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Date : 28.09.2013

Ensuring a need-based support system for farmers

COIMBATORE

30 farmers from across the state presented their views

Documenting feedback:Agriculture Minister S. Damodaran releasing a booklet at a Farmers' Conference held at

Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, on Friday. Sandeep Saxena, Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary to Tamil Nadu Government (right), and K. Ramasamy, Vice-Chancellor of TNAU (left) are also

seen..—PHOTO S.SIVA SARAVANAN

Heeding the call of the State Government to provide need-based support to farmers, Tamil

Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) held a Farmers’ Conference, here on Friday, to collect

inputs from stakeholders. The conference, which went on non-stop for six hours, was chaired by

Agriculture Minister S. Damodaran.

The event, where 30 farmers from as many districts, presented their views, was a culmination of

a month long exercise that started with obtaining feedback at the Panchayat Union, Taluk and

district-levels, the media, and political parties. Commissioners and Directors of six allied

departments were also present to hear what the farmers had to say.

According to Vice-Chancellor of TNAU K. Ramasamy, this is the first step in the Government’s

plan to transform agriculture in the State that would lead to increasing the production twofold

and the farmer income threefold.

That the exercise was a serious effort was seen from the fact that the output received so far was

released in the form of a booklet and distributed to the 500-odd farmers who participated in the

conference on Friday.

Mr. Damodaran said that this first-of-a kind initiative was to formulate schemes and measures

for farmers based on their need. This would be in keeping with the Chief Minister’s policy that

“people are not for schemes, but schemes are for people.”

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“All the suggestions are good and acceptable so much so that nothing can be rejected. Farmers

have gone into much detail to come up with these and it will go a long way in transforming

agriculture. We will try to implement these suggestions as soon as possible,” he said.

Suggestions pertaining to other departments such as Revenue and Public Works will also be

represented to the respective ministers and officials,” he added.

Latest Technologies

He urged farmers to adopt the latest technology and equipment, developed by TNAU, to make

agriculture profitable.

Sandeep Saxena, Agricultural Production Commissioner and Secretary to Government, Tamil

Nadu, the outcome of the exercise was to make the ‘Vision Tamil Nadu 2023’ a reality by

ensuring “food security to food surplus and smile on the face of the farmer.”

“The focus is also to increase the use of equipment by the farmer with the help of the

Department of Agricultural Engineering. This was to address the problem of labour shortage.

This will be done based on a census that will ascertain the need and supply.

Individual farmers have a limitation in bargaining. This can be overcome by creating Farmer-

Producer Companies that will bargain, decide the price, and market the produce,” the

Commissioner said.M. Rajendran, Director of Agriculture, and Satyabrata Sahoo, Commissioner

of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, were present besides others.

The inputs received on Friday would be sorted and classified under different headings and

consolidated with the inputs received so far before submitting a final draft to the Agriculture

Minister, Mr. Ramasamy said.

Unutilised subsidy of Rs. 41 lakh surrendered to Govt., say farmers

KRISHNAGIRI

‘Officials are providing “wrong information” at the grievances meeting’

K. M. Ramagoundar, general secretary, Tamizhaga Vivasayigal Sangam, raising a point at the monthly grievances

day meeting held at the Collectorate in Krishnagiri on Friday.— Photo: N. Bashkaran

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A total of Rs. 41 lakh subsidy received from the government for 2011-12 was unutilised and

surrendered by the Department of Agricultural Engineering, said farmers at the monthly

agricultural grievances day meeting held at the Collectorate on Friday.

Raising a point at the meeting, K.M. Ramagoundar, general secretary, Tamizhaga Vivsayigal

Sangam, claimed that officials were providing “wrong information” at the meeting.

Replying to this charge, an official from Agricultural Engineering said that Rs. 41-lakh received

for the financial year 2011-12 was surrendered to the government and not during the financial

year 2012-13.

Some farmers complained that they were not getting tractors for farming activities on rent from

the Agricultural Engineering Department.

Collector T.P. Rajesh promised that this would not happen in future, for the administration would

take efforts to appoint a driver on consolidated basis, exclusively for operating tractors for

farming activities in Krishnagiri Sub Division.

Chennaiya Naidu from Mindigiri village alleged that a village panchayat vice-president had

encroached on a crematorium and was exploiting the local people.

The offices of the Divisional Engineer, State Highways, BDO Office, Bargur and Chief

Educational Officer, Commissioner, Hosur Municipality, and Regional Transport Officer, Hosur,

had failed to reply to the demands raised by the farmers during the last grievances meeting.

The Office of the Deputy Director, Department of Health, had failed to reply to the demands of

the farmers continuously for four months, it was stated at the meeting.

Collector T.P. Rajesh announced that from next meeting onwards, the Project Director of District

Rural Development Agency (DRDA) and Executive Engineer from Rural Development

Department would participate in the grievances meeting, as it would help redress the grievances

of the farmers.

P. Balasubramaniam, District Revenue Officer, and C. Sumathy, Personal Assistant to Collector

(Agriulture) among others participated in the meeting.

Nagapattinam farmers want turn system scrapped

NAGAPATTINAM

There was unanimous demand for shelving the turn system and for immediate release of water

to save the crops here at the farmers’ grievance meeting on Friday.

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Inadequate water after the initial spate in early August has left farmers high and dry with crops

facing the threat of water shortage. Farmers from Mayiladuthurai and Nagapattinam — both

standing to lose out to the other under the turn system for Cauvery and Vennar divisions —

alternatively called for shelving the turn system to ensure water supply. On the sidelines, there

was a proposal to implement the turn system from Mettur onwards to ensure judicious use of

water.

According to Alexander, tail-end farmers’ association, the outstanding of Rs. 26 crore dues from

NPKRR Cooperative Sugar Mill was yet to be paid to cane growers. This had been under

agitation for long and the sugar mill should be pressed upon to make the payment, he said.

Speaking for the Tamil Nadu Vivasayigal Sangam, V. Subramaniam alleged that there were

several farmers’ associations registered and siphoning government benefits without the

knowledge of famers of the area concerned. A demand was made to bring such associations

under the scanner.

According to Mujib Shareif of Vettaikaraniruppu, in view of the copra cultivation in

Naaluvedhapathi, a copra procurement centre should be set up in the area. Alleging that

misappropriation of funds meant for 2012-13 drought relief, Mr. Shareif called for action against

the VAOs of Nagakudayan and Pradhanaramapuram villages here.

The meeting had its own share of drama, when some farmers objected to the selection of a few

farmers for a TNAU-based training programme. Giridaran, Joint Secretary of Tamil Nadu

Vivasayigal Sangam, wondered on what basis the farmers were chosen for the programmes or

felicitation.

Mayiladuthurai, Nagapattinam farmers worried about water scarcity

Arrears from NKPKRR sugar mill rocks the grievance meeting

Water level

The water level in Pechipparai dam stood at 24.25 feet, 62.40 feet in Perunchani, 9.38 feet in

Chittar I, 9.48 feet in Chittar II and 33.63 feet in Mambazathuraiyaru dam.

Egg rate

The National Egg Coordination Committee egg rate was Rs. 3.15 on Friday.

