this reason the fields have not been cleared of cane crops for sowing of wheat."
 
He further said wheat sowing would be delayed and it would cause a decline in production. "Farmers will not clear their fields for wheat sowing until they get the right price for cane," he said.
 
Singh said the statutory minimum prices (SMPs) for canes announced by the central government each year were low and did not cover the costs of cultivation and therefore the state government had to announce SAPs to cover up the costs. The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), while computing SMPs, does not take into consideration the revenue generated by the mills through the sales of by-products like molasses, ethanol, press mud, bagasse, power.
 
The National Commission on Farmers has recommended that farmers should get 50% more than the minimum support price for crops.
 
A constitution bench of the Supreme Court had earlier held that the state government has the power to fix SAPs for cane. Singh said that the Supreme Court in January 21, 1997 had granted leave against High Court's order quashing the SAP in another writ petition.
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