India: 'Don’t free fruits, vegetables from APMC ambit' [ Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Refrigerated Trucks ]

Farmers seem to be supporting the government’s decision on not implementing the Union government’s direction on the delinking of some vegetables and fruits from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee’s (APMC) ambit.

The farmers said the State government is right in organising ‘Raitha Angala’ (Farmers’ ground) events, instead of following the Union government’s directive, as they serve as an opportunity to sell their produce directly to customers at retail prices. The APMCs will only collect user fee for the facility, they added.

Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha working president K T Gangadhar said the Union government is planning to amend the APMC Act and this is not favourable to small-time producers and sellers.

“The produces, their weight and prices are all guaranteed at APMCs and secretaries appointed take responsibility. Delinking some vegetables and fruits from APMCs may have a negative impact on the market,” Gangadhar said.

Agreeing with Gangadhar, Organic Farming expert from Kolar K R Hullanachegowda said the State government is right in not delinking as it may result in loss to farmers. “The farmers bring their produces from different places and give them to APMC for a price. Middlemen will come in if intervention happens in this process. The farmers may gain little by selling their produce outside, but they can also be dumped,” he said.

Gangadhar said the idea of delinking some vegetables and fruits from APMCs will only benefit big sellers and ‘malls’.”From the beginning, APMCs have focused on production and the need for better marketing approach was never felt. Instead of amending the APMC act to delink farmers’ produces, the Central government should look at strengthening the Act which will benefit both big, small and marginal farmers,” he added.

Source: newindianexpress.com

Decoding India’s Persistent Food Inflation [ Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's Most Effective Refrigerated Trucks ]

Rising living standards and inefficient agricultural policy are exacerbating India’s food problem.

In its ongoing effort to tame high food inflation in India, the central government recently decided to bring onions and potatoes under the purview of the Essential Commodities Act. The state governments will have to now act by fixing stock limits for these two items and penalising hoarding and black-marketing activities to keep prices in check. Other earlier measures, such as encouraging state governments to delist fruits and vegetables from the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act and fixing minimum export prices for onions and potatoes, were announced as part of the Modi government’s inflation control strategy. While this may bring some temporary relief, it will not tame inflation over the medium or long terms. India’s food economy is directly dependant on domestic production and agricultural output, monsoons, and domestic policies. The wholesale price index (WPI) and consumer price index (CPI) are regularly tracked to gauge the rise of prices in India. While food accounts for one-third of the WPI, its percentage of the CPI is almost 50 percent.Monsoons do have a significant impact on food inflation, but can’t solely be blamed for the persistent food inflation problem in India.

Food inflation averaged 3.8 percent year on year in the eight-year period from 2000 to 2008. However, in the five years following the financial crisis it rose substantially, averaging 10.3 percent year on year and has remained at these levels despite slow GDP growth. Persistent food inflation has been a concern for policymakers in India as good monsoons and softer global food prices haven’t had an impact on domestic food prices. For an average Indian household, food still accounts for almost 50 percent of total expenditure. At a broader level, both demand and supply side factors have played a role, however policy implications may vary depending on different drivers of inflation for various subcomponents of the food basket.

A closer look at the WPI food subcomponents and disaggregated data reveals that inflation has been broad-based across subcategories, affecting cereals, milk, eggs, fruits and vegetables, meat, pulses, edible oils, and other items. However, prices of protein items, fruits and vegetables have risen more than cereal prices. According to the Institute of Economic Growth, a 1 percent increase in per capita income leads to a 0.05 percent decline in demand for cereals and a 0.2 percent drop in demand for pulses. These goods are generally referred to as “inferior goods” in economic theory. For all other “normal goods,” however, consumption increases as per capita income rises. Thus a 1 percent increase in per capita income would increase the per capita consumption of vegetables, fruits, and milk by between 0.5 and 0.6 percent. Consequently, rising per capita incomes in India have led to diversification of the Indian diet towards high-value products such as milk, meat, and eggs, leading to “protein inflation.” The National Sample Survey Organization’s (NSSO) household consumption expenditure survey indicates that the share of protein-rich items in overall food consumption has increased from 27.1 percent in 2004-05 to 32.5 percent in 2011-12 in rural areas. In urban areas the share rose from 29.9 percent to 33.0 percent during the same period. Demand-pull inflation thus plays an important role in the case of high value-added items like fruits, vegetables, and dairy products.

