Trade Issues - BASMATI RICE & EU + India-Japan + CLIMATE CHANGE & HYDROGEN ENERGY

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In This NEWS Bulletin ********************************** On TRADE ISSUES--- 1. EU likely to tighten BASMATI rice imports - India and Pakistan are the only countries that export this variety of rice - Indian Basmati captures 92% of EU market 2. INDIA-JAPAN : Japan outsourcing rural products from India - Unique opportunity for rural artisans under one-village-one-product scheme 3. GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND NEED FOR GREEN FUEL TECH - Hydrogen gets hotter - With an ambitious target of one million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on roads and 1,000 MW electricity by 2020, research on

making hydrogen a commercially viable fuel is sure to get a big boost 4. Hydrogen fuel research needs sops: Montek EU likely to tighten Basmati rice imports India and Pakistan are the only countries that export this variety of rice Indian Basmati captures 92% of EU market http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=167429 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday, June 18, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUN 17: The European Union(EU) is all set to

review its import regime as Indian basmati rice has begun flooding its markets. India and Pakistan are the only two countries which produce and export this unique long grain. Recently, with the change in consumers’ preference and successful marketing strategy, Exports from India is all set to capture 92% of the European market leaving Pakistan variety way behind in competition. Brown basmati rice enjoys a duty derogation of 60 euro per tonne, translating into zero duty. According to EU data, in 2005-06 India exported 178,000 tonne basmati rice to Europe which increased to 226,000 tonne in 2006-07 (figures available till June 12). In contrast Pakistan exported 41,478 tonne in 2005-06 and only 27,000 tonne in 2006-07. Concerned with the surge in basmati rice imports from India, Brussels is planning to put in place a DNA testing protocol which can

allow imports of “genuine” basmati rice. The chairman of Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA), KS Money told FE that India has demanded that there should be a common DNA testing protocol for both India and Pakistan. The process should be transparent and the protocol should be validated in both India and Pakistan. India has already submitted a protocol formulated by the Hyderabad-based Centre for DNA Fingerprinting, but Brussels has said that it would device its own protocol. It has asked both India and Pakistan to provide relevant information. In Britain, the UK Food Standard Authority has begun testing basmati rice at retail level with a view to check adulteration. The global market size for basmati rice is over $ 1167 million and in 2005-06 over 2 million tonne was exported by India and Pakistan of which the

former’s share is 58.16%. India exports to about 126 countries and earns $ 687 million. ----------- Japan outsourcing rural products from India Unique opportunity for rural artisans under one-village-one-product scheme http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=167434 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday, June 18, 2007 at 0001 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUN 17: Home furnishing products from rural India are set to capture a sizeable portion of the growing 3.92-trillion-yen market in Japan. Under the ongoing scheme of one-village-one-product (OVOP), Japan has

begun outsourcing artisan’s products from villages in the Chindwara district in Madhya Pradesh and Periyar PURA in Tamilnadu. The products are being marketed in Japan under the brand name—OVOP from India. Japanese households have a unique craze for different kinds of home furnishing products like interior decorations, fixtures, curtains. The choice for home furnishing products vary according to the seasons in the year. Typical Japanese households prefer specific designs and colours of the home furnishing products for each seasons of the year. The choice is also for the materials used in the products. Home furnishing products from rural India are slated for display and grand sale during the fashion show planned at the Festival of India and Japan in Osaka in July, this year. The event JAPANTEX-2007 is also scheduled to take place in Tokyo in November 21-24, this year. Earlier, home furnishing products from

villages in the Chindwara district in Madhya Pradesh were displayed at one of the largest exhibitions in Tokyo, JAPANTEX-2006, which attracted 33,857 visitors. According to a survey, home furnishing market in Japan has witnessed a quantum jump from 2.2 trillion yen in 1991 to 3.92 trillion yen in 2003 and the number of home furnishing products’ retail stores have increased to over 3,860. As enough cannot be produced in the country to meet the growing needs, Japan has found an alternate way by outsourcing home furnishing products from other parts of the globe, including India. “We were encouraged by the response of the Japanese people for the Indian products. We intend to outsource home furnishing products from other parts of India,” says Osamu Watanabe,chairman and CEO of Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO). Watanabe was recently in India for education