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Weather

ANDHRA PRADESH Anantapur 35 22 0 434

Arogyavaram 32 20 1 465

Bapatla 36 26 0 773

Calingapatnam 34 25 0 416

Gannavaram 35 27 tr 664

Hanamkonda 34 23 24 960

Hyderabad AP 32 24 0 681

Kakinada 35 27 0 463

Khammam 34 24 7 —

Kavali 34 25 0 433

Kurnool 34 23 0 565

Mahabubnagar 31 23 1 821

Machilipatnam 36 27 2 510

Nandyal 34 25 0 355

Narasapur 35 27 14 805

Nellore 35 27 0 531

Nizamabad 34 24 tr 1112

Ongole 36 24 0 460

Ramagundam 35 24 0 1109

Tirupathi AP 35 26 0 473

Tuni 36 26 0 529

Vizag AP 36 26 12 383

Vizag 33 25 4 435

KARNATAKA

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Agumbe 27 17 2 7802

Bengaluru AP 30 19 0 661

Bengaluru 30 20 0 764

Belgaum AP 28 18 0 751

Bellary 35 21 0 —

Bijapur 31 20 0 561

Chitradurga 30 19 0 359

Chickmagalur 26 16 1 592

Chintamani 31 19 5 358

Gadag 30 21 2 339

Gulbarga 33 22 0 617

Hassan 30 21 0 766

Honavar 30 23 0 3617

Karwar 29 25 29 2950

Madikeri 23 19 0 3931

Mangalore AP 31 23 0 3479

Mysore 31 19 0 255

Mandya 31 19 0 316

Panambur 31 24 0 3198

Raichur 32 21 1 489

Shirali 30 25 0 3941

KERALA Alappuzha 31 25 0 2271

Kannur 33 24 0 3489

Kochi AP 32 23 0 2505

Kottayam 34 23 0 2329

Kozhikode 33 24 0 2492

Punalur 33 22 0 1735

Thiruvanantha

-puram AP 31 25 0 1075

Thiruvanantha

-puram City 33 24 0 1066

Vellanikkara 33 22 0 2645

TAMIL NADU Adiramapattinam 33 28 0 205

Chennai 34 27 2 613

Chennai AP 34 25 2 649

Coimbatore AP 33 22 0 73

Coonoor 24 13 0 345

Cuddalore 34 26 0 553

Dharmapuri 34 21 0 323

Kanyakumari 31 24 0 247

Karaikal 34 27 0 384

Kodaikanal 19 11 0 521

Madurai AP 37 27 0 247

Nagapattinam 34 26 0 403

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Palayamkottai 39 27 0 79

Pamban 32 27 0 9

Parangipettai 35 27 0 407

Puducherry 33 27 tr 681

Salem 35 23 0 575

Thanjavur 35 27 0 299

Tiruchi AP 37 25 0 222

Tirupattur 33 20 0 —

Tiruttani 35 23 26 —

Tondi 32 27 2 166

Tuticorin 33 26 0 8

Ooty 21 9 0 483

Valparai 27 14 0 3984

Vellore 36 24 13 632

LAKSHADWEEP Amini Divi 32 27 1 971

Minicoy 31 26 tr 1158

Kavarathi — — — —

OTHER STATIONS Kolkata (Alipore) 34 26 0 1676

Mumbai 29 25 9 2316

New Delhi 34 24 tr 847

The columns show maximum and minimum temperature in Celsius, rainfall during last 24 hours (trace)

and total rainfall in mm since June 01, 2013.

RAIN LIKELY IN COASTAL A.P.

CHENNAI: Isolated rainfall occurred over Tamil Nadu, Coastal Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and

Karnataka. Mainly dry weather prevailed over Rayalaseema, Kerala and Lakshadweep.

The chief amounts of rainfall recorded in centimetres are:

TAMILNADU: Tindivanam (Villupuram Dist) 5, Tiruttani (Tiruvallur Dist), Mettupatti (Madurai

Dist), Arani (Tiruvannamalai Dist) 3 each, Kancheepuram (Kancheepuram Dist), Chittampatti

(Madurai Dist), Tiruvannamalai (Tiruvannamalai Dist), Polur (Tiruvannamalai Dist), Madurai

south (Madurai Dist), Kalavai AWS (Vellore Dist), Mylam AWS (Villupuram Dist) 2 each.

ANDHRA PRADESH: Warangal(a) (dist Warangal) and Adilabad (dist Adilabad) 3 each,

Hanamkonda (dist Warangal) and Narayan Khed (dist Medak) 2 each and Narsapuram (dist

West Godavari) 1.

KARNATAKA: Karwar 3, Haliyal (Uttara Kannada dt) 2 and Ankola (Uttara Kannada dt) 1.

KERALA: Nil.

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FORECAST (Valid until Sunday Morning): Rain or thundershower would occur at a few places

over coastal A.P., north coastal Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Isolated rain or thundershower

may occur over rest T.N., Karnataka, Telangana, Rayalaseema, Kerala and Lakshadweep.

Apples and oranges are now within your reach

TIRUCHI

HOT PICK:A vendor selling fruits along the Tiruchi-Dindigul road, in Tiruchi.— Photo: A.Muralitharan

A group of youths in the city have taken up a festival-based vocation to earn some profit. With

Navarathiri festival round the corner, they have set up the makeshift stalls at various

thoroughfares in the city to sell fruits like apple, orange and grapes. They source fruits from

Bangalore by truck and complete their sale in the same day.

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“We select places where trees are available, as we have to ensure freshness of fruits,” says R.

Avinash, who has set up his stall on the Dindigul Road. We fix the sale price in such a manner

that the prices are relatives cheaper than the market rate. Bring a seasonal business, we don’t

spend on building rent, he added.

The price per kg is about Rs. 10 less than the rates at the fruit market, he says, and preferred

by the customers. Many of us had been in the business for more than four years and we know

the taste of the people. The youths are confident of marketing their fruits by giving a sample

piece of fruits even before making a bargain. “We have to adopt a few business principles to

attract a customer; once they purchase fruits, they turn to be regular visitor,” Mr. Avinash said.

They ensure that they don’t hinder vehicular movement. “We identity our spot so that the vehicle

riders have space for parking their two-wheeler or cars,” he said.

Mettur level

TIRUCHI

The water level in the Mettur dam stood at 104.56 feet on Friday against its full reservoir level of

120 feet. The inflow was 4,404 cusecs and the discharge, 22,008 cusecs.

Credit flow improves in agriculture sector

TIRUPUR

With agriculture activities slowly setting in following the recent rains and release of water from

the dams, the credit flow in the agriculture and allied activities sectors have started picking up in

Tirupur district in the ongoing second quarter of the current financial year.

The recently released figures for the first quarter of the fiscal indicated that the lending to

agriculture and allied activities was not encouraging in the district as it fell short of the

‘proportional Annual Credit Plan (ACP)’ targets set for the first quarter by Rs 169.86 crore.

“From the feedbacks/projections received from the banks, we expect to overcome the shortfalls

recorded in the first quarter and meet the cumulative targets for the first half of the current

financial year (ie first and second quarter achievements together),” Lead District Manager V.

Ganesan told The Hindu .

The District Consultative Committee for Banking Development sources said it was envisaged to

disburse a total of Rs. 1,203 crore as credit to agriculture and allied activities during the first half

of the current fiscal (ie between April 1 and September 30).

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Sources added that specific instructions had once again been issued to the banks in the recent

days asking them to step up the lending of crop loans in the remaining few days as per the

scale of finance fixed for the kharif season, for surpassing the targets.