On the supply side, agriculture wages account for almost 40 percent of the total cost of production. Since 2007, nominal rural wage growth has far outpaced overall inflation, resulting in higher real rural wages. Nominal wages increased 17.3 percent after 2008, compared to 6.2 percent in the period prior to it. The Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MNREGS), which offers one hundred days of guaranteed wage employment in a financial year to rural workers, has increased the bargaining power of laborers by setting a floor for rural wages. The government’s Commission for Agriculture Costs and Prices (CACP) estimates that a 1 percent rise in wage inflation translates into a 0.3 percent rise in food inflation. At the same time, persistent food inflation itself results in higher wage inflation, thereby creating a strong wage-price spiral in the agricultural sector. But higher rural wages have not been accompanied by productivity gains in the farm sector, further fueling inflation. Thus the solution is to move toward mechanization and better farm technology in order to improve labor productivity in line with higher rural wages.

Besides wages, other input costs have also risen substantially post 2008. The past five years have seen significant year-on-year increases in the price of key agriculture inputs like fertilizers (8 percent), fodder (20 percent), diesel (8 percent), electricity (8.7 percent), and tractors (5.4 percent). Moreover, India’s food price policy has the dual objective of providing minimum support prices (MSP) for the benefit of farmers, and subsidization of prices for the poor through a public distribution system (PDS). Currently MSP apply to 25 crops, which account for 30 percent of the WPI food basket. This is to incentivize farmers to produce some essential cereals. An increase in agricultural input costs post 2007-08 has resulted in higher support prices of cereals as MSP calculation follow a cost-plus approach.

This has had a double impact. Not only does it lead to higher food prices directly, it also increases the burden of the food, fuel and fertilizer subsidy bill on the government. This translates into a higher fiscal deficit which further increases prices. Thus monetary policy alone is not sufficient to tackle inflation, and an emphasis on better fiscal management is needed.

Lastly, India’s food supply chain is also fraught with inefficiencies, which result in artificial inflation. Malpractice and the monopoly of intermediaries under the APMC Act (under which farmers cannot sell produce direct to retailers) results in much higher margins (around 65 percent) over and above the primary producer’s price. Moreover, wastage due to underdeveloped agriculture infrastructure (lack of cold chains, transport facilities) is around 25 percent while an inefficient PDS has a leakage of around 40 percent.

Thus the key drivers of inflation may vary across different food categories. For example India imports most of its edible oil and pulses, hence domestic prices of these commodities respond quickly to global prices. Domestic policies like MSP, stocking decisions, and public distribution play an important role in the price of cereals like wheat and rice. Broken supply chains, inefficient marketing infrastructure, and malpractice inflate the prices of fruits and vegetables. A food supply shock is generally temporary but it does lead to a sustained increase in food inflation if not tackled effectively through monetary and fiscal policy. Thus a multi-pronged strategy involving better fiscal management, a tight monetary policy, efficient supply chains, and improvements in productivity is the cure for the high food inflation problem in India.

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India's organic farming industry to grow to Rs 10,000 cr by 2015 : Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration - India's most Effective Cold Plate Refrigerated Trucks

NEW DELHI (Commodity Online): With a steady annual growth of 40% on rising population, higher disposable incomes and rising health consciousness, India's organic farming industry is set to grow to Rs 10,000 cr, according to Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM). Presently, Indian organic farming market is estimated at Rs 2,500 cr.

Currently India has about 4.5 million hectares area under certified organic farms and the number is growing fast.

Private players including corporates irrespective of their market size are performing varied roles of producers, consolidators, processors, retailers and certification agents and employing innovative business models to succeed in this behalf, highlights an ASSOCHAM study on “Organic Products-The Way Ahead”.

“Private sector with facilitation from the government has played a pivotal role in driving organic movement in the country,” said Mr D S Rawat, secretary general of The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM).

Organic farming can create millions of jobs in the agri sector as it can spur over 30 per cent of employment per hectare as against non-organic farming and this ratio can further increase if on-farm processing, value addition, packaging and direct marketing are considered, says an independent research of ASSOCHAM.

The global organic market currently stands at around 65 billion dollars and is growing at a robust annual rate of over 5 billion dollars.

Certified organic products including all varieties of food products namely basmati rice, pulses, honey, tea, spices, coffee, oil seeds, fruits, processed food, cereals, herbal medicines and their value added products are produced in India. Apart from edible sector organic cotton fiber, garments, cosmetics, functional food products, body care products etc. are also produced.

Although, organic farming is picking up pace in India but the sector has been jostling with lack of awareness, knowledge and confidence about organic farming, food products among both farmers and consumers.

