India Cotton exports seen down

India's Cotton exports is expected to decline mainly due to an appreciating INR which dented the competitiveness of the Indian fiber in the world market.

India's forward Cotton exports for November-January have plunged over the previous year as traders are waiting for daily arrivals to go up, which may put prices under pressure and bring export parity.

Indian traders have not signed new cotton export contracts in the past one week as domestic prices may take a little longer to decline to get export parity.

Cotton market sentiment has moved up ever since India's top Cotton producing state Gujarat has announced a bonus to cotton farmers above the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which has prevented prices from moving down.

Indian millers consume about 1 lakh cotton bales (each 170 kg) a day. Once cotton arrivals reach 1.5-2 lakh bales a day, prices could come under pressure.

Most millers entered into forwarding contracts at lower than Rs 38,000 a candy, while current prices are ruling at Rs 38,500 a candy (365 kg). Though there is a short-term lull in exports, traders are confident it would gather pace again.

Bangladesh, China, Pakistan, and Vietnam are the major buyers of Indian cotton.

Illegal pepper imports rob the flavour off India’s spices trade

KOCHI, OCTOBER 25: 
Import of arecanut, pepper and other commodities under false declaration of origin into India has of late become rampant, according to trade sources and farmers.

Pepper from Vietnam and areca nuts from Indonesia are landing at different ports in India as Sri Lankan produce, claiming import duty concessions extended to the neighbours and depriving India of its huge revenue.

Recently, 220 tonnes of black pepper and betel nuts worth ₹12 crore were reportedly seized by the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence at Nhava Sheva Port, Mundra Port and godowns in Mumbai and Ahmedabad.

These commodities were sent to India as Sri Lankan produce even though they were of Vietnamese and Indonesian origin.

Arecanuts do not attract any import duty if arriving from Sri Lanka, while black pepper attracts only 8 percent duty. Indonesian betelnuts attract 100 per cent import duty, while 54 percent duty is levied on pepper from Vietnam.

Even when Vietnam pepper is imported via Sri Lanka at a value of $6,000 per tonne for the purpose of levying 8 per cent duty, the Indian government is losing around $2,700 a tonne, the trade alleged.

The trade community here told BusinessLine, citing DRI sources, that consignments of betelnuts and black pepper were first imported to Sri Lanka from Indonesia and Vietnam, respectively, and then re-exported to India by declaring them as being of Sri Lankan origin.

For issuance of a certificate of origin, the Sri Lankan agencies charge $1,000 per tonne on Vietnam pepper, they said, adding, dummy importer-exporter codes in different names were also used. High prices
Increasing demand in India without corresponding growth in production has kept pepper prices at high levels. As against the demand of an estimated 60,000 tonnes, India’s output hovers at around 50,000 tonnes.

The short supply coupled with higher prices have lured Indian importers to follow illegal routes to bring the commodity into the country to reap windfall profits. Vietnam, which had not exported much pepper in 2016 is reported to have shipped out a substantial volume this year and that, according to the Indian trade, has been channelled to Indian markets.

Sri Lanka imported 3,200 tonnes of pepper from Vietnam in January-August 2017 as against 440 tonnes in 2016. Similarly, Nepal, which had imported only 30 tonnes in 2016, reported inflows of 550 tonnes till August this year. As against 114 tonnes in 2016, Myanmar has imported 1,300 tonnes.

Thus, the domestic market is flooded with imported pepper depriving farmers of remunerative prices, Kishor Shamji, an exporter, told BusinessLine.

Traders and growers, he said, have urged the Union government to fix $8,000/tonne as import duty on pepper arriving via Sri Lanka.

Container segment to drive growth at Indian Ports:CARE Ratings

NEW DELHI: Container segment is expected to fuel the next stage of growth at Indian ports. Major Ports in the Country are already ramping up container handling capacity despite sluggish global container and freight movement in the past two years.

A report by Care Ratings has pegged the cargo container handling of ports in the Country to reach 25 million TEUs (Twenty Tonne equivalent units) by 2020-21 from the current 13 million TEUs. Non-Major Ports are set to add higher capacities in this segment.

"We expect the same (global container movement) to recover globally over the next 2-3 years. We also expect a pick-up in containerisation of a wider variety of cargo in India, since handling and transportation become faster and easier," the report stated.

With the Sagarmala programme aiming to increase the depth of Major Ports so as to cut time on trans-shipping of goods, the ports would be able to handle new generation mega vessels over the next two to three years.

Presently, petroleum and its products account for 25-30 percent of the import-export volume of the Country. The Government intends to double the petroleum refining capacity to meet the domestic demand and also augment exports. Current refining capacity stands at 230 million tonnes per annum (mtpa). The increased refining capacity is expected to cater to regional demand especially petroleum exports to Countries like Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Petroleum, oil and lubricant (POL) segment is poised to be the major growth segment for the overall growth of cargo capacity handled by ports.

Capacity utilization of six Major Ports on the Eastern Coast was 56.2 percent in 2016-17, a slide of 3.4 percent compared with FY17. Similarly, Major Ports on the Western Coast reported capacity utilisation of 65.9 percent in last fiscal, a slump of 3.3 percent.

"During 2016-17, Major Ports implemented 100 million tonnes of capacity addition. We expect the capacity utilization to remain stable during the current year. Fall in the import of commodities like coal would be compensated by the increased export of iron ore, zinc and steel", the report noted.

During the past three years, technology improvements such as new container terminal projects at JNPT, Kamrajar Port in Tamil Nadu, new cargo terminals, improving rail connectivity and implementation of RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) system across ports has helped improve the efficiency and handling capacity.

Major Ports continued to witness growth in operating surplus backed by the steady increase in operating margins. The 12 Major Ports posted a combined net surplus of Rs 2820 crore in 2016-17 on the income of Rs 11,894.5 crore from handling 647.6 million tonnes of cargo.

Government plans to set rules for food exports packaging

NEW DELHI: The government is working towards new packaging norms for export of food items to address concerns over food safety and health standards even as some Indian food products face rejection in developed markets.

The ministry of commerce and industry has constituted a standing committee to formulate packaging standards for export of 500 products including fresh fruits and vegetables, spices, tea, and coffee.
The regulations will be in sync with those of developed markets such as the US, Vietnam, the European Union, and Japan, said an official from the ministry.

“A large amount of contamination can happen during transit if the packaging is not done properly,” said the official. “The government is keen to promote exports of fresh and processed food products and is hoping that these regulations will help in increased business for exporters,” the person said on condition of anonymity.
The standing committee is also mandated to help introduce a degree course in packaging as an initiative to increase awareness about the matter. The committee will also engage in research of innovative materials for packaging of different products.
The committee has representation from Indian Institute of Packaging (IIP), Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), several research institutes and industry associations such as Tea Board of India and Coffee Board of India. “We have already suggested standards for packaging fresh fruits and vegetables and submitted it to the ministry and are working on packaging for spices and tea,” said NC Saha, director of Indian Institute of Packaging and a member secretary of the standing committee.
The institute is organising three events — International Summit for Packaging Industry, Indiapack Pacprocess exhibition and Pacmachine Awards — to spread awareness about the importance of packaging. The development comes even as some Indian food products continue to be rejected by some western markets.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has on several occasions refused entry to Indian food items such as spices, basmati rice, fisheries and herbal products.
Russia had also imposed ban on import of rice and peanuts from India on grounds of contamination. Australia had issued an advisory that Indian exporters involved in the exports of processed food products, especially containing milk, have not been following the relevant regulation of imports into Australia, after detection of cases violating the import regulations.