With garment exports from Tirupur slightly getting better, the Lead Bank officials had projected

an improvement in the lending to MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) sector also in

the district.

The MSME lending targets for the first half of the current financial year was pegged at Rs. 2,009

crore.Mr. Ganesan said that overall buoyancy in the credit disbursement to agriculture and

MSME sectors was vital for the overall increase in the priority sector lending in the district.

“During the first quarter, the overall priority sector lending that covers agriculture, MSME,

housing, education and few other activities, fell short of the proportional target by 18 per cent

mainly because of the huge deficits in the advances to the agriculture and MSME alone,” he

added.

Farmers urged to insure crop before December 31

TIRUVARUR

District Collector S. Natarajan has appealed to farmers of the district who have raised samba

and thaladi crops to insure their crops before December 31, 2013, by paying their premium

amount.

In a release issued here on Friday, the Collector said that the farmers could get Rs. 12,944 an

acre as insurance amount.

For this, they had to pay a premium of 2 per cent (Rs. 258). Borrower farmers, both small and

marginal, have to pay only 50 per cent of this premium amount and the State government would

pay the remaining 50 per cent. For the non-borrower small and marginal farmers, the State

government would pay 55 per cent of the premium.

Automatic coverage

They could do it in the Primary Agriculture Co-operative Credit Societies. The borrower farmers

would be covered automatically under crop insurance by the banks.

Those who want to get 150 per cent insurance cover, that is additional Rs. 11,328, had to pay a

premium of Rs. 1,812 additionally. In this amount, 55 per cent would be borne by the

government and farmers had to pay only Rs. 906. The Collector appealed to farmers in the

district to insure their crops.

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Agricultural scientists examine cotton crop in Davangere

DAVANGERE

A three-member group of scientists from the agricultural university in Dharwad visited fields at

many places, including Anegod, Kandanakovi, villages and examined the cotton crop grown

there.

The expert team collected samples of cotton plants and said they would clinically examine it at

the university and send a report to the Davangere district administration within seven days from

today.

Cotton growers had staged agitations recently saying that there was no boll (fruit) formation in

the cotton plants. In the wake of protests, the district administration had appealed to the farm

university to send an expert team to Davangere.

Cotton growing farmers in Anegod insisted that the team disclose the reason for failure of

formation of boll in the cotton plants.

However, the scientists said they would only be able to come to a conclusion after clinical

observation.

At one stage, the farmers raised slogans against the scientists and officials of the district

administration and stopped the team from proceeding to other fields. However, the tahasildar of

Davangere, Manjunath Bellary, appealed to the farmers to allow the team to visit other fields

and examine the plants.

Cotton is grown on 24,253 hectares in Davangere district and there was no boll formation on

over 21,000 ha. The farmers alleged that the seed company had supplied substandard seeds

because of which the farmers had sustained huge losses.

They had demanded the district administration to direct the seed company to compensate the

losses.

Supplyco to procure 75,000 tonnes of paddy

PALAKKAD

23 mills in Palakkad authorised to buy paddy from farmers

The Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) will procure a minimum 75,000 tonnes

of paddy from Palakkad in the current first crop harvest as against 65,308 tonnes in the last

second crop season.

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Arumugha Prasad, paddy marketing officer of Supplyco, said here on Friday that 27,194

farmers had registered their names with the corporation to supply paddy as against 19,257

farmers in the last season.

He said Supplyco would procure the entire paddy, and exceed its target in view of the bumper

crop owing to good monsoon rain.

Paddy will be procured at Rs.18 a kg., Re.1 more than that in the last second crop of paddy

season. Paddy procurement had started last week. Already 1,060 tonnes had been procured.

The major share was procured from Alathur and Chittur taluks.

Twelve private rice mills in Palakkad taluk and 11 mills in other taluks in the district had been

authorised to buy paddy from farmers at the government fixed procurement price of Rs.18 a kg.

Sixty-eight per cent of the total procurement by private rice mills would be converted as rice and

supplied to Supplyco, Mr. Prasad said.

He said 11 out of the 12 officers allotted from the Agriculture Department for the procurement

scheme had joined duty on Thursday.

Paddy will be procured at

Rs.18 a kg

27,194 farmers register names with corporation

Banana plantations facing pest attack

THRISSUR

(Above) Gangara thyrsis; (left) Infected banana leaves.— Photos: By special arrangement

The infestation of Gangara thyrsis, a pest, has been reported in banana plantations in the

district.

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Gangara thyrsis, also known as the Giant Redeye, is a butterfly belonging to the family

Hesperiidae. It breeds on a number of palm species.

Scientists with the Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) said the caterpillars of Gangara thyrsis

had been seen feeding extensively on banana leaves in plantations in Thrissur and Palakkad

districts.

Gangara thyrsis is usually seen in coconut fields. Scientists said the butterfly did not usually

multiply in large numbers and cause considerable damage. But it is seen now in large numbers

in banana plantations. The infestation is pronounced with big caterpillars eating away four to five

young leaves of each plant. They then pupate inside the leaf fold. The larva is greyish-white with

a few light brownish dorsal spots. The male and female adults are dark chocolate-brown each

with a fore-wing consisting of bright yellow semi-transparent four sided spots.

A.M. Ranjith, Professor of Entomology and Head of the KAU’s Communication Centre, said the

pupae died rapidly in the laboratory. “Farmers should be alert towards possible pest infestation

in varieties such as poovan, njalipoovan and palayamkodan. The larvae have to be picked and

destroyed. If the pest infestation is heavy, farmers may spray a chemical such as dichlorvos

(one ml per litre) on the plants,” he said.

A dream come true for farmers

NALGONDA

MP Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy inaugurates66-km Pillaipalli canal

The long-cherished dream of villagers of Choutuppal, Ramannapet, Chityal and Pochampally

materialised with the inauguration of Pillaipalli canal, a 66 km canal from Musi river, to provide

water to minor irrigation tanks in these four mandals.

Dedicated to people

Bhuvanagiri, MP, Komatireddy Rajagopal Reddy dedicated the canal to people of these villages

by releasing water into canal at Bheemanapalli village in Pochampalli mandal here on Friday.

The then Minor Irrigation Minister Satrucharla Vijayaramaraju had laid foundation stone for the

66-km canal in 2006. The canal was divided in to five bids and the works began in 2007. So far,

four of the five bids, each with 13 km distance, had been completed.

The Rs 23.5 crore project took seven years to complete. The five-metre wide and 1.5-metre

deep canal will help provide irrigation water to about 8,000 acres through various minor

irrigation tanks in the four mandals. The canal was connected to a check dam constructed

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across the Musi river near Bandaravirala village. Called Pillapalli canal, it was earlier laid to

supply water to Pochampally mandal headquarters via Pillaipalli, Julur, Alli Nagar and

Mukthapuram. From Pochampally, they had dug the 66 km canal to supply 105 cusecs of water

to these four mandals.

Villages under Pochampalli mandal (Narayanagiri, Jagathpalli, Bheemanapalli, Vankamamidi,

Dharmareddypalli), in Choutuppal mandal (Chinnakondur, Peddakondur, Kuntlagudem, Talla

Singaram, Lingojigudem, S.Lingotam, Jaikesaram, Choutuppal and Panthangi) and in Chityal

mandal (Gundrampalli, Veliminedu, Perepalli, Peddakaparthi, Chinnakaparthi and Urmadla) and

in Ramannapet mandal (Yellanki, Siripuram, Ramnnapet) will benefit by the canal.