ASSOCHAM suggests the government to promote training programs for farmers, producers and certification programs for agencies to enhance awareness about organic farming, food products and their health benefits.

Research and development is another significant area which requires serious attention and the same can be addressed by setting up research institutions aimed at improving different aspects of organic production across India, points out the study.

“Considering the questions being raised on quality of Chinese organic products, more emphasis must be laid on maintaining quality control while promoting exports of domestically produced organic products,” added Mr Rawat.

Besides, there is limited expertise in marketing of organic products and the chamber suggests that government should engage non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to establish close linkages with farmers and promote organic farming by providing training, extension services information and marketing services to farming communities.

Only educated and health conscious urban lot consumes organic food produced in the country as there is a price difference of about 30 per cent between organic and non-organic food.

ASSOCHAM has urged the ministry of agriculture to spread awareness about the benefits of organic farming to small farmers and bring down the certification costs for further growth and development of organic sector in the country.

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Fruit prices to rise due to Maharashtra rains; Veg prices to be stable [ Transfreez mobile refrigeration - India's most effective Cold Plate Reefers ]

Due to unseasonable rains and hailstorms in certain parts of Maharashtra, the prices of fruits would rise by 20 to 30 per cent, but those of vegetables would remain stable until June 2014.

Crops have got damaged in parts of the state, and that is the reason farmers are not able to supply their produce in the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) market in Navi Mumbai.

The worst-hit fruit include grapes, oranges and pomegranate. Over the next fifteen days, consumers could expect a rise in their wholesale and retail prices.

Sanjay Pansare, director, fruit market, APMC, informed FnB News the impact was already being felt on the fruit, whose prices have risen by 10%, and would increase by 20-30% fortnightly.

“On account of these unseasonal rains and hailstorms, grapes, bananas, pomegranate, oranges and other fruit have been affected adversely,” he added.

“Crops spread over hectares of land has been damaged. Traders are expecting the prices of most fruit to rise by at least 30%, but the exact prices would be known in the next 10 days,” Pansare said.

“As summer is around the corner, people crave fruit. But with the increase in the fruit prices, the common man will be a disappointed for the common man,” he added.

“Kesar mangoes would be badly affected. During the peak season, ten tonne kesar mangoes enter the APMC market from places like Latur and Aurangabad,” Pansare informed.

“Most of the damage was done by the hailstorm well before the ripe crop was ready to be plucked,” he added.

Sanjay Karande, trader, vegetable market, APMC, said, “Hailstorms and unseasonable rains in parts of Maharashtra have affected many crops.”

“However, only fruit would be affected badly, because vegetables are not grown in large quantities in the affected areas,” he added.

“The prices of vegetable prices would remain stable, but we expect them to rise in June,” Karande added.


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Source: fnbNews.com

Kochi beats the heat with exotic fruits [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Soaring temperature in the city has seen the demand for fruits go up as citizens look for a way to beat the early onset of summer. The preference this year has veered towards the more exotic and imported variants of fruits, according to shopkeepers, who have lined their shops with grapes from Peru, Fuji apples from Japan, pears from the US, among others.

"There has been a big demand for exotic varieties such as Ecosac grapes, Lucky Boy and Pink Lady apples. People prefer different varieties of fruits, especially imported ones," said Mathew Joseph, accountant, IG International Fruit Dealers. "The Kiwi fruit shipped from New Zealand, Iran and Italy; guavas from Thailand; and even seedless grapes from Chile and the US are the most sought after fruits," he added.

The demand for melons such as Kiran, Zamam, muskmelon and the normal water melons have gone up. At Kadavanthra local market, apples from Washington are available from Rs 150 to Rs 180 per kg. The Kashmir and China apples range between Rs 150 and Rs 170 per kg, while rose and black grapes come in the Rs 25-30 range, and white Angoor at Rs 60 to 70 per kg.

"The apples were imported last month and stored in large freezer containers at Aroor. The fruits are then dispatched to the local market according to the demand. However, Srinagar and Nagercoil oranges are available in plenty at Rs 40 per kg," said K K Saji, fruit vendor.

But local fruit vendors are being upstaged by malls when it comes to business. All fruits are available at hypermarts which sell them at lower rates as they buy them at wholesale price.

"Seasonal fruits are available for 10 to 15% less as they are available in plenty. However, exotic fruits such as dragon fruit, mangosteen, rambutan, rose apple (jambakka), avocados and longan fruit, all from Thailand, are sold at a premium," said Umar Mustafa of Lulu Hypermart. Lulu alone buys eight tonnes of seasonal fruits from different parts of the country.