Bangladesh signs gasoil import deal with India

DHAKA (Reuters) - Bangladesh on Sunday signed a long-term sales and purchase agreement with an Indian refiner to import gasoil to meet the country’s energy demand, officials said.

The deal between Bangladesh Petroleum Corp (BPC) and Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) was signed in presence of India’s External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who arrived in Dhaka on Sunday on a two-day visit to discuss bilateral issues.
Her visit comes as Bangladesh is struggling to cope with an influx of almost 600,000 Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar since Aug. 25 when the U.N. says the Myanmar army began a campaign of “ethnic cleansing” following insurgent attacks.

The deal with NRL, which is majority owned by refiner Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd (BPCL), is the country’s first long-term agreement with any Indian supplier.

Under the deal, BPC will take up to 250,000 tonnes of gasoil each year from NRL for the first three years of the deal to the BPC’s northern fuel depot via a 131-km (79 mile) pipeline, which will be built by India.

The import volume will be increased in line with demand, a senior BPC official said, adding the deal would come into effect when the pipeline is built.

BPC will pay a premium of $5.50 per barrel over Middle East quotes under the 15-year deal, up from the current premiums of $2.20 a barrel for gasoil cargoes it receives by tanker through the country’s southeastern port of Chittagong, the official said.

gasoil export import

“The premium is cost-effective as there is no added cost as the supply will be delivered to the deport in the northern part,” the BPC official said.

NRL already supplies a small volume to state-owned BPC for the country’s northern region.The refinery, located in the eastern Indian state of Assam, will supply around 22,000 tonnes of gasoil with a sulphur content of 500 parts per million (ppm) between October and December by railroad, BPC officials said.

BPC received its first batch this month under the three-month agreement.

Bangladesh typically ships in around 3.2 million tonnes of diesel and 2.5 million tonnes of fuel oil annually.

Sellers include Kuwait Petroleum Corp, Malaysia’s Petroliam Nasional Berhad, Emirates National Oil Company, Philippines National Oil Co, Vietnam’s Petrolimex, Thailand’s PTT, Indonesia’s Bumi Siak Pusako and Zhenhua Oil.

Palm oil demand strong as top buyers China, India restock inventories

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Palm oil demand is expected to remain robust for the rest of the month as key consumer countries India and China rebuild low stock levels, bucking a seasonal trend in which shipments of the tropical oil typically taper off at year-end.

A narrow discount to a rival edible oil, however, could limit demand growth moving forward, say traders and analysts, since buyers usually switch to more favored soyoil when its price premium over palm narrows.The price differential or the spread between palm oil on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade soyoil has been hovering between $80 and $90 a tonne, soyoil’s narrowest premium over palm since February.

“For October we’re looking at a 10 to 13 percent gain in exports, mainly from China and India, though India demand may slow compared to the previous month,” said David Ng, a derivatives specialist at Phillip Futures in Kuala Lumpur.

“The current spread could be a limiting factor for demand (for palm oil), but major destinations are lacking palm this year, so they are restocking their inventories,” Ng said.India, in particular, has been seeing shortages in its domestic vegetable oils supplies, he said.

India and China are the world’s top two buyers of palm oil, and command a substantial share of global demand. Palm oil import demand from China and India, which celebrate the Mid-Autumn and Diwali festivals respectively this month, had already gained in September as buyers stocked up ahead of the events.

Malaysian shipments overall rose in September over August with notable gains in Chinese demand, according to data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board.

Also, the most recent export data from the Indonesian Palm Oil Association showed a 24 percent monthly gain, with shipments to China and India rising.Port stocks in China in October are at half of their peak levels this year, despite having risen from a yearly low in August.

“Consumer countries had been waiting for prices to decline in the second half of 2017, but prices held steady and did not fall significantly,” said Alan Lim, plantations analyst at MIDF Research.

Lim expects palm’s spread or discount against soyoil to range between $80-100 per tonne until year-end, but “whether the discount can maintain will depend on the weather in Brazil”.

Soybean production in Brazil, the world’s second-largest producer, is likely to be smaller in the 2017/18 season compared to the prior crop year due to less favourable weather.“If soybean output declines and soyoil prices go up, we expect that palm oil demand will increase,” Lim said.

Palm Oil exports imports

China import growth pushes trade surplus to 6-month low

China’s export growth came in lower than forecast in September as an unexpected jump in the value of imports resulted in the country’s smallest trade surplus in half a year. But the latest data also showed the largest nominal trade surplus with the US on record, based on figures dating back to 1993.

The dollar value of outbound shipments rose 8.1 percent year on year in September to $198.3bn, according to the General Administration of Customs, up from a rise of 5.5 percent in August but missing a median forecast of 8.8 percent from economists surveyed by Reuters.

Imports climbed more than expected, however, rising 18.7 percent from a year prior to $169.8bn and outperforming a median forecast predicting growth in inbound shipments would edge up just 0.2 percentage points from August’s pace of 13.3 percent.

Growth in commodities imports remained robust in volume terms, with shipments of iron ore rising 10.6 percent year on year to a record 102.8m tonnes. The uptick in shipments comes despite recent falls in the commodity’s price as authorities demand steel mills curb output to reduce pollution during the winter heating season.

Analysts at ANZ suggested the rise was due to demand from Chinese steel mills for higher-grade iron ore. Looking at the broader picture for trade, they said a “lack of build in stockpiles suggests strong underlying demand, rather than restocking, was the main driver” behind the latest figures.

The jump in import value resulted in China’s trade surplus dipping to $28.5bn, down $13.5bn from August to the lowest level since March and counter to expectations it would fall just $2.5bn.

However China’s trade surplus with the US climbed to $28.5bn in September, up almost $2bn from August and marking the largest on record not adjusted for inflation, according to data from CEIC sourced to China’s customs administration and reaching back to January 1993.

Pharma exports declined by 4% up to August on pricing pressure

Pharma exports from India registered a negative growth of 4 percent during the first five months of the current fiscal owing to increased regulatory issues coupled with pricing pressure in global markets, a Pharmexcil official said on Monday.

According to Udaya Bhaskar, the Director General of the Pharmaceuticals Export Promotion Council of India (Pharmexcil), a Ministry of Commerce and Industry body, the pharma exports to other countries witnessed a decline of 7.9 percent during the April-July period while recovered to 4 percent in August leaving the overall growth at minus four percent till August this year.

"Till July, pharma exports registered minus 7.9 percent growth. Subsequently it recovered in August and stood at minus four percent. There was four percent growth in August. Pricing pressure is one of the factors (for decline in exports). To some extent import alerts (by US FDA on Indian plants), regulatory issues and currency fluctuation, are some of the factors contributed to downward growth," Udaya Bhaskar told PTI.

He, however, hoped that the overall exports will recover and come into positive zone for the full year as exports are expected to take an uptick from September.
"We expect the overall growth for the year would be in the positive. Implementation of GST also created initially some confusion among the manufacturers leading to stoppage of production by some companies. Now we are seeing some growth," he further said.

According to statistics, India exported USD 16.90 billion worth of pharma products during 2015-16 and the same was slightly declined in 2016-17 to USD 16.64 billion in 2016-17.

Pharma exports from India

Germany's January-August oil import bill up 28 pct

FRANKFURT, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Germany spent 20.6 billion euros ($24.18 billion) on crude oil imports in the first eight months of the year, up 28.0 percent on the year due to higher prices, while volumes fell 1.3 percent, the BAFA foreign trade office's data showed. Russia remained the top supplier with 37.2 percent of the total, down from 39.1 percent a year earlier. The European Commission has called on EU member states to diversify away from Russian energy supply. UK and Norwegian supplies accounted for 20.7 percent of the total and 23.5 percent came from OPEC members, BAFA said in a statement. Germany imported oil from 28 named countries in the eight months while small volumes came from five unspecified sources. Jan-Aug 2017 Jan-Aug 2016 Pct change yr/yr Import bill 20.6 16.1 + 28.0 (bln euros) Import volume 59.4 60.2 - 1.3 (mln tonnes) Average border 346.96 267.80 + 29.6 price (euros/tonne) Data on specific crude oil import origins.

