CONTROVERSIAL WHEAT IMPORT + Agri Market Intelligence

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In This NEWS Bulletin ************************************ CONTROVERSIAL WHEAT IMPORT---- 1. Wheat import likely to cost up to $370 a tonne 2. Opinion divided on need to import wheat at high prices AGRI MARKET INTELLIGENCE & DATA----- 3. MCX to start on-line spot trading from Sept 4. Locusts not a likely threat - NCDEX monsoon matrix says good rains in June but expresses apprehenshions for some crops 5. States asked to ensure accuracy of agri data 6. PM warns of severe water shortage in few decades ------------------------------- Wheat import likely to cost up to $370 a tonne http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169172 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday, July 05, 2007 at 0016 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUL 4: India’s attempt to import 1 million tonne of wheat may face further problems as the prices quoted by bidders in response to the recent tender are in the range of $318-370 a tonne, up to 40% higher than the price quoted in bids received earlier. State Trading Corporation of India (STC), the government agency that floated a global tender earlier this year for the import of 1 million

tonne, had cancelled the order since the prices quoted then too were high. Those prices were $267-302 a tonne. Some bidders even offered to reduce the price to $263 a tonne, which was also rejected by the government. Seven bidders are currently in the fray: Cargill, Glencore International AG, Alfred E Toepfer International, Riaz Trading, Concordia, Louis Dreyfus and Agrilink Asia-Pacific (a Singapore-based arm of Concordia). While the government expected prices to soften in June, the ban on wheat exports by the Ukraine, and lower production in the US, Australia and the Black Sea region have ensured a tight supply scenario, pushing up prices. Globally, prices have jumped 20% in the past one month. “The offer to supply 70,000 tonne of wheat by Louis Dreyfus is yet to be accepted as the firm has not supplied the wheat bond as required by the tender,” said an STC official. All seven bidders offered to supply 9.2 lakh tonne (920,000 tonne) in all against the order for one million tonne. Alfred E Toepfer quoted the lowest price at $318 a tonne on C & F basis. It has agreed to supply only 2.5 lakh tonne (250,000 tonne), of which 1.28 lakh (128,000 tonne) would be delivered at Mundra Port in Gujarat and the remaining at other ports. Agrilink Asia-Pacific quoted Rs 12,000 a tonne on ex-godown basis for 10,000 tonne. Cargill bid $224 a tonne on C & F basis for 1.75 lakh tonne (i75,000 tonne) at Mundra port in September-October. Glencore quoted a price range of $ 343-360 a tonne for 2 lakh tonne (200,000 tonne). Concordia bid $333 a tonne for 90,000 tonne at Mundra port and Riaz quoted $329-337.50 a tonne for 1.25 lakh tonne (125,000 tonne). The STC official said global bidders quoted $317.95-$328.95 a tonne for delivery at Mundra port, $328.95-348 a tonne

for delivery at Kandla port, $327.95-370 a tonne for delivery at Chennai port, $322.95-358 a tonne for delivery at Kakinada port and $360-$370 a tonne at Tuticorin port.------ Opinion divided on need to import wheat at high prices http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169257 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Friday, July 06, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUL 5: Economists and farmers differ on the issue of import of wheat for building up of buffer stock in the country. According to some economists, wheat imports at $ 318 to $ 370 a tonne as quoted by bidders in

response to the recent tender floated by the State Trading Corporation of India (STC) would not be much costlier than the price the government is paying for purchasing wheat from farmers in north India and for stocking and transporting it to remote corners of south India. “If we factor in the economic costs including the purchase of wheat at Rs 8500 a tonne and payment of local taxes and transportation to remote corners of non-wheat growing areas of the country, the price we would be paying for imported wheat would not be much costlier,” said PK Joshi, director of National Centre Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NCAP). NCAP is one of the affiliated institutions of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). Joshi further said , “We need to build up our buffer stock of wheat and therefore need to buy wheat from anywhere.” According to the official estimate, wheat production in the current season is about 74 million tonne against a consumption demand of 60 million tonne. Since the beginning of the harvest season in April, this year, the government through its designated agencies could procure only 11.1 million tonne. The buffer norm for wheat for July 1 is 17.1 million tonne. “Even taking into consideration the depreciation of dollar against rupee the import price of $ 370 a tonne would be about Rs 14,800 a tonne,” said the executive chairman of Bharat Krishak Samaj, Krishan Bir Chaudhary. He also said that the government was paying farmers only Rs 8,500 for one tonne of wheat and that the handling, storage and transportation cost of imported wheat would be much higher than that wheat procured from farmers. Government should purchase wheat from farmers by raising the purchase price by at least Rs 2,000 a