The local market is, meawhile, witnessing the arrival of mangoes with rates ranging from Rs 80 to Rs 130 a kg. "By April, the rate will come down," said Shihan, fruit merchant, Kadavanthara market.


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Source: Times of India

India 30 percent rise in vegetable, fruit prices expected [Transfreez Mobile Refrigertion-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Traders say that all crops standing in the fields, whether fruits or vegetables, have been damaged by the unseasonable rainfall and hail, and prices could soar in a fortnight.

Traders in the APMC market say that all produce that grows above the ground has been affected, the effect of which will be perceptible in the markets within a fortnight from now. Fewer trucks laden with greens and fruits are expected to be driving into the city.

Vegetable and fruit
Sanjay Pansare, director of the Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) in Vashi, said, “Grapes, bananas and pomegranate production has been hit badly on account of these unseasonable rains and hailstorms. Crops spread over hectares of land have been damaged.

Grapes, Pomegranate and Orange
We are anticipating a 30 per cent hike in prices, but the exact price rise would be gauged in 8-10 days. With summer round the corner, people crave fruits. But if prices increase, it could be a big disappointment for the common man.”

Apple, Watermelon and Sweet Lime
Kesar mangoes are said to have been affected badly. Usually, nine to 10 tonnes of this variety enter the wholesale markets during peak season, from places like Aurangabad and Latur.

The damage was mostly done by the hailstones that fell on the ripe crops, days before they were ready to be plucked. Shankar Pingale, director of the vegetable market, said, “The market receives tomatoes from Latur, cucumber from Solapur and leafy vegetables from Nashik, all of which have been affected by hailstones and untimely rains. The price rise would be understood in about 10 days, if there is a drop in the number of trucks and tempos carrying greens.”

Top traders fear that the quality of produce entering the market will also be affected. Ajit Bhorade, another trader from Vashi APMC, said, “Presently in the wholesale market, tomatoes are being sold at Rs 6 per kg, but with the damaged produce reaching the market, there is sure to be a shortage soon. In wholesale market, the price may go up to Rs 12 per kg. Pune zilla is a huge supplier of fresh greens, and therefore, the hailstones and rains are a cause of concern to everyone.”

Transfreez Mobile Refrigertion-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers

Source: mid-day.com 

Rains spoil veggies, fruits, prices to soar [Transfreez Mobile Refrigeration-India's Most Effective Cold Plate Reefers]

Brace to pay more for vegetables and fruits as the spell of rain and hailstorm last week has hit the supply of major farm produce in the agricultural belt the city sources its stock from. Supplies of essential vegetables such as tomato and onion, besides several fruits have been affected. Traders anticipate prices in the retail market to escalate over the next couple of days.

While wholesale prices of vegetables and fruits have already shot up by 10-20% in the last one week, wholesale market rates may go up by at least 50% in the days ahead. "The rain and the hailstorm have affected crops which grow both above and below the ground. As a result, supply of practically all vegetables and fruits grown locally has been affected. We are expecting rates to go up even further," said Shivlal Bhosale, president of the Market Yard Commission Agents Association.

Heavy rains in the last couple of days in areas like Baramati, Junnar, Ambegaon and Shirur among others have severely damaged crops and the shortage in supply will soon reflect in the market, said Sanjiv Khadke, administrator of the city's Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee. "We are expecting a drop in the quantity of produce reaching the Pune market. With the marriage season also around the corner, buyers will begin to feel the price heat in the next 3-4 days," he said. The wheat crop in the Vidharba belt is also affected, Khadke added.

Bhosale said the entire crop of green leafy vegetables such as spinach, fenugreek and coriander have been spoilt in the rain. Cabbage crops too are at the risk of rotting. "Whatever little produce of these could be saved may now go at throwaway prices, that too if there are any buyers for that quality," he said.

Wholesale prices of onion have already gone up by Rs 2/kg over the last two days, traders said, indicating a further upward movement in the days ahead. "Wholesale prices have been rising steadily since last week. The cloudy weather conditions during November and December were bad for Rabi crop of onion. Rain in the last couple of days has only added to the farmers' misery. With large quantities of the crop being diverted for export and to northern states like Delhi, Haryana and Punjab, the supply of onion available for sale in Pune is down by almost half," said Ritesh Poman, wholesale trader of onion at Market Yard.

Retailers have already begun to increase the prices. "We have no other option but to increase prices. Wholesalers have already hiked their rates, so we can't afford to suffer a loss," said Bhaskar Mhesta, a retailer in Baner.

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