Petroleum products top list as India’s exports grow for 12th consecutive month in August

India’s exports have been rising for the past one year, registering a steady growth for the twelfth consecutive month in August, official data showed on Friday. India’s exports grew to $23.81 billion in August this year, up from $22.5 billion recorded in July this year and $21.59 billion during August 2016.
The exports recorded in August corresponds to an increase of 10.29 percent to $23.81 billion from $21.59 billion reported for the corresponding month of last year, data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has shown.
“In continuation with the positive growth exhibited by exports for the last twelve months, exports during August, 2017 have shown growth of 10.29 percent in dollar terms valued at $23,818.83 million as compared to $21,597.09 million during August, 2016,” the ministry said in a statement.
During August, 2017, major commodity groups of export showing positive growth over the corresponding month of last year are engineering goods (19.53 percent), petroleum products (36.56 percent), organic and inorganic chemicals (32.41 percent), drugs and pharmaceuticals (4.21 percent), and RMG of all textiles (0.56 percent).
However, the country’s imports during the month under review also increased by 21.02 per cent to $35.46 billion from $29.30 billion.“Major commodity group of imports showing high growth in August, 2017 over the corresponding month of last year are petroleum, crude and products (14.22), electronic goods (27.44), machinery, electrical and non-electrical (18.35), gold (68.90) and pearls, precious and semi-precious stones (30.88),” the statement said.
Segment-wise, the data showed that India’s oil imports during August increased by 14.22 percent to $7.75 billion, from $6.78 billion in the same month last year.
“The global Brent prices ($/bbl) have increased by 11.34 percent in August, 2017 vis-à-vis August, 2016 as per World Bank commodity price data,” the statement added.
The non-oil imports during August, 2017 were estimated at $27.70 billion which was 23.07 percent higher from $22.51 billion shipped in during the corresponding month of 2016.

India likely to double import duty of Wheat

The government is likely to increase import duty on Wheat to 20-25 percent from 10% to curb cheap shipments and give positive price signal to farmers who will start sowing winter crop after the Diwali festival, an official source said.

In March, the government had imposed 10% import duty on Wheat to contain sharp fall in local prices in view of the bumper crop of 98.38 million tonnes in 2016-17 crop year (July-June).

The trade data showed that private traders imported about 8.5 lakh tonnes of Wheat since April at 10% import duty. Another 1.5 lakh tonnes of shipments are expected to arrive.

Global prices were depressed for last few months, but there has been a spurt in rates in anticipation of the lower crop in Australia. Even domestic rates have started inching up, the data showed.

First shipment of US crude lands in India

NEW DELHI: The US just became India's latest oil supplier, with the first shipment of crude landing in the country. State-owned IndianOil Corporation's purchase of 1.6 million barrels arrived at Paradip, Odisha, on Monday, and was received by US and Indian officials.
The US had stopped oil exports in 1975, a ban lifted by former US President Barack Obama in 2015. MT New Prosperity, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), with a capacity to haul 2 million barrels, had left the US Gulf Coast on August 19. "IOC will process the crude at its refineries at Paradip, Haldia (in West Bengal), Barauni (in Bihar) and Bongaigaon (in Assam)," an IOC statement said. State-owned Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd have also placed orders for about 2.95 million barrels and 1 million barrels of US crude, respectively, for their Kochi and Vizag refineries. "The total volume of the crude contracted by Indian public sector refineries is, therefore, 7.85 million barrels," the statement said.
US officials estimate the present Indian oil buys could increase bilateral trade by almost $2 billion. The US embassy, in its own statement, said, "During their June 26 meeting in Washington, President Trump and Prime Minister Modi committed to expanding and elevating bilateral energy cooperation through a strategic energy partnership."
Indian companies, both public and private, have invested about $5 billion in US shale assets. They have also contracted 5.8 million tonnes per annum of liquefied natural gas from the US and the first shipment is expected to be delivered to India in January 2018. India has encouraged state-controlled refiners to buy US and Canadian crude from the US Gulf Coast as it looks at cheaper alternatives that have emerged due to a global supply glut.
The second shipment is expected in a month's time. India, the world's third-largest oil importer, joins Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China, which have been buying US crude after production cuts by oil cartel OPEC drove up prices of West Asian heavy-sour crude, or grades with a high sulphur content.
The important fact about US crude imports is that even after the transport costs, the oil is priced competitively compared to Gulf crude, which India has traditionally been buying.

US crude has become attractive for Indian refiners after the differential between Brent (the benchmark crude or marker crude that serves as a reference price for buyers in the western world) and Dubai (a benchmark for countries in the east) narrowed. India hopes to chip away at the so-called "Asian premium" charged by West Asian exporters by diversifying its oil buys. While in the first purchase, IOC is importing 1.6 million barrels of high-sulphur crude Mars from the US and 400,000 barrels of Western Canadian Select oil, in the second it has bought 1.9 million barrels from the US, half of it shale oil.
MaryKay Carlson, charge d'affaires at the US embassy, termed the imports a significant milestone in the growing partnership between the US and India. "The US and India are elevating our cooperation in the field of energy, including plans for cleaner fossil fuels, renewables, nuclear, and cutting edge storage and energy efficiency technologies. We look forward to working together on further sales of US crude and exploring opportunities to expand the role of natural gas in India," Carlson said.To encourage US crude purchases, the government has allowed refiners to use a foreign rather than an Indian owned vessel for the purchase. Indian refiners typically have to use domestic vessels for their crude imports. The Indian government has also eased the rules for allowing VLCCs into Indian ports.

Crude Oils Exports Imports

China alloy steel imports under lens

New Delhi, Sept. 25: India has started anti-dumping investigations into alloy steel from China.

Commerce ministry officials said six Indian companies had approached the directorate general of anti-dumping and allied duties, for a probe and the imposition of an anti-dumping duty on alloy steel bars and rods, used in sectors such as machinery, automobiles and construction.

The government anti-dumping body has said it has "sufficient evidence" of China dumping steel products.

"The authority, hereby, initiates an investigation into the alleged dumping, and consequent injury to the domestic industry," the directorate said in a notification. It will look at whether dumping is taking place, its effects and recommend a penal duty.The domestic steel industry has been hit by low demand and dumping by foreign players.

While private steel companies are struggling, with some of them figuring on the RBI list of top defaulters, the financial performance of state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd has also suffered.

India has been trying to create a duty wall to protect its steel mills from dumping by China and other East Asian and East European countries who have resorted to undercutting as steel demand has dried up in the world.

The government has tried helping distressed steel firms by raising the import duty and slapping additional safeguard duties. However, the fact remains that bad loans in steel sector account for as much as Rs 3 lakh crore. In terms of loans owed to banks, the iron and steel industry saw the highest slippage at 7.8 percent followed by textiles at 6.4 percent.

However, all this has resulted in India getting involved in trade spats with East Asian giants over import levies and restrictions. Japan has threatened to take India to the WTO over restrictions that nearly halved its steel exports to this country over the past year.

India had earlier extended safeguard duties of 20 percent on a range of products for two years to protect domestic units reeling under cheap imports from China, Japan and Korea, besides imposing minimum import prices.