The Rs. 23.5-crore project takes seven years to complete

Canal connected to a check dam constructed across Musi river

Sanction loans to aquaculture farmers: Collector

NALGONDA

District Collector T. Chiranjeevulu has asked the bankers to sanction loans to aquaculture

farmers liberally to encourage the aquaculture in the district.

Reviewing the status of lending in the district for this kharif season with the bankers here on

Friday, Mr. Chiranjeevulu said the conditions in the district are more suitable for aquaculture and

farmers can earn up to Rs. 2 lakh profit per annum by practising the same.

He congratulated the district bankers for lending Rs. 1,012 crore to the farmers this khrarif

season against the target of Rs. 1,011 crore, which has benefited about 2 lakh farmers. The

Collector asked the extension officers, agriculture officials and ‘Adarsha Rythus’ from the

respective villages to co-operate with the banks in recovery of loans. Explaining about the

efforts of the district administration in extending support to tenant farmers, he said about 800

tenant farmers have been given loans worth Rs. 1.6 crore this kharif season.

Deficit rainfall hits farmers hard

19 mandals in Viziangaram revenue division severely affected, says Agriculture Joint Director

With protests for Samaikyandhra going on unabated by all sections of people, including

agriculture officials, farmers are left to fend for themselves.

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Though there is no rainfall data collected so far due to the strike, the rainfall deficit would be

over 20 per cent if drought conditions staring in the eyes of farmers in all the 19 mandals in

Vizianagaram revenue division are any indication.

Danana Satyam of Karimella village in Poosapatirega mandal, who has raised paddy in two

acres of land with money borrowed from lenders, could not transplant the crop due to deficit

rainfall. The nursery is 40 days old and cannot be transplanted now. He has left it in the field in

anticipation that occasional drizzle would reap at least four or five bags of paddy.

Another farmer Sanyasi has raised the crop in one-acre land and completed transplantation as it

would help get fodder for his cattle.

Of the 1.20 lakh hectares of normal area of paddy, crop has been raised in 80,127 ha (44,000

ha under assured irrigation sources in Parvathipuram division).

Transplantation in this division is over in 95 per cent of the crop area. Farmers are now looking

for alternative ID crops, but there is no one to guide them.

Joint Director (Agriculture) Leelavati told The Hindu on Friday that 19 mandals in Vizianagaram

revenue division, where the crop area covered was only 50 per cent due to deficit rainfall, were

severely affected.

The condition is no different in Komarada mandal in Parvathipuram division.

Report sent

She said the district Collector had sent a report on August 31 on the drought conditions

prevailing to the Commissioner (Agriculture) and Director (Disaster Management).

With regard to mesta (jute), the major crop in this part of the North coastal Andhra Pradesh, too

is not encouraging.

The crop area that was between 35,000 ha and 40,000 ha five years ago, is gradually declining

due to increasing input cost, lack of facilities for retting, un-remunerative price, and non-

availability of labour.

This season, the crop was raised in 4,687 ha as against the normal of 18,968 ha.

Mesta growers rue that in spite of toiling in the field, they are not even able to clear debts.

Rainfall data could not be collected because of ongoing strike for Samaikyandhra

However, it is said that deficit would be over 20 per cent if prevailing conditions are any

indication

Danana Satyam, a farmer who raised paddy in two acres, could not transplant crop due to

deficit rainfall

Another farmer Sanyasi completed transplantation as it will help get fodder for cattle

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Farmers are now looking for alternative ID crops, but there is no one to guide them

Situation not encouraging for mesta growers too

TN farmers to get Rs. 50-70 more per quintal for paddy

CHENNAI

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa has directed respective District Collectors in the Cauvery delta region to

permit Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation to open procuring centres in their districts when required. File photo

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Thursday said farmers in the State would get an

additional Rs. 50 and Rs. 70 per quintal over the minimum support price of Rs. 1,310 (ordinary)

and Rs. 1,345 (high quality) respectively as announced by the Centre for kharif crops for this

season.

With this, farmers would get Rs. 1,360 per quintal for ordinary paddy and Rs. 1,415 per quintal

for high quality paddy from October 1, Ms. Jayalalithaa said in a statement.

The decision was arrived at a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister with other Ministers and

senior officials.

The Centre announced a hike in the support price of paddy by Rs. 60 to Rs. 1,310 and by Rs.

65 to Rs. 1345 for high quality paddy per quintal for the 2013-14 crop year.

The Chief Minister has also directed respective District Collectors in the Cauvery delta region to

permit Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) to open procuring centres in their

districts when required.

She has also ordered District Collectors in non-delta region to permit TNCSC to open direct

procuring centres through cooperative credit societies.

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Weather

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Onion sale begins in fair price shops

BERHAMPUR: After lifting of ban due to the imposition of the model code of conduct for urban

polls in Odisha, the Ganjam district authorities today resumed sale of onions infair price

shops (FPS) at Rs 40 per kg in Berhampur town.

The opion is now available at 14 fair price shops and one can purchase up to 2 kg of onion at a

time, official sources said.

Though the administration had made such facility earlier, the shops were closed due to the

urban polls. "We hope the buyers prefer the onion from the ration shops this time as the

difference of price from market to ration shop is around Rs 10 per kg," said assistant civil supply

officer, Berhampur Purushottam Lenka.

Sub Collector, Berhampur BK Das reviewed the price of onion at a meeting with the officials and

traders. He appealed officials to make convenient to supply the onion at the affordable price in

the ration shops. "Some more ration shops in the town are likely to be asked to sale the onions

in the coming days" sub collector said.

District administration has taken decision to sell the onion at fair price in the FPS when the

prices have soared to around Rs 50 to Rs 55 per kg in the retail market in the town, depending

on their quality. The price rise of the onion was due to lower supply from the producing regions,

the traders said.

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Kharif sowing crosses 1047 lakh hectare

Area under kharif crops has grown by about 10-lakh hectare during the week ending on September 27th.

NEW DELHI: Area under kharif crops has grown by about 10-lakh hectare during the week

ending on September 27th. The total sown area, as per reports received from states, stands at

1047.07 lakh hectare as compared to 993.99 hectare at this time last year and 1038.27 lakh

hectare on September 20 this year.

As per the India Meteorological Departmentthe withdrawal line of southwest monsoon continue

to pass through Kalpa, Hissar, Jodhpur and Nalia.

Rain and thundershowers occurred at most places over Saurashtra and Kutch; at many places

over Gujarat region, Assam & Meghalaya and Konkan & Goa; at a few places over

Lakshadweep and Andaman & Nicobar Islands and at isolated places over Gangetic West

Bengal, Odisha, Haryana, Tamil Nadu and coastal Karnataka. Weather remained mainly dry

and dry over rest parts of the country on Friday.

As per the weather forecast for the next three days rain would occur at most places over

Saurashtra & Kutch during next 24 hours and at many places thereafter. Rains would occur at

many places over Gujarat region, Konkan & Goa, Rajasthan , northeastern states, a few places

over West Bengal ,Sikkim, Bihar and Jharkhand. Odisha, coastal Karnataka, Andaman &

Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep would also receive spells of rains. At isolated places over

east Uttar Pradesh, east Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh rain and thundershower would

20

occur during next 24 hours and increase thereafter. Isolated rain would occur over rest parts of

the country.

The details of the area covered so far and that covered during this time last year are given: in

lakh per hectare.