stakeholders about this concept with the support of the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). Japanese concept of OVOP is now in operation in Chindwara district and Periyar PURA in Tamil Nadu. PURA—providing urban amenities in rural areas—was recently inaugurated by the President APJ Abdul Kalam at Periyar Maniammai College of Technology, Vallam in Tamil Nadu. OVOP concept which took its birth in the Oita prefecture in southern Japan in 1979, has proved to be a success. Oita which was in a critical socio-economic condition in 1960s and 1970s was bailed out of the situation due to the OVOP concept, says Morihiko Hiramatsu, former governor of Oita and the present president of Oita OVOP International Exchange Promotion Committee. “Oita now produces high quality dried shiitake mushrooms, Kabosu limes, barley distilled spirits called Shochu and greenhouse organs. Oita is now

connected to different countries in the region and the OVOP concept is now being adopted in China, South Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Mangolia, India, and even in Louisiana in the US,” he says. OVOP concept has also spread to African countries including Malawai, Tunisia and Ghana and now forms a part of Japan’s policy for African development announced by the former prime minister Junichiro Koizumi at G-8 summit in July 2005. The two-way bilateral trade between India and Japan is steadily growing steadily and now stands at $ 5.9 billion. The programme of outsourcing products from rural India can help in boosting the prospects of bilateral trade--------- GLOBAL CLIMATE CHANGE AND NEED FOR GREEN FUEL TECH Hydrogen gets hotter With an

ambitious target of one million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on roads and 1,000 MW electricity by 2020, research on making hydrogen a commercially viable fuel is sure to get a big boost http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=167448 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Monday, June 18, 2007 at 0032 hours IST Quest for hydrogen fuel just got stronger. India is the latest to join the global club pushing to make hydrogen fuel a commercially viable option for use in automobiles and in power generation. With an ambitious target of one million hydrogen-fuelled vehicles on roads and 1,000 MW electricity from hydrogen energy by 2020, research for cost-competitive hydrogen fuel cells is sure to be stepped up. Several

countries like Canada, Germany, Japan, UK and US are supporting comprehensive research, technology development and demonstration programmes for new hydrogen energy technologies and applications. India might be the latest to join, but is not lagging behind. National Hydrogen Energy Board has just drafted a national hydrogen energy roadmap. Hydrogen has the highest energy content per unit mass of all the known fuels and has been demonstrated to cause near zero pollution. Burnt hydrogen produces water as a byproduct and is, therefore, environmentally benign. The objective is to produce enough hydrogen in an eco-friendly manner so that no carbon dioxide or any other greenhouse gases are emitted in the process. Hydrogen as an energy is eco-friendly, but needs safe handling as in its gaseous form, it is 14 times lighter than air and its flame is invisible in daylight. Hydrogen is flammable over a very

wide range of mixtures in air (4% to 75% hydrogen in air) and is also explosive over a wide range (15% to 59%) at normal temperatures. At higher temperatures, small leaks of hydrogen can cause burning or explosion. Hydrogen in its liquid form cannot be stored indefinitely. “Therefore, technologies should be developed for safe handling, transportation and storage,” says principal advisor and special secretary in the Union ministry of new and renewable energy, SK Chopra. Hydrogen, however, has an edge especially in the transport sector. It can be used directly in the existing internal combustion engines and turbines in place of fossil fuels or as blended mixture with fossil fuels. It can be used in fuel cells for electricity generation and in automobiles. Low temperature fuel cell systems are suitable for automobiles and have inherently higher energy conversion and more efficient than internal combustion engines or turbines. Besides industrial

applications, it can be used to produce heat. The quantity of hydrogen currently produced in the country is just sufficient to meet the needs of the user industries. It is not enough to replace the use of fossil fuels in automobiles and in electricity generation. Also, it is costly and is delivered to end users at about Rs 240 per kg. This is too costly to make it economically and commercially viable for use in automobiles and in power generation. “The cost needs to be reduced by a factor of 3 to 4 for making hydrogen a viable option,” says Union minister for new and renewable energy resources, Vilas Muttemwar. Ironically, hydrogen is available in abundance in the environment, particularly in water. But it is not found in elemental form and therefore needs to be separated. Worldwide, more than 95% hydrogen is produced from hydrocarbon, which is not an eco-friendly process and only 4% hydrogen is produced