Sri Lanka Increases Tea Imports From India

Sri Lanka increased the import of tea from India for blending, statistics showed
Notwithstanding the loss of exports on account of the prolonged closure of the Darjeeling tea estates, India’s tea exports have increased 4.6% by volume in the first seven months of 2017.
Interestingly, two countries where Indian teas made major inroads were China and Sri Lanka — among India’s top rivals in the global tea arena. Exports increased 150% to the island nation and by 71% to China according to Tea Board statistics. “We hope to maintain the trend,” S. Soundararajan, secretary at the Board told The Hindu.
Total exports stood at 121.1 million kg in January-July 2017, against 115.8 million kg a year earlier. India exported 227 million kg last year.
The more than 90-day closure of the Darjeeling tea industry by the Gorkha Janmukti Morcha, which is demanding a separate state, has harmed the interests of the premium and speciality teas but has not hampered India’s overall tea exports, either by volume or by value.Darjeeling produces about 8 million kg annually, of which about 6 million kg is exported. Production between January and June, in the 87 tea estates in Darjeeling halved from 4.1 million kg a year earlier to 2.1 million kg. No export figures are available, but exporters are facing order cancellations, enquiries revealed.
Three countries have played a prominent role in the current year’s export scenario — China, Sri Lanka and Egypt. An erstwhile green-tea consumer and producer, China has, of late, taken to black tea production, of which there is increased demand from the youth segment. Sri Lanka has increased imports of Indian tea for blending, it was learnt.
Egypt, a traditional market for Indian teas has almost doubled its imports in the period. India has also seen a rise in exports to Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Taken with Russia, the CIS region is India’s single-largest block for tea exports.
The Tea Board has facilitated several international expositions and delegations this year. While there was a delegation to Moscow this month, there were two delegations to the U.S. and to Chile in June.

Tea Imports From India

India working to cut imports of active pharmaceutical ingredients

Hyderabad: With an aim to reduce dependence on import, Pharmexcil, the pharma export promoting body set up under the Ministry of Commerce, is working with Indian laboratories that have the capability to produce the active pharmaceutical ingredients that are being imported.

Speaking to reporters after its annual general meeting, Pharmexcil director general Ravi Uday Bhaskar and Chairman Madan Mohan Reddy said imports of APIs could be around $3.4 billion and if the key starting materials (KSMs) are also included, the import value could be about $4-5 billion.

“We are working to cut down the imports. This will cut the dependence on other nations as well as save the foreign exchange,” said Bhaskar.

For this purpose, it is selecting about 100 molecules to encourage local production. It is working with institutions like the IICT and others that have the technical capabilities to make such molecules. These will be commercialized and given to the industry. “We have identified certain molecules and the laboratories that can make them. Depending on the complexities, we expect the results in six to 18 months for some molecules, he said.

To encourage local development, drugs that will be made with import substitute molecules will not be under the Drug Price Control Order for five years. Pharmexcil will seek Government’s support in creating entry barriers for these molecules to ensure that domestic molecules are preferred to imported ones, the director general said.

“We need to create a level playing field for the local manufacturers. We need to design appropriate financial packages for this to be successful. All these have to be taken up in a cluster approach, “ the official said.

While imports are meeting the current requirement, the present effort to increase the domestic production is a step to ensure business continuity in case the supply from some countries is stopped or becomes uncertain due to various reasons, Bhaskar said.

“India was a net importer of APIs earlier. It took four decades or more to reach the current stage mainly on its strong chemistry skills. About 90 percent of the research is by the academia. India should now focus on innovation as well,” said Pharmexcil vice-chairman Dinesh Dua.

Steel exports rise 36 pc, consumption up 4.6 pc in Aug

Country's steel consumption in August rose by 4.6 percent to 7.416 million tonnes (mt) over the corresponding month last year and exports in the last month grew by 36 percent, a steel ministry's report said on Thursday.

"Overall consumption at 7.416 mt in August 2017 was up by 7.4 percent in July 2017 and was up by 4.6 percent over August 2016," said the report of the ministry's Joint Plant Committee (JPC).

According to it, India's consumption of total finished steel saw a growth of 4.4 percent in the April-August period of the current fiscal to 35.329 mt over the same period last year, under the influence of rising production.

Exports of total finished steel increased by 57.1 percent to 3.73 mt in the April-August period over the same period last year and overall exports at 0.923 mt in August were up 20 percent over the previous month but grew by 36 percent over the year-ago month.

However, import of total finished steel at 3.458 mt in the first five months of the current fiscal grew by 15.9 percent over same period last year.
"Overall imports in August 2017 at 0.955 mt was up by 20 percent over July 2017 and was up by 62 percent over August 2016," the report said.

India was a net importer of total finished steel in the last month and maintained its net exporter status in the first five months of the current fiscal.

According to the provisional data released by JPC, production for sale of total finished steel in August was at 8.776 mt, up 2.3 percent over the year-ago month.

"Production for sale of total finished steel at 43.205 mt registered a growth of 5.9 percent during April-August 2017 over same period of last year," the report said.

During April-August, the ISP (Integrated Steel Plant) producers produced 25.23 mt, which was a growth of 12 percent while production for the other producers during the period was up by 0.3 percent.

Steel Exports Imports

Suresh Prabhu says government will promote exports in 'shortest possible time'

NEW DELHI: Commerce and industry minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday said his ministry is looking at certain measures to give a leg up to India’s exports which are facing “challenging times”, partly because of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rollout.
“We are trying to work out what to be done to promote exports in a shortest possible time which includes issues coming up because of the GST,” Prabhu, who assumed charge as the commerce and industry minister on Monday, told reporters here.
India's export growth slowed to an eight-month low of 3.94% in July, while the trade deficit widened to $11.44 billion on account of high gold imports.
He added that the ministry is working on the support measures which can facilitate the quick increase in exports both in terms of volume and value.
The commerce ministry is expected to announce incentives in the review of the foreign trade policy, which is scheduled to be released next month.
Walls of protectionism
Further, he said these are challenging times as countries are creating more and more walls around them.

“Protectionist ideas are growing. They are stronger over a period time. So we will follow our trade policy in the manner that we will be able to work through these walls,” he said and added that the commerce ministry will have to play the role of economic diplomacy also.

Ukragro consult raises ukraine grain harvest ,exports forecast

KIEV, Sept 5 (Reuters) - Analyst UkrAgro Consult on Tuesday raised Ukraine's 2017/18 grain exports forecast by 3.4 percent to 42.06 million tonnes underpinned by higher-than-expected harvest.
It revised the 2017 grain harvest estimate to 63.2 million tonnes from 61.7 million tonnes a month earlier due to a higher grain yield and larger harvested area, the consultancy said in a statement.
UkrAgroConsult said Ukrainian wheat harvest this year is likely to reach 26 million tonnes compared with 26.1 million tonnes from a year-ago period. A month earlier, the consultancy had expected the wheat harvest to come in at 25 million tonnes.
"The wheat harvest outcomes were also greater than expected by the market. Although wheat plantings were somewhat reduced in favour of oilseeds, a larger area of wheat survived the winter than last year," the consultancy said.
UkrAgroConsult said the 2017 barley crop could total 8.5 million tonnes versus 8 million tonnes expected a month earlier, and compared with 9.45 million tonnes threshed last year.
The Agricultural Ministry said Ukraine could harvest up to 63 million tonnes of grain this year, and had harvested a record 66 million tonnes in 2016. However, analysts saw the output at 64.2 million tonnes.
UkrAgroConsult did not provide forecast for this year's maize crop, which had totalled 28 million tonnes last year.
Weather forecasters last week said hot and dry weather in Ukraine's eastern and southern regions in August may reduce maize harvest by 10-15 percent and could hamper winter grain sowing.
The 2017 maize harvest could decrease to 25.5-26 million tonnes, said Tetyana Adamenko, head of the agriculture department for the state weather centre.
She added weather conditions were unfavourable for winter grain sowing.
Winter wheat accounts for around 95 percent of Ukraine's total wheat area while the share of winter barley reaches around 60 percent.
The ministry said farmers have already started winter grain sowing, seeding the first 12,000 hectares.
This year, farmers plan to sow around 7.2 million hectares of winter grains, including 6.1 million hectares of winter wheat.