Crop Area sown in 2013-14 Area sown in 2012-13

21

Punjab to develop fish ponds over 200 acres of water logged land

The Punjab Government has embarked upon a program to develop fish farms over the farmer's land in

water logged areas of over 200 acres.

NEW DELHI: The Punjab Government has embarked upon a program to develop fish farms

over the farmer's land in water logged areas of over 200 acres at its own cost in order to

substantiate their income on one hand and boost state's crop diversification on the other.

Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badalduring a meeting with a group of progressive fish

farmers and the senior officers of the Animal Husbandry, Dairy development & Fisheries

departments and Guru Angad Dev Veterinary & Animal Science University Ludhana

(GADVASU) said that the state government would incur the entire expenditure on these ponds

for the first year to benefit the farmers.

The chief minister said that Punjab government would soon establish Punjab State Fishery

Board to give due representation to the fish sarmers and asked the department to complete the

formalities in this regard expeditiously. He further said that district level co-ordination

committees would also be constituted.

Badal also asked the Vice Chancellor GADVASU to extend all possible technical support to the

fish farmers to enable them to run these ventures in a profitable manner.

The chief minister also approved to constitute a committee headed by principal secretary Animal

Husbandry, Dairy development & Fisheries to chalk out the modalities for purchase of feed

pelletize machines to provide cooked feed at affordable and cheaper rates, for which the

22

government would provide 50% subsidy. Presently the government was providing 20% subsidy

in the normal areas and 40% in the water-logged areas for the digging the fish ponds. He also

approved to provide subside of Rs 50,000 for the cleaning of 2.5 acre fish pond after five years.

In order to fulfill state government's commitment to provide modern marketing infrastructure for

fish trade, Badal reviewed the lay out plan of upcoming fish market Ludhiana and directed the

concerned departments to expedite the process to set up this market in a time bound manner.

Cane shortage likely to force Maharashtra sugar mills to pay more

Maharashtra mills paid a first advance of Rs 2,100 per tonne to Rs 2,500 per tonne in the past year,

excluding the harvesting and transport cost.

PUNE: If sugar mills in Uttar Pradesh fear the spectre of political factors raising cane prices,

mills in Maharashtra are worried that they have to pay higher prices due to cane shortage.

There is a short supply of cane due to the previous year's drought, especially in the Marathwada

region. Some mills have only 50 per cent or even less cane available in their jurisdiction.

Maharashtra mills paid a first advance of Rs 2,100 per tonne to Rs 2,500 per tonne in the past

year, excluding the harvesting and transport cost. This year, the state government has refused

to take any stance on cane price stating that mills will have to pay according to the fair and

remunerative price (FRP) declared by the Union government.

There is no clarity yet on cane prices for the 2013-14 crushing season. There were price wars

whenever cane production was low or sugar prices were high.

23

This year, although there is a shortage of cane, sugar prices have remained subdued for most

part of 2012-13.

Even while accepting the possibility of cane theft by rivals, mills deny any possibility of paying a

cane price higher than the past year. "Ex-mill sugar prices have fallen to Rs 27 per kg as

compared to Rs 34 per kg in the past year.

Bank loans will not be sufficient to pay a cane price higher than the previous year as banks lend

us based on sugar's ruling market price," said Rajendra Girme, chairman, Sasvad Mali Sugar

Factory in Solapur.

"Very few mills have cane availability of more than 80 per cent. They will have to compete for

cane," said Prashant Paricharak, chairman, Sri Pandurang Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana.

Farmers' organisations, which have fought a battle for higher cane price, have not made their

position clear about prices in 2013-14.

"Considering that this is the year before the assembly elections, farmers' organisations, despite

knowing the financial condition of mills, may resort to agitations to gain political mileage," said

the chairman of a sugar co-operative.

24

Cotton yarn exporters stripped off benefits

COIMBATORE: Concerned over the exclusion of cotton and cotton yarn exports from an

incentive scheme, the Southern India Mills' Association (SIMA) has said that the sudden

withdrawal of benefits would result in huge losses to the textile mills. Directorate General of

Foreign Trade (DGFT) on Wednesday notified the exclusion of cotton and cotton yarn exports

from the Focus Market Scheme (FMS) that provided 3-4% export incentives to exporters. "Such

inconsistent and short sighted policies would make Indian exporters lose their competitive edge

and credibility in the international market," said T Rajkumar, chairman of the association.

Exporters are already under pressure owing to volatility in the exchange rates, he said, making

the government move a detriment to Indian yarn exporters. Rajkumar appealed to the Centre for

immediate restoration of benefits to achieve the vision of increasing textiles and clothing exports

from 32.5 billion US dollars to 42.5 billion US dollars within a year. "Moreover, cotton yarn

exporters have export commitments for 2-3 months with countries like Colombia,

Peru,Venezuela, Chile, Argentina, Morocco and Tunisia", he said in a statement.

China and Bangladesh are the major export markets and 65% of the yarn exported from India is

to these countries. However, textile mills are apprehensive about losing valuable overseas

customers owing to high freight costs. Moreover, there is huge volume of surplus cotton and

surplus spinning capacity in India. According to them, textile mills were able to capture markets

in these countries only because of the FMS benefits offered by the government. "It seems the

government has removed certain products from FMS that have export restrictions but it should

be noted that cotton and cotton yarn exports do not have any restriction," Rajkumar said.

Apart from meeting the growing demands of the domestic sector, textile industry in India has

over 30% excess spinning capacity that is used for exports. Cotton based spinning sector in the

country has invested more than Rs.1 lakh crores in upgrading the technology and adding more

than 20 million spindles over the last decade.

25

Iffco plans Rs 150 cr captive jetty to boost fertiliser sales

Indian Farmers Fertilizers Cooperative Ltd (Iffco ), which has a diammonium phostphate (DAP)

plant at Paradip, expects its proposed captive barge jetty to boost sales.

The jetty estimated to cost Rs 150 crore is planned to be set up atKaudia near Iffco’s plant The

jetty would enable Iffco to have access to many coastal villages not connected by the rail

network.

“If we build a captive jetty, we can send fertlisers to many villages on the coastlines of Odisha,

West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Currently, we are unable to cater to their

demand because of the unavailability of rail network,” said a senior official of Iffco’s Paradip unit.

Though Iffco has a dedicated jetty inside the Paradip Port to send and receive its cargo, the new

facility would help the company to earn additional income by exploring new markets. Moreover,

it would pave the way for raising production capacity to three million tonne per annum (mtpa),

from the existing two mtpa.

“The captive jetty will ensure fast movement of finished products from our facility along the

coastline areas. Further, we could go through the canals and rivers to send our orders for

farmers villages residing near river embankments. There is huge sales potential for such

markets, but we are unable to tap it at present,” said the company official of the company.

The application to build up a captive jetty is currently pending with the state commerce and

transport department. The state government has plans to forward the proposal to the Planning

Commission of India to provide consultancy service for the development of the jetty, sources

said.

The proposed jetty will have the initial capacity to transport 60,000 tonne of phospogypsum

every year. The company has provision to upgrade the capacity to 120,000 tonne a year in the

second phase.

26

It will be designed to cater to small vessels only having 2,000 tonne carrying capacity.

While Iffco will build the barge jetty at its own cost, it would engage builders across the east

coast to develop barges for delivery of fertilisers. The small vessels will use rivers and canals to

meet the demand of the farmers, the official informed.