tonne. Farmers still have enough stock to replenish the buffer stock, he said. - MCX to start on-line spot trading from Sept http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169112 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday, July 05, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUL 4: The National Spot Exchange Ltd, an arm of the Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX), is slated to launch online trading in seasame seeds, cotton, groundnut and castor seeds by September this year. MCX also plans to start futures trading in electricity, carbon credit, coal, freight index, weather index, real estate index and rain

index after the amendment to the Futures Contracts Regulation Act is passed by both the houses of the Parliament. The MCX managing director and CEO, Jignesh Shah said , “We are a leading exchange in the country and have the confidence for venturing into newer and newer areas. We are waiting for the amendments to the FCRA Act to be passed by the Parliament.” The MCX has also taken the initiative to organise entire spot markets of the country which of the size of Rs 10 lakh core. “Our attempt is to initiate online trading in spot and thereby integrate all the spot markets in the country. The buyers and sellers will, therefore, have an option for price discovery in different parts of the country,” said the managing director and CEO of the National Spot Exchange, Anjani Sinha. According to Sinha, proposed online trading

in four select agri commodities will be launched in September, this year in four places in Gujarat. “We will reflect the prices of these four commodities from four places in Gujarat. The buyer or the seller can contact us online from any part of the country. They will be given receipts online on purchase. They can hold their stocks in our warehouses on payment before they are finally lifted.,” he said The MCX believes that online intregation and trading in spot markets will help price discovery at the base level and also help players in the futures markets. The National Bulk Handling Corporation is cooperating with MCX and acting as collateral managers for issuance of warehousing receipts against which the depositor farmer or trader can avail of loans from select banks. The NBHC has struct deals with 11 select banks in the country for this

purpose. -------- Locusts not a likely threat NCDEX monsoon matrix says good rains in June but expresses apprehenshions for some crops http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169231 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Friday, July 06, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUL 5: The Monsoon Matrix developed by the Mumbai-based National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX) said that due to good rain in June during the sowing stages, most of the crops have received adequate rainfall, though there are some apprehensions about crops

like castor, jowar, groundnut, maize and rice due to lower rainfall in east Madhya Pradesh, east Rajasthan and the Vidarbha region in Maharashtra. The Monsoon Matrix, however, said: “It is too early to talk about the vulnerability of these crops at this stage and the picture will be clearer as the acreage figures as well as the progress of rainfall take place in later weeks.” Meanwhile, with the advent of the monsoon, Union agriculture ministry has said that locust migration from Africa to the Indian sub-continent is not likely to be a threat to India. So far only scattered and localised presence of locust has been reported from Gujarat. No reports of locust spotting have been received from Rajasthan. The union agriculture ministry and the Locust Unit of Directorate of Plant Protection & Quarantine are in constant touch with the state governments of Gujarat, Rajasthan and

Punjab, an official press release said. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) had issued a locust warning on June 27 stating that locust swarms were seen in the North-Eastern Somalia and the swarms could arrive in Pakistan and Rajasthan in the next 7 to 10 days. On receiving this high alert from FAO, the Union government advised the state governments to keep constant vigil and to keep themselves prepared to combat any locust infestation. The field units of Locust Warning Organisation of India (LHO) located in Gujarat and Rajasthan, and the State Governments have been alerted and instructed to intensify the survey to detect any locust movement in the coastal areas of Gujarat and the scheduled desert areas of Rajasthan. Considering the probability of landing in Gujarat, the district collectors of Kutch, Rajkot, Jamnagar and other district authorities have been alerted.