Wheat exports imports

Import from India to be cheaper by up to 28%

The prices of all goods imported from India will now fall by zero to 28 percent. This is as per the directive issued by the Office of Consumer Protection under the economic affairs ministry on August 29.

The change comes following the introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India. As per the notification, prices of all imported goods will be cheaper in the country provided licensed business entities import directly from GST registered entities in India and not from the open market.
During the recent meeting between the government and the private sectors, the Department of Revenue and Customs said, prices of top ten commodities imported from India will fall by 14 percent on an average. The consumable goods price is expected to drop by about 5 percent. However, the GST will have no impact on the prices of the essential items as it is tax-free.
The Office of Consumer Protection is tasked to ensure that all importers, suppliers, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers do not mislead or give false information to consumers regarding prices or method of determining prices.
The defaulters will be made to pay fines equivalent to the value of goods or services and the business license may also be canceled.
Further, consumer protection rules and regulation 2015 strictly prohibits business entities from distorting the information and impairing the consumers to make the informed decision.
The government directed the ministry to ensure that the benefits of fall in the prices of goods are passed on to the consumers.

Auto components industry in India witnesses over 14 percent growth

Exports in 2016-17 were at Rs 73,128 crore as against Rs 70,916 crore in the previous year, up 3.1 per cent. Imports decreased by 0.1 per cent to Rs 90,662 crore last fiscal as against Rs 90,571 in 2015-16
The Indian auto components industry expanded by 14.3 per cent to Rs 2.92 lakh crore last fiscal on the back of robust growth in after market sales.  According to the latest data by Automotive Component Manufacturers  Association of India (ACMA), the after market the segment grew by 25.6 per cent to Rs 56,096 crore last fiscal
from Rs 44,660 crore in the preceding year. Exports in 2016-17 were at Rs 73,128 crore as against Rs 70,916 crore in the previous year, up 3.1 per cent. Imports decreased by 0.1 per cent to Rs 90,662 crore last fiscal as against Rs 90,571 in 2015-16. ACMA President Rattan Kapur said: "Despite the challenges of demonetization and uncertainty in the implementation of GST, vehicle production remained buoyant. In this backdrop, the auto component industry posted an encouraging performance."
He said the after the market segment was "a silver lining" growing 25.6 per cent.On the outlook, Kapur said: "We believe that technological transformation of the automotive industry is imminent, which calls upon the component industry to invest inR&D, create intellectual property, acquire and develop relevant technologies at a much faster pace to remain relevant for future needs."
Expressing similar views, ACMA Director General Vinnie Mehta said that at this juncture the industry is preparing for graduating from BS-IV to BS-IV by 2020. "Leapfrogging a generation of technology in just three years not only calls for sizeable investments for technology acquisition and absorption, but also for skilling of people."
In terms of auto components supply distribution to automobile manufacturers, ACMA said 49 per cent was to passenger vehicles, 22 per cent to two-wheelers, 11 per cent to medium and heavy commercial vehicles, 8 per cent to light commercial vehicles, 6 per cent to tractors, 2 per cent to three-wheelers and another 2 per cent to backhoe loaders

Auto components industry in India 

Spurt in global steel prices to boost export earnings of Indian firms

Kolkata: A 30% spurt in global steel prices since June 2017 led by a significant cutback in China's production capacity is likely to boost fortunes of domestic steel firms in the coming months. The perk up in international prices has helped raise domestic steel prices by 10% in last 2 months and is likely to boost export earnings of steel firms given the moderate increase in domestic steel demand, according to the latest sector report by ratings agency, ICRABSE -0.73 %.

Benchmark prices of Chinese hot rolled coil (HRC) export offers rallied by over 30% between June and August 2017, reaching US$ 555 per tonne on Tuesday (August 29, 2017). International steel prices have staged a sharp recovery since June 2017, driven by the Chinese government efforts to reduce domestic steel overcapacity. This has also led to a decline in Chinese steel exports on the back of resilient domestic steel demand in that country, ICRA said.

Earlier saddled with surplus capacity of over 300 million tonne (mt), the Chinese government has closed down 42 mt steel capacity between January-May 2017, on top of shutting down steel capacity of 65 mt in 2016. Incidentally, the last time Chinese HRC prices averaged above US$ 550 per tonne was in April 2013. “Continuity of this price momentum hinges upon sustainability of demand from steel intensive real-estate and infrastructure sectors in China”, Jayanta Roy, senior vice-president, ICRA said.

Domestic steel prices too have taken a cue from the buoyancy in international prices despite a moderate domestic steel demand growth of 4.4% in the first four months of the current fiscal. Between July and August FY18, domestic HRC prices have increased by around 10%, reaching Rs 39,250/tonne in the fourth week of August from Rs 35,750/tonne in the first week of July. Additionally, domestic steel mills have also continued to push exports, which grew 66% between April and July FY18. “A steadily rising export volume has enabled domestic steel mills to register a healthy annualised production growth of 7% and a capacity utilisation of around 81% during the period from April to July FY18,” the ICRA report added.

ICRA said operating margins of the steel industry (out of its sample of 22 large and mid-sized steel players, accounting for about 60% of current domestic capacity) contracted to 13.1% in Q1FY18 from 15.7% in Q4FY17 led by lower steel prices and higher coking coal costs in Q1 FY2018. “However, gross contribution levels of steel players are likely to improve sequentially in the current quarter, given that steel mills stand to benefit from buoyant steel prices in both the domestic and international markets in Q2FY18,” Roy added. ICRA, however, believes credit profile of domestic steel companies is unlikely to improve significantly in near term despite the current buoyancy in steel prices since on an absolute level elevated debt levels of most steel companies will keep the industry’s coverage indicators depressed.

Indian branded apparel market to touch Rs 30,000 crore in 3 years

MUMBAI: The branded apparel market estimated at Rs 20,000 crore is expected to touch Rs 30,000 crore mark in the next three years.

The size of Indian apparel garment market is Rs 2,45,000 crore, out of which the organised sector is Rs 45,000 to Rs 50,000 crore.

Garments / Textiles India Exports Imports

"Out of total apparel garment in organised sector, branded apparel market is estimated at Rs 20,000 crore and is expected to grow at 15 per cent per annum to touch Rs 30,000 crore in the next three years period," Don & Julio Apparels Worldwide managing director Ramesh Jain told reporters here.

The growth in branded apparel sector is in premium quality products & brands as a result of higher disposable income of young generation and their increased exposure to international brands & products like never before in India, Jain said.

Don & Julio Apparels Worldwide has launched premium shirts, trousers, suits and jackets for men in the Indian market. 