Iffco presently relies on the rail and road network for sale of fertilisers in Odisha and other

states. It has already proposed to use the National Waterways 1 (connecting Allhabad to Haldia)

for transportation of fertilisers from its Allahabad plant.

Rice millers meet Hooda, oppose rise in security fee

Rice millers in Haryana met Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda and senior officials from the

Food Supplies Department on Friday to discuss the issue of excess charges imposed by the

state government in the form of security and the lack of a coherent policy by the different

procurement agencies.

The revision of security amount from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 20 lakh (for a mill up to one tonne capacity

per hour) and Rs 5 lakh per tonne for mills with higher capacity has been imposed in the kharif

2014 season.

Talking to Business Standard, the President of Rice Millers' Association of Haryana, Rajinder

Aggarwal, said they had called on Hooda on Friday and urged him to take stock of the situation.

He added Haryana had 1,000 rice mills, of which 900 were small and medium scale businesses.

The large mills are self-sufficient and do not seek the CMR (custom milled rice- the paddy

procured by the government agencies is given to the mills for processing.The rice is picked by

the agencies for public distribution in lieu of commission). Only small and medium scale mills

are dependent on CMR as they do not have the capacity to purchase and store paddy and rice.

The sudden revision of security has come as a shock for the industry running on razor-thin

margins.

27

The vice-president of the association, Ashish Mehta, told milling charges (Rs 15 a quintal) had

not been revised in ten years. Input costs like labour charges, power rate and cost of land had

risen a lot. So, the revision is not justifiable.

With the procurement set to start from October, there has been no discussion of the state food

supplies department with the millers and association to make preparations.

The mills, he added, have to stretch the milling period as the government agencies do not have

sufficient storage space (paddy can be stored in the open but rice has to be stored in a closed

area) and are penalised in the form of hoarding charges for late delivery of rice.

"We are in a catch-22 situation. All mills have decided not to enter into an agreement of milling

with the state government agencies in the kharif crop," he said.

We expect the state government to take stock of the situation and provide a level-playing field to

the millers, else the mills could remain close this season, said Mehta.

Multi-crop land acquisition should be the last resort: Ramesh

The Centre today said it was up to the states how much multi-crop irrigated land they could

acquire for urban and industrial infrastructure, but noted "it should be the last resort".

Chief Ministers of Punjab, Haryana and Kerala had expressed concerens that urbanisation and

industrialization process in their states would be adversely affected if acquisition of multi-crop

irrigated land under the new land acquisition law was not allowed as multi-crop irrigated land is

the major portion in their states, Union Rural Development Minister Jairam Ramesh said here

today.

"I have found a mid-way (of this problem). States should first give priority to barren land.

Acquisition of multi-crop irrigated land will be the last resort...Demonstrable last resort.. After

exhasuting all other options," Ramesh said.

Earlier, acquisition of multi-crop irrigated land was not allowed in theRight to Fair Compensation

28

and Transparency in Land Acquisition,Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, keeping in mind the

country's food security, he said.

"It is now up to the states how much multi-crop irrigated land they want to acquire as per their

respective laws," he said, adding the new law on land acquisition was kept in the concurrent list

which means states could not reduce the amount of land acquisition compensation or any other

benefits.

Ramesh further said, under the new law, land could not be acquired until the Gram Sabha gives

its nod.

"I know in Punjab, MLAs chair Gram Sabha meetings. But, the law says, land can only be

acquired in consultation with the Gram Sabha. If any provision is violated, then action can be

taken against Punjab," he said.

Sharing his experience regarding his visit to several states, Ramesh said he found farmers in

Gujarat were protesting against land acquisition for a Maruti plant.

"I have visited Gujarat and found 35 out of 45 villages are protesting (against land acquisition).

They do not want to give their land (for the project)," he claimed.

However, "farmers' organisations said they will be happy if compensation is given as per the

new law. Now it is up to the Gujarat government to take a call," he said

Ramesh added a retrospective clause has been inserted whereby compensation for land

acquisition would be given as per the new law in cases when land acquisition process is

underway under the old law, but award is not announced, physical possession of land is not

taken and majority of farmers have not accepted the compensation.

29

Bajaj Hindusthan CMD Shishir Bajaj sanguine about UP sugar sector

India’s top sugar producer Bajaj Hindusthan CMD Shishir Bajaj has expressed confidence that

the crisis in the Uttar Pradesh sugar sector would diffuse well before the next crushing season.

The state sugar sector is currently burdened with cane arrears of over Rs 2,400 crore for the

2012-13 season and uncertainty about the cane price to be paid for the coming season.

“Things would ultimately turn out to be fine,” Bajaj retorted with a reassuring smile to a Business

Standard query about the crisis facing the state sugar industry.

He maintained things would eventually pan out to the satisfaction of all the sugar sector

stakeholders, including farmers and industry. Bajaj Hindusthan has 16 sugar factories and 6

distilleries in UP.

The UP mills have already expressed their inability to clear arrears and urged the government

for a bailout in the form of soft loan and subsidising them towards any cane price beyond Rs

240/quintal.

Last year, the cane price was fixed at Rs 280/quintal and there are apprehensions of further

increase in the price in the election year to keep the growers in good humour.

Bajaj was in town yesterday to receive Lifetime Achievement Award at the 72nd Annual

Convention of the Sugar Technologists’ Association of India (STAI).

Earlier in his address, state agriculture minister Anand Singh conceded that the sugar mills were

sick, but asserted the cane farmers were also not getting their due.

30

He alleged rampant under-weighing at the sugar factories to the tune of 15-20%, which

ultimately resulted in losses to farmers.

Singh was critical of the sidelining of sugarcane societies in cane procurement process in the

state. The sugar mills are bypassing cane unions and preferred direct cane purchase, which led

to harassment and exploitation of farmers, he claimed.

“Help the farmers to your best and the farmers would help and support you in return,” he told

sugar companies.

STAI president Dr G S C Rao said genetically modified cane varieties were being developed in

India and sugar factories were slowly getting transformed to sugar complexes.

He suggested technical bodies be involved in sugar policy making for the overall benefit of the

sector.

There are 125 operational sugar mills in UP. Sugar is the largest organised agro-based industry

in UP supporting 4 million farmers’ families. Other industries viz. molasses, bagasse, power

(cogeneration) etc are supported by sugarcane, whose annual economy is estimated at Rs

30,000 crore.

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Eyeing higher margin, refiners may opt for sunflower, soya oils

The share of soyabean and sunflower oils, or soft oils, in the country’s vegetable oils import

could increase to over two million tonnes (mt) next season starting November with shipments of

palm group of oils remaining unchanged, according to a section of the edible oil industry.

But not all in the industry subscribe to this view.

“India’s edible oils import will touch 11 mt next year with palm oil shipments remaining

unchanged at 8.3 mt. Soyabean and sunflower oils import could increase to 1.2 mt each,” said

Dorab Mistry, Director of Godrej International, at an industry meet in Mumbai during the

weekend.

This is against the 10.6 mt oils projected to be brought into the country this season. According

to the Solvent Extractors Association of India, vegetable oils import in November-August this

season was up 7.72 per cent at 8.79 mt. So far, the share of palm group of oils in the import

basket is 80 per cent against 75 per cent last season with soft oils, which also include rapeseed

and others, making up the rest. Import of sunflower oil has dropped to 0.8 mt from 0.96 mt in the

same period a year ago.