Control rooms have been set up at the office of district collector, Bhuj and at LWO, Bhuj. The BSF authorities have also been alerted.----- States asked to ensure accuracy of agri data http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169236 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online : Friday, June 06, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUL 5: The Centre has urged the state governments to ensure accuracy and timeliness in compilation of agricultural data. Inaugurating the national workshop on improvement of agricultural statistics, the union agriculture secretary, PK Mishra emphasised that agricultural statistics play a crucial

role in taking policy decisions ranging from export and import of farm commodities, pricing decisions, crop diversification, payment of drought relief and settling insurance claims. It was, therefore, necessary that data is collected efficiently at village, block and district levels, speedily compiled and validated with other sources of data, he said. He exhorted the participants, which include economic and statistical experts, officers from various central ministries/organisations and state representatives, to address issues relating to accuracy and consistency in estimation of crop area, yield and production. States must bring their statistical departments to the mainstream of agricultural planning and put systems in place for timely collection of estimates and checking them with data generated by department of space, the Meteorological Department, NSSO, trade sources and other agencies, Mishra advised. Mishra highlighted some major areas that need special attention. For example, he said, we do not have reliable and exhaustive database on horticultural crops. A strong statistical base was needed to monitor the progress of various schemes initiated in the recent years to give impetus to this sector, he said. The impact of the latest developments in agriculture also needs to be captured properly so as to make correct inferences for policy decisions. The land-use data needs to be frequently updated to make it useful. Agriculture Census was another area that needs to be paid special attention, Mishra said. At present it takes 8-10 years to release data of Agriculture Census, which makes the data stale for taking decisions. Ideally, the Agriculture Census should be out within one year of capturing field data, he said. Wide variations observed in crop production estimates

provided by different agencies was another major area of concern, Mishra said and asked the participants to evolve a system for cross-checking and validation of data at different levels.------- PM warns of severe water shortage in few decades http://www.financialexpress.com/fe_full_story.php?content_id=169154 ASHOK B SHARMA Posted online: Thursday, July 05, 2007 at 0000 hours IST NEW DELHI, JUL 4 : Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday warned of severe water shortage in the country in the next few decades and urged for collective action by the government, citizens and the NGOs to conserve this

valuable resource. Inaugurating a two-day national conference on rural water supply and sanitation in the Capital he said: ‘‘Our planet will encounter in the next few decades severe shortages of water if we are not careful in conserving and preserving precious water resources of our country.’’ On the occasion, the prime minister also released documents on ‘‘Bringing Sustainability in Drinking Water Schemes in Rural India’’ and ‘‘sanitation for all’’. He urged both the central and state governments and village local bodies to create a framework for collective action with non-governmental agencies and civil society at large for conserving water. ‘‘If environment provides the backward linkage for drinking water, its forward linkage is with health,’’ he said. He urged particularly the department of drinking water in the

Union ministry for rural development to take proactive action to sensitise the community on safe water and its use. He said that quite often water borne diseases occur even in those habitations where safe water was provided. He said that though there has been considerable progress in providing safe water to habitations since the launching of the Accelerated Rural Water Supply Programme in 1972, the number of ‘‘slipped-back’’ habitations increased each year on account of failure of sources. He said the Technology Mission on Drinking Water and Related Water Management, started by late Rajiv Gandhi in 1987, underscored the importance of comprehensive water management for sustainability of sources. ‘‘Unfortunately, in the course of implementation, it became largely an engineering enterprise of drilling tube wells and the water management aspect was either relegated to background or

forgotten,’’ the prime minister said. Institutional arrangements at the state level such as ‘‘Source Finding Committees’’ have remained ‘dysfunctional’, he said adding these must be revived and the advanced scientific expertise available now should be fully utilised for this purpose.----------------------------- Send free SMS to your Friends on Mobile from your Messenger. Download Now! http://messenger./download.php