through electrolysis of water, which is very costly. Steam reforming of natural gas or naphtha, partial oxidation of heavy hydrocarbons constitute about 78% hydrogen production in the world. Ratan Tata, who is also the chairman of the National Hydrogen Energy Board’s steering panel, however, feels that the challenges posed in the way of making hydrogen energy viable are surmountable. He says, “India is one of the few developing countries along with China and Brazil which has a strong hydrogen energy research and development programme. Hydrogen-powered motorcycles, three-wheelers, small generators, fuel cells and battery hybrid vans have been developed in the country. We had several demonstration projects for production and application of hydrogen.” Several technologies are available for producing hydrogen. Steam methane reforming is at present the most common and least expensive method. Electrolysis of water

is most eco-friendly process, but it is about three to five times more expensive compared to the cost of fossil fuel feedstock. Photo-electrochemical processes involving wet photovoltaic systems can produce hydrogen through splitting of water in one step. Producing hydrogen from water using alkali metal sodium holds promise for future as a viable process. High temperature nuclear reactors have the potential to produce clean hydrogen. Other possible methods for producing hydrogen are partial oxidation of heavy hydrocarbons and gasification of coal. Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) for coals is under development in India. Generation of hydrogen from biomass is one of the emerging production technologies. No single production technology is likely to meet the needs of hydrogen for the new emerging applications in power and transport sector. We need to take help of multiple technologies. Fuel cells

require relatively pure hydrogen free of contaminants such as sulphur and carbon compounds. Therefore, appropriate cleaning technologies should be in place for hydrogen produced from hydrocarbons, gasification of coal and biomass, say experts. Most common method of storage of hydrogen is in gaseous form in pressurised cylinders and tanks. However, since hydrogen is the lightest element, gaseous storage requires large volumes and high pressure. Worldwide, research efforts are in progress to develop tanks and materials that can store hydrogen at a pressure higher than 700 bar. Hydrogen is also stored in liquid form, but not for an indefinite period, and it requires low temperatures with cryogenic storage systems. It is also possible to store hydrogen in certain solidstate materials and chemicals like cyclohexane, methanol, ammonia, which needs moderate temperature and pressure. Global researches are in progress to use nano-carbons as viable

hydrogen storage system. Glass microsphere storage system is another area where researchers are working. Other areas for bulk storage of hydrogen like in gas pipelines and underground tanks with adequate safety devices are also engaging the attention of researchers.--------------- Hydrogen fuel research needs sops: Montek http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=166159 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Tuesday, June 05, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUN 4: The Planning Commission has favoured subsidies for hydrogen fuel. It suggested subsidy on research as a better option. Inaugurating a conclave on national hydrogen energy road map here on Monday organised by the Union ministry of new and renewable energy alongwith industry bodies, deputy chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia said: “Subsidy is necessary for the scheme aiming at one million hydrogen-fuel driven vehicles by 2020. But we need to ascertain at which point we need to subsidise. It would be better to subsidise research.” Singh said that experiences have shown that subsidies do not necessarily increase the competitiveness of the product or the application. He admitted that the cost of developing was very high and therefore subsidy was necessary. “We need to decide whether subsidies should be given on research or on the product,” he said. Saying that subsidy was necessary to jump-start the programme, he cautioned “It is unlikely to become a plausible solution in

the energy security if it continued to be subsidized perpetually.” Delivering the presidential address Union minister of state for new and renewable energy Vilas Muttemwar said his ministry was confident of achieving over 10% of the total installed power generating capacity in the country by 2012 from renewable sources. About 10 lakh solar photovoltaic systems were being used for domestic lighting purposes, he added. The National Hydrogen Energy Road Map has proposed major initiatives for developing hydrogen-powered engines and fuel cell-based automobiles. Chairman of the steering committee of the National Hydrogen Board Ratan Tata said though the technology remained elusive and posed problems, “the challenges are not insurmountable.” India has largest programmes on renewable energy technologies in the world. The total power generating capacity in

the country as of March 2007 was about 1,33,000 MW. Renewable power generating capacity is about 10,252 MW, which contributes 7.75 % of the installed power generating capacity. -

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