According to Mistry, sunflower oil prices will rule easy as its production is projected at record

next year, when it could be 5.37 million tonnes.

“Sunflower and soyabean oils imports will rise because refiners will increasingly opt for them as

they yield better margins. With sunflower oil, you gain all the 12 months in a year; with

soyabean, you gain 10 months; and with palm oil, you gain only six months,” said Mistry.

32

Palm oil refiners face the problem of the oil being taxed both at the exporting source and the

importing point in India. Indonesia and Malaysia, top palm oil producers, impose tax on export of

crude palm oil. The tax is a measure to encourage refining in the respective countries. Malaysia

imposes 4.5 per cent export tax at a reference price of $709, while Indonesia’s rate is nine per

cent. On landing in India, crude palm oil is subject to 2.5 per cent Customs duty, whereas the

duty on refined palm oil is 7.5 per cent.

The landed cost of crude palm oil here is $805 a tonne, while that of RBD (refined, bleached

and deodorised) palmolein is $810. In contrast, de-gummed or crude soyabean oil costs $972

and sunflower oil $980.

“India is the top importer of sunflower oil from Ukraine, making up 30 per cent of the total

exports in 2012,” said Svetlana Sinkovskaya, Marketing Director of APK-Inform Media group.

She told the industry meet that India’s sunflower oil imports, despite dropping 17 per cent this

season, could rise next season. According to a Hyderabad-based trader, such statements could

be wishful thinking and there are several factors, including logistics, which determine vegetable

oil imports.

“First, no one in Tamil Nadu uses soyabean oil. In Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, consumption

is limited. Only in the western States, it is consumed,” he said. “Logistics will also have to be

factored in. We get soyabean oil mainly from Argentina and it takes 45-60 days for shipments to

arrive. Only big players can take such a risk. Can a small refiner, say, in Tamil Nadu, take such

a risk?” the trader asked.

Referring to Ukraine situation, he said that it was more likely that sunflower oil could be

consumed more in the region with drop in imports of other oils there. “In the last two days,

sunflower oil has gained $50 a tonne. Will people risk such spikes?” he asked. In the global

market, sunflower oil is ruling at a premium to soyabean oil. In Mumbai, it is higher by Rs 5 a kg

than soyabean oil and Rs 13 a kg costlier than palmolein.

“If prices of vegetable oils rise, then the situation will be different. Then, it could be beneficial to

import palm oil,” Mistry said.

Tyre-makers keep away from rubber market

Rubber prices declined further on Friday in the absence of genuine buyers. According to market

circles, there were buyers even at lower levels.

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“If major manufacturers (tyre manufacturers) continue to abstain from the market, the dealers

will be compelled to down the shutters,” said George Valy, President, Indian Rubber Dealers

Federation. Manufacturers were reluctant to even lift the rubber that arrived in the last few days.

This has left small rubber dealers incurring heavy loss.

Sheet rubber dropped to Rs 173 (Rs 174) a kg, according to traders. The grade closed weak at

Rs 173.50 (Rs 175) at Kottayam and Kochi, according to the Rubber Board.

Oct futures declined to Rs 171.75 (Rs 174.84), Nov to Rs 170.70 (Rs 173.76) Dec to Rs 172.75

(Rs 175.54) and Jan to Rs 175.90 (Rs 177.96) for RSS 4 while Feb remained inactive on the

National Multi Commodity Exchange.

RSS 3 (spot) weakened to Rs 161.79 (Rs 163.32) at Bangkok. October futures closed at ¥256.1

(Rs 162.32) on the Tokyo Commodity Exchange.

Spot rubber rates Rs/kg: RSS-4: 173 (174); RSS-5: 169 (170); Ungraded: 158 (160); ISNR 20:

162 (165) and Latex 60%: 133 (137).

Mixed trend at Kolkata tea sale

Tea prices were mixed at this week’s sale (No. 39) at the Kolkata tea auction.

According to J. Thomas & Company Pvt Ltd, the auctioneers, the average price of CTC leaf at

Rs 147.31 a kg was higher than last week’s (Sale No. 38) Rs 143.67 while the average price of

orthodox variety was lower at Rs 202.48 (Rs 212.65).

An estimated 75.82 per cent (74.87 per cent) of CTC and 88.02 per cent (89.06 per cent) of

orthodox tea was sold.

This week, the total offerings (packages) at the three North Indian auction centres at Kolkata,

Guwahati and Siliguri were 4,56,097 compared with 4,62,724 in the corresponding sale (No. 39)

of 2012.

The offerings at Kolkata comprised CTC/dust 1,59,126 (1,66,876), orthodox 41,198 (25,894)

and Darjeeling 6,670 (8,904). Offerings at two other centres were: Guwahati 1,41,619

(1,40,530) and Siliguri 1,07,484 (1,40,530).

Best Assam CTC teas eased in value, while the remainder was irregularly around last levels.

HUL selective

Fannings were firm to occasionally dearer, following improved export enquiries. Dooars sold at

around last and irregularly lower levels. Tata Global was the mainstay. Hindustan Unilever was

selective.

34

Western India operated actively for the liquoring teas. Enquiries from other internal and local

sections were fair.

There was improved export enquiry for fannings.

Orthodox tippy teas sold well in line with quality.

Clean well made whole leaf and brokens were around last.

Remainder was irregularly lower, particularly stalkier whole leaf which saw some withdrawals.

Fannings were irregularly easier.

The CIS and West Asian shippers were active.

There was some Continental interest on the tippy teas.

Hindustan Unilever operated selectively.

Darjeeling offerings met with better enquiry.

Selected whole leaf varieties maintaining quality were readily absorbed.

The remainder eased in value and witnessed withdrawals.

Brokens and fannings also declined. There was fair export interest.

Local dealers operated for cheaper sorts. Tata Global was selective while there was useful

support from Hindustan Unilever. santanu.sanyal@thehindu.co.in

Bring more tea to e-auction platform: Kochi traders

To encourage exports and domestic trade, the Tea Trade Association in Kochi has urged the

Tea Board and producers to bring in more quantities to the e-auction platform.

Anil S. Doshi, Chairman of the Association, said that e-auction can help realise higher price,

thereby, improving export earnings.

Even Sri Lanka and Kenya are opting for the e-auction route to realise higher prices, he said,

addressing the 21 {+s} {+t} annual general meeting.

Pointing out to the exporters list, he said India is maintaining its fourth position for the last four

years.

exports

Last year, 201.08 million kg (mkg) were exported, while Sri Lanka shipped out 319.95 mkg.

However, Kenya maintained its number one position in the global exports last year with a share

of 24.41 per cent followed by China 18.26 per cent, Sri Lanka 18.16 per cent, India 11.41 per

cent and Vietnam 7.66 per cent, he said.

35

The total exports from South India stood at 95.10 mkg in 2012 against 95.61 mkg in 2011, a

drop of 0.51 mkg.

He said that the association has played a major role in Kochi topping tea sales in South India.

Kochi clocked over 45 per cent of total sales in the South.

Coonoor accounted 40.78 per cent and Coimbatore 13.34 per cent.

The average price realised at the Kochi auction centre last year was Rs 95.83 against Rs 82.28

in Coonoor and Rs 83.72 in Coimbatore.

The country’s tea production was 1,111.76 mkg last year against the previous year’s 1,115.72

mkg, down by 3.96 mkg.