Moong and urad rates up after Import Ban

Nagpur: After the government banned imports of urad and moong, rates of the two pulses have gone up by Rs1000 and Rs350 a quintal respectively in the bulk market.
In lines of tur, which is the commonly consumed type of pulses throughout the country, a similar move was taken for moong and urad last week. Tur rates were increased by Rs150 a quintal, during the week.
According to analysis compiled by the Itwari Grain and Seeds Merchants Association, a ripple effect of the ban on imports was also seen in other types of pulses.
Following the import ban, prices of moong dal are at Rs80 a kg for the best quality. "The lowest grade is available at Rs56 in the wholesale market. A margin of Rs5 to Rs10 is added in the retail stores. Urad dal rates have now crossed Rs100 a kg in the wholesale market itself. The cheaper grades of urad dal are also in the range of Rs75 to Rs80 a kg," said Pratap Motwani of the Itwari Grain and Seeds Merchants Association.
Motwai said the rates of Chana too are moving up. The import ban has not been imposed on this commodity. "However, a major reduction in yield at Australia, which is one of the main centres of import, has increased the rates at home. Chana Dal, which is the processed form, is now at Rs90 a kg. Tur dal is priced at Rs65 a kg, in the wholesale market," he said.

imports of urad and moong

Traders Warn of stopping LPG Import as India Denies Permit to Nepali Bullets

Traders have warned that they will stop importing liquefied petroleum gas from upcoming November as India has not allowed bullets with Nepali number plates to supply the fuel.
The warning comes after no talk was held between the two countries as expected during Prime Minister Sher Bahadur Deuba’s recent visit to India.
Around one year ago, the Nepal government had written to India seeking permission for bullets with Nepali number plates to enter India. But, the southern neighbour has maintained silence over the issue.
“After our investment in the purchase of bullet got wasted, there is no point in importing gas from Indian transporters,” says Shiva Prasad Ghimire, President of Nepal LP Gas Industry Association.
India’s Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation has to issue such permits, certifying that the vehicles are safe enough to supply the petroleum product.
With a hope that India would issue the permit soon, Nepali traders had invested around Rs 5 billion to purchase nearly 775 vehicles. Two of them have already arrived in Nepal whereas 450 are ready to be brought here, according to Ghimire.
It has been learned that Indian transporters have put pressure on the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation as issuance of permits to Nepali bullets would end their monopoly.
For last 40 years, around 500 Indian bullets are being used to ferry

Canada allows imports of Indian Pomegranates, Banana, Mangoes & Okra for first time : APEDA

India exported $0.69 million grapes, to Canada last year, after access was granted by that Country

NEW DELHI: Canada has allowed market access with certain conditions to Indian horticultural products like custard apples, pomegranates, okra, bananas, mangoes – this was relayed to the Indian industry by India’s Agricultural and Food Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) confirming the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIAs) approval.

The conditions for the shipments that CFIA has specified included – origin of the material be clarified in a detailed manner on the shipping documents and that the produce is free of soil, pests, and leaves.

APEDA’s letter detailed, “interested exporters of above-mentioned commodities are advised to contact the Canadian importers to start export from India subject to compliance of above mentioned requirements.”

The letter also clearly stated that exporters must keep in mind that packaging, labeling and other requirements pertaining to Canadian import requirements are met diligently.

It is not clear however whether access was granted to all the horticultural products mentioned above at once or separately in parts.

India exported $0.69 million grapes, to Canada last year, after access was granted by that Country. This was a growth of 32.59% compared to -36.83% growth seen in 2014-15.

There is the news that a sizeable quantity of pomegranates is likely to be shipped commanding good prices.

This positive development comes after the resumption of talks on free trade between the two countries after two years. Canadian and Indian officials are under discussions.

India Natural Rubber imports may increase

Natural Rubber imports to India are expected to increase on the back of declining prices of Natural Rubber in the global market.Natural Rubber imports during the period of April and July this year declined by about 14 percent to 130543 tons when compared to the corresponding period last year.
The decline in imports was on the back of the increase in global prices and higher production in India. Natural Rubber production in India during the period was seen to increase by about 7.5 percent to 201000 tons.

Natural Rubber  Imports to India

Continuous rain has affected tapping, resulting in a supply crunch in the local market in the last few days. While local prices are hovering around Rs 130 per kg, crumb Rubber prices have dropped below Rs 100 per kg in the international market, which is anticipated to help imports.
Resources:   commodityonline.com

Indian finished steel exports up 64%; imports rise 42% in July

India’s export of finished steel surged by 64.2% to 0.770 million tonne in the month of July against the 0.469 million tonne in the same month a year ago, according to a report.

On the other hand, finished steel imports also jumped by 42.2% at 0.798 million tonne in the said month this year against the 0.561 million tonne last year, said the report by Joint Plant Committee (JPC), which gathers data on iron and steel sector in India.

“India was a net importer of total finished steel in July 2017 but maintained its net exporter status for the cumulative period, i.e. during April-July 2017,” it said.

During April-July period this year, exports of total finished steel were increased by 65.5% to 2.807 million tonne as compared to 1.696 million tonne in the same period last year, the report said.

The imports of total finished steel was 2.505 million tonne in April-July period, an increase of 4.7%, as compared to 2.393 million tonne during the same period a year-ago, it added.

The total finished steel consumption increased by 3.7% to 6.905 million tonne in July this year from 6.660 million tonne in July 2016.

However, the overall consumption finished steel was declined by 4.2% in July from 7.210 million tonne in June 2017, said the report.

During April-July period this year, total finished steel consumption in the country surged by 4.4% to 27.911 million tonne as compared to 26.736 million tonne in the corresponding period last year, on account of rising output for sale and imports, it said.

India is third largest country in the production of crude steel followed by China and Japan.

steel exports from India

Basmati rice overtakes buffalo meat to become India's top export

The basmati rice exports increased from Rs 6,196 crore of last year’s April-June quarter to Rs 8168 crore in the same quarter this year.

Basmati rice has regained its position as the top commodity export from India. The famed rice variety replaced buffalo meat to become the top most export for the April-June quarter.

Basmati rice had been countries key export commodity for years. But since 2014-15 financial year, buffalo meat had surpassed the former, thus becoming the top export commodity.

A report in the Business Standard says, this happened after Iran, which consumes over a quarter of India's Basmati exports to the world had suspended all new orders earlier.

Iran usually suspends import orders during its harvesting season. As per reports, this year the traders in Iran have continued importing Basmati even during the harvesting season.

As per the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) estimates, the Basmati exports increased from Rs 6,196 crore from last year's April-June quarter to Rs 8168 crore in the same quarter this year.

Another factor behind Basmati grabbing the top spot in exports is the decline in the export of buffalo meat. Despite the decline in buffalo meat exports, the revenue earned from its exports increased nominally from last year’s Rs 5445 crore to Rs 5473 crore in present year’s April-June quarter.

While the short lived ban on the sale of cattle in mandis hit the buffalo trade adversely the recent government actions in the export market has had a contrary effect on basmati trade.

basmati rice exports from India

India's refined palm oil imports to fall as duty change makes crude palm cheaper

MUMBAI/KUALA LUMPUR: India's refined palm oil imports are likely to plunge in the next marketing year, industry officials said, as changes in trade tariffs make imports of crude palm oil cheaper, a boon for refiners previously hit by cheaper imports of rivals' goods.

Indonesian and Malaysian refiners, which ramped up capacity to cater to India's demand, are likely to come under pressure due to the decision by India, the world's biggest palm oil importer, to widen the import duty gap between refined, bleached and deodorized (RBD) palm olein and crude palm oil (CPO) .
In a move designed to protect domestic farmers, India last week doubled import duty on CPO to 15 percent, and raised the levy on RBD palm olein by 10 percent to 25 percent. The move widened the gap in duties between refined and crude palm oil to 10 percent from 7.5 percent previously.
"We expect a significant shift from imports of RBD palm olein to CPO due to the hike in duty differential," said Dinesh Shahra, managing director of Ruchi Soya IndustriesBSE -0.22 %, a leading Indian refiner. "Share of CPO in total palm imports is expected to rise to over 90 percent from 69 percent last year."
If the change is good news for Indian refiners, reactions among exporters suggest concern.
"It's not going to be easy now, there will be an impact where refiners will be getting a lot of the blow," said an upstream manager with a Malaysian plantations company, speaking on condition of anonymity.
India's imports are traditionally dominated by crude oils which are then refined for the domestic market. But moves by Indonesia and Malaysia to put higher taxes on exports of crude palm oil than refined products - an effort to promote domestic refining industries - made imports of refined products cheaper for India.
The changes allowed refined palm oil to corner 31 percent of India's total palm oil imports in 2015/16 year ended in October, up from 17.4 percent a year ago in 2016/17 and just 3.6 percent in 2006/07.
"We believe that (palm) prices are likely to be more biased towards the downside once...the increase in import duties in an important market like India work its way through," said Sunny Verghese, chief executive of Olam International Ltd..
Since the duty change, some Indian importers have already begun requesting sellers to replace refined palm shipments with CPO, said Sandeep Bajoria, chief executive of the Sunvin group, a Mumbai-based vegetable oil importer.
In the first nine months of the current marketing year started on Nov. 1, India has imported 6.74 million tonnes of palm oil, including 2.2 million tonnes of refined palm oil.
Palm oil's share in India's total edible oil imports has been falling consistently due to competition from rival soyoil and sunflower oil. In 2015/16 palm's share fell to 58 percent from 80 percent in 2012/13.
After the recent duty changes, crude soy oil now attracts 17.5 percent duty, lower than 25 percent for CPO, which could encourage imports of soyoil, dealers said.
"Regular demand will always be there but because soyoil duty is less, buyers may switch to soy," said one Kuala Lumpur trader, who declined to be named.

India’s trade deficit narrows to $11.45 billion in July from a month ago

India’s trade deficit narrowed to $11.45 billion in July from a month ago, following a slowdown in imports even as exports expanded 3.94% year-on-year

New Delhi: India’s merchandise export growth, at 3.94%, decelerated to its lowest level in eight months as readymade garments, pharmaceuticals and gems and jewellery exports contracted.

However, imports continued to grow in double digits for a six consecutive month, though at a slower pace of 15.4%, thus leaving a trade deficit of $11.4 billion.

Exporters’ bodies demanded that their concerns regarding a liquidity crunch under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and reducing the cost of credit to the sector be addressed.

Why India must take China’s warning of a trade war seriously

NEW DELHI: India has not taken Chinese bullying over Doklam seriously. For the last several weeks, China has been warning of helping insurgents in India, invading border areas in Uttaranchal and Kashmir, and a war breaking out soon. It is clear China cannot afford a war over Doklam. That’s why India has not responded to China’s belligerence in equal measure.

However, there is one war which can break out and India cannot afford it—a trade war with China. Recently, India imposed anti-dumping duties on 93 Chinese products. China is not going to tolerate this measure and is likely to respond. State-owned Chinese media has urged Chinese firms to reconsider the risks of investing in India and warned New Delhi to be prepared for the “possible consequences for its ill-considered action”.

An article in state-owned Global Times said that China could easily retaliate with restrictions on Indian products, but added that it “doesn't make much economic sense” for the country. But it warned that a trade war between China and India seemed to be looming after the imposition of anti-dumping duties on Chinese products.

Why India cannot afford to fight a trade war with China at this juncture? Consider the following:

India's trade deficit with China rose to $46.56 billion last year. China's exports to India totaled $58.33 billion, registering a meager increase of 0.2% compared to $58.25 billion in 2015. India's exports to China dropped 12% from 2015 to $11.76 billion.
India exports less to China (mainly raw materials) and imports more (mainly electronics and other manufactured goods which are in high demand). India's pharma sector has critical dependence on Chinese imports used in drugs manufacturing.
China's exports to India account for only 2 per cent of its total exports. So even if Indians boycott all the goods imported form China, it will not make as big an impact on China as to bring it to its knees before India.

Of course, China needs new markets for its manufactured goods, and India is one of those new markets where its electronic goods, especially smartphones, have found a large market. But China can find markets in other Asian countries and even in Africa. It is also trying to create a market for its goods in Europe. It is in no way dependent on India.

China is India’s largest trading partner, but the trade is heavily skewed in favour of China. A trade war when Indian manufacturing ability is limited is not going to favour India. India’s imports from China are crucial at this stage.India today imports telecom gear worth over Rs 70,000 crore annually, much of it from Chinese firms like Huawei and ZTE. Chinese companies dominate the telecom sector in India. In handsets, they control 51% of India’s $8 billion plus smartphone market with brands like Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo and OnePlus.

Power is another sector where India has come to be dependent on Chinese imports. In the 12th Plan alone, almost 30% of the generating capacity was imported from China. In the rapidly growing solar energy sector, between April 2016 and January 2017, solar equipment from China had a share of 87% in a market pegged at $1.9 billion. According to consultancy firm Grant Thornton, in 2017, when inbound deals dipped, the Chinese shifted gears and accounted for 31% of the inbound deal value as against27% from the US.

The popular impression is that China is dumping consumer goods into India. But the fact is that India depends on China for capital goods too. Reduction in import of cheaper capital goods will push up production costs.

India can fight trade wars with China only when it has removed the big skew in its trade with China, which can take a decade of manufacturing growth.

India-made garments have the largest pie in US imports in H1

Chennai: For the first time in the history of India’s garment exports to the US, the country has clocked top position in market share in the category ‘men/boys knitwear shirts cotton’ (a variety of knitwear) for the first six months of 2017.
This was attributed to the slowdown in China. Exporters, however, said they will not be able to retain top position. Exporters say that since the US market offers a level playing field, they were able to compete with other countries, but the recent appreciation of the rupee against the dollar will be a major hurdle to them.
The data released by the Office of Textile and Apparel, US department of commerce, show that India exported 8.5 million dozens of men/boys shirts cotton to the US. India’s share in men/boys knitwear shirts import by the US stood at 8.7 per cent in June.
After a dip in 2014, India’s market share has been growing steadily. In 2013, India’s market share was 6.4 per cent and dropped to 6.2 per cent in 2014. From then it has been steadily increasing, and in 2016 it stood at 7.8 per cent.
Contrary to that, China’s market share, which was 11 per cent in 2012, dropped to 9.6 per cent in 2016 and is now 8.5 per cent. In other segments including women/girls knit shi-rts/blouses, cotton, men/boys cotton trousers, breeches, shorts, and cotton nightwear/pajamas, India and others’ market shares have increased.
While China’s loss is India’s gain, exporters are not happy because Vietnam is running India close. Bangladesh is also increasing its market share. The data show Vietnam exported 8.47 million dozens of men/boys knitwear to the US. Tirupur Exporters Association President Raja M Shanmugam said heavy investment increased India’s share in export. “The US is the only country that gives us a level playing field, and that is why we could compete,” said Shanmugam, adding that the country was losing the edge now because production cost was increasing here.
An exporter said: “We will not be able to compete with Vietnam or with any countries because products made here are becoming costlier.”
For example, exporters are quoting 3-5 per cent higher prices after the rupee appreciated, while the hike should be of around 7 per cent to compensate them for the losses on account of currency fluctuation. On the other hand, competitors' currencies have depreciated and they are bringing down the prices.

India-made garments  Exports Imports

Government bans export of gold items above 22-carat purity

NEW DELHI: The government has banned exports of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles above 22- carat purity in a bid to check round tripping of the precious metal.

In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has said certain provisions of the foreign trade policy (2015-20) are "amended to allow export of gold jewellery (plain or studded) and articles containing gold of 8 carats and above up to a maximum limit of 22 carats only from domestic tariff area and export-oriented units, electronics hardware technology parks, software technology parks and bio technology parks".

This means that export of gold jewellery, medallions and other articles of the precious metal above 22 carat purity is not permitted by any exporter, including from these parks, which are meant for sector-specific shipments.

The DGFT also stated that only those exporters can avail of incentives who are shipping gold jewellery and other articles containing gold of 8 carats and up to a maximum limit of 22 carats and not beyond.

According to an official of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), some exporters were availing of export incentives by claiming export of gold items of above 22 carat purity with some value addition.

"This is not possible as India is a net importer of gold and no trader would import above 22 carats gold and export it as it is without value addition. This is not a financially viable business," the GJEPC official, who did not wish to be named, said.

Sharing similar views, an official of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that through this notification, the government has banned export of the jewellery above 22 carats and this decision will not impact shipment of gold jewellery as there is significantly less demand for these items in the international market.

The decision came at a time when Indian gold jewellery traders have raised concerns over a surge in gold imports from South Korea.

Gold import from South Korea jumped to USD 338.6 million during July 1 and August 3 this year. The import in 2016-17 stood at 470.46 million.

Under the free trade pact between India and South Korea, basic Customs duty on gold was eliminated.

Further, the 12.5 per cent countervailing duty on gold imports has been subsumed in the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Accordingly, imports now attract only 3 per cent integrated GST.

Countries impose this duty to discourage import of a product.

India is the world's second-biggest gold consumer after China. The imports mainly take care of demand by the jewellery industry.

Gold Exports Imports India

Agriculture exports down from $43.23 billion to $33.87 billion in India

India's agricultural exports have declined to $33.87 billion in 2016-17 from $43.23 billion in 2013-14.

The primary reasons for decline in export of agricultural commodities are low commodity prices in the international market, "which has made our exports uncompetitive," Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

Import of agricultural commodities including plantation and marine products in 2016-17 rose to $25.09 billion from $15.03 billion in 2013-14.

She added that export and import of agricultural products depend on various factors such as availability, international and domestic demand and supply situation and quality concerns.

"Edible oils and pulses, which are in short supply in India, account for the bulk of India's import of agricultural products," the minister said.

Sitharaman said the share of agricultural exports in total exports of the country has declined marginally during the past three years. ■

India Agriculture Product exports

India raises Vegetable Oil import taxes

India, the world’s biggest buyer of Vegetable Oils, has raised import taxes on crude and refined edible oils to protect local oilseed farmers from cheaper imports from top suppliers Malaysia and Indonesia.
The government doubled the import tax on Crude Palm Oils to 15% and raised the import tax on refined Palm Oils to 25%, increasing the differential in duty by 10 percentage points to encourage local processing.

The government also raised the import tax on crude Soybean Oil to 17.5% from 12.5% previously.
The country spends about $10 billion a year to import Palm Oil from Malaysia and Indonesia and relatively smaller quantities of Soybean Oil from Brazil and Argentina.

India to import 25 T gold from South Korea, avoiding duty - industry officials

Indian traders are likely to import 25 tonnes of gold from South Korea in July and August, taking advantage of a recent tax change that allows importers to ship in gold without paying a 10 percent customs duty, industry officials told Reuters.

The cheap imports are putting pressure on local refiners and banks who cannot match the steep discounts being offered on bullion sales from the duty-free gold from South Korea.

"Already 12 tonnes have been landed from South Korea since the implementation of GST. By the end of this month imports could be around 25 tonnes," James Jose, secretary of the Association of Gold Refineries and Mints told Reuters.

India, the world's second biggest gold consumer after China, imposes a 10 percent import duty on gold, but this does not apply to countries with which it has signed Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), like South Korea.
To avoid duty free imports from those countries, India previously imposed a 12.5 percent excise duty. However, this was scrapped along with other local taxes when a Goods and Services Tax (GST) was introduced from July 1.
"Those who are importing from South Korea are reaping windfall gains," said Rajesh Khosla, managing director of MMTC-PAMP India, the country's biggest refinery.

"They are saving the 10 percent import duty. So they can give a $10 or $15 discount. Refiners are operating with a 0.65 percent margin. We cannot compete with someone who is giving a 1 percent discount," Khosla said on the sidelines of the International Gold Convention in Panaji, capital of India's western resort state of Goa.

South Korea is favoured for importing gold over other countries that India has FTAs with because of its ability to deliver bullion in the form of coins or other articles, which do not attract the import duty.

Gold discounts in India widened earlier this month to $11 an ounce, the highest in more than 10 months.

"The government is aware of the issue and we have asked industry associations to provide more data," said a government official, who declined to be named.

The government has asked traders who are importing gold under free trade agreements to fill in a questionnaire that asks them to specify whether the goods are manufactured in those countries, the official said.

"Very soon this issue will be resolved by putting on a countervailing duty," he said.
In the first seven months of the 2017, gold imports more than doubled from a year ago to 550 tonnes, according to provisional data from consultancy GFMS.

Amid Doklam standoff, Chinese imports to India up by 33% in April-June quarter

The rise in imports is on the back of a stronger rupee that has appreciated about 5.5% against the US dollar and 3.7% against the Chinese yuan since February.


Chinese imports to India recorded a 33% jump in the April-June quarter over the same period last year, government data shows, indicating trade remains unscathed by the border standoff between the two countries.
The rise in imports is on the back of a stronger rupee that has appreciated about 5.5% against the US dollar and 3.7% against the Chinese yuan since February. Electronics and engineering goods and chemicals were the biggest imports.
“The political tension that we are witnessing now is unlikely to have any impact on the trade relations between the two countries…it is business as usual for both countries at present and the situation will not change,” DK Joshi, chief economist, Crisil, told Hindustan Times.
The Asian giants are locked in a row in the remote Doklam plateau, which borders Sikkim in India’s northeast and is claimed by both Beijing and Bhutan, since June 16.
Chinese blame India for the two-month long standoff, the longest between the neighbours. It accuses India of trespass and preventing its soldiers form building a road, which New Delhi says is a threat to its security.
China is also India’s largest business partner, with trade heavily tilted in its favour.
During the April-June period, India imported goods worth $18 billion compared to $13.5 billion last the previous year. The appreciation of the rupee allowed Indian importers to purchase larger quantities of goods at lower prices, a report by the State Bank of India said, adding it could have a bearing on the domestic industry. A yuan is trading at Rs 9.6.
“The political and economic compulsions are divorced from each other but rights steps need to be taken to encourage domestic industry so that it could generate income and jobs and reduce India’s dependence on imports, giving boost to ‘Make in India’, SBI chief economic adviser Soumya Kanti Ghosh SBI said on Sunday.
The report said the appreciation of rupee against Chinese renminbi enabled Indian importers to purchase larger quantity of goods at lower prices. “We estimate, India on a conservative basis, saved at least $3.9 billion in May 2017 because of the stronger Indian rupee,” it said.
Federation of Indian Exports Organisation director general Ajay Sahai was upbeat on business ties. Trade would not be affected by the “current level of political tension”, he said.
But the widening trade deficit -- the difference between imports and exports—continues to be a worry. Trade deficit in 2016-17 stood at $51.1 billion compared to $19.26 billion in 2009-10. It means India’s is buying way more than what it sells to China.
For some policy experts though it could be India’s leverage. With its economic growth slowing, China would want its foreign markets to widen. The economy is also the reason China is looking to flex its muscles abroad to bolster confidence at home.