The north Indian production was 888.10 mkg against 875.57 mkg in 2011, up 4.53 mkg.

However, the south Indian production decreased by 8.49 mkg to 231.66 mkg against 240.15

mkg in 2011, he said.

Mills’ demand likely to support dara wheat

A sudden increase in demand from flour mills is likely to support prices of Dara wheat in the

spot market.

Prices on the futures market, on the other hand, are likely to be range-bound to weak movement

in the coming days, said market experts.

Flour continued to rule firm on Friday.

Dara wheat increased as supplies were inadequate against the frantic buying by flour mills, said

market experts.

In the physical market, dara wheat rose by Rs 30 to Rs 1,520-25 a quintal.

About 900 bags of wheat arrived and the stocks were directly offloaded at the mills. Mill delivery

was at Rs 1,520, while delivery at the chakki was at Rs 1,525 .

36

Dara wheat prices have increased by Rs 50 over the last couple of days.

Radhey Shyam, a trader, said that rising demand could result in marginal uptrend in wheat.

However, the surge in the last couple of sessions was unexpected, he said.

Wheat futures extended losses on Friday.

A negative trend was witnessed on the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange.

Wheat for October contracts dropped by Rs 3 to 1,543 with an open interest of 5,020 lots.

In the spot market, wheat prices improved by Rs 20 to Rs 1,570.

Flour Prices

Despite an uptrend in wheat, flour continued to rule steady at Rs 1,750 . On the other

hand, Chokarmoved up by Rs 25 to Rs 1,275 a quintal.

Arrivals delay pushes up cotton to Rs 49,000/candy

Cotton prices surged to Rs 49,000 for a candy of 356 kg on heavy rain lashing Gujarat since the

beginning of this week. Demand for cotton, however, was limited.

According to market sources, prices have increased as the new crop arrivals may get delayed

by 15-20 days. There are also reports of damage to the crop in some areas.

A broker said that there were no demand but prices have increased as rain restricted arrivals

and it may delay arrivals of the new cotton season which starts on October 1.

According to ginners, the pipeline is almost dry now and any delay in the arrival affects the

price.

However, it may not gain sharply because of slack demand. Cotton has gained about Rs 2,000

during this week and quoted at Rs 48,500-49,000on Friday at Rajkot.

Arrivals declined in Gujarat due to floods in many parts of the State.

37

Daily arrivals of cotton have dropped from 2,500-3,000 bales a day to 1,200-1,500 bales in the

last couple of sessions.

Kapas or raw cotton prices were quoted at Rs 950-1,200 for a maund of 20 kg, while

new kapas traded at Rs 900-1,200. About 7,000 maund arrived in Saurashtra.

Our Coimbatore bureau reports: Meanwhile, the South India Spinners Association (SISPA) has

urged the Centre to intervene and ensure adequate supply of quality cotton at reasonable rates

till the arrival of the new crop.

“Inconsistent fibre policy and failure to ensure buffer stocks of cotton for the domestic spinning

sector has affected supplies. Quality cotton has become scarce since July. This could dampen

operations of spinning units, and could even force some to down shutters till November,” said K.

Thirunavukkarasu, President, SISPA.

He said that during the peak season, cotton is exported by multinational companies and traders

without a cap on exports.

“The domestic spinning sector is not in a position to buy the entire requirement during the arrival

period,” he said.

Stockists’ buying heats up palmolein

Edible oils prices ruled mixed on Friday. However, the volume increased in palmolein trading

tracking a firm futures market and stockists came up with fresh orders at lower price. Groundnut

oil and soyabean oil increased by Rs 10 and Rs 5 for 10 kg each, on cues from producing

centres about delay in arrivals due to heavy rain. Sunflower and cotton oil ruled unchanged.

Palmolein and rapeseed oil declined by Rs 3 each as local refineries cut prices.

38

A Mumbai-based trader said that stockists, fearing that rains could delay kharif oilseeds arrivals,

began buying for the oncoming festivals.

During the day, Ruchi sold about 900-1,000 tonnes of palmolein at Rs 562-563 and 200-250

tonnes of soyabean refined oil at Rs 645 for September-October. Liberty sold 800-1,000 tonnes

of palmolein at Rs 562-563 for October. Resellers offloaded 150-200 tonnes palmolein at Rs

560-562 for ready delivery. Towards the day’s close, Liberty was quoted palmolein at Rs 563,

super palmolein Rs 595 and super deluxe Rs 615, soyabean refined oil Rs 647 and sunflower

refined oil Rs 815. Ruchi quoted palmolein at Rs 564, soyabean refined oil Rs 645 and

sunflower refined oil Rs 800. Allana was quoting palmolein at Rs 565, super palmolein Rs 600,

soyabean refined oil Rs 645 and sunflower refined oil Rs 815. In Rajkot, groundnut oil extended

gain by Rs 60 to Rs 1,380 for telia tin and loose (10 kg) by Rs 50 to Rs 900. New soyabean

arrivals were one lakh bags in Madhya Pradesh and its prices were Rs 3,250-3,450 ex mandi

and Rs 3,450-3,550 for plant delivery. Mustard seed arrivals were 90,000 bags and its prices

were Rs 3,120-3,725. Malaysia BMD crude palm oil’s October contracts settled higher at MYR

2,350 (MYR 2,310), November increased to MYR 2,316 (MYR 2,272) and December at MYR

2,310 (MYR 2,267). The Bombay Commodity Exchange spot rates (Rs/10 kg) were: groundnut

oil 880 (870), soya refined oil 645 (640), sunflower exp. ref. 740 (740), sunflower ref. 795 (795),

rapeseed ref. oil 712 (715), rapeseed expeller ref. 682 (685) cottonseed ref. oil 664 (664) and

palmolein 562 (565). Vikram Global Commodities (P) Ltd quoted Rs 617/10 kg for Malaysia

super palmolein - October delivery.

Pepper futures turnover, open interest drop

Pepper futures ruled steady on limited activities but October contracts ended marginally lower.

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The turnover and net open position dropped on the National Multi Commodity Exchange. On the

spot, 16 tonnes of farm grade pepper arrived and 15 tonnes were traded at Rs 401-405 a kg.

Bearish sentiments continued to affect the market because of the uncertainty over the future of

the huge stocks held for long in the warehouses. They have to be cleared by the Food Safety

authorities, market sources told Business Line.

Much of the domestic demand is met by sales from Karnataka at Rs 400-405 delivered

anywhere in India on cash-and-carry basis.

On the NMCE, October contract slipped by Rs 2 to Rs 43,350 while November contracts

increased by Rs 142 to Rs 43,500 a quintal.

Total open interest decreased by five tonnes to 23 tonnes. Total turnover fell by 10 tonnes to 35

tonnes.

Spot prices remained unchanged at Rs 40,100 (ungarbled) and Rs 42,100 (garbled) a quintal on

limited activities.

Indian parity in the international market was at around $7,150 (c&f) Europe and $7,400 a tonne

(c&f) for the US.

Overseas trend

Black pepper prices are surging in Vietnam and Lampung, according to an overseas report. It

said the material is available at attractive prices in India and Brazil. There is reportedly tightness

in low density pepper from Vietnam.

Pulses likely to rally on fears of damage to crop

Amid reports of large-scale damage to crops on account of heavy rains, moong and urad prices

are on the rise.

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The quality of new moong is also not up to specified standards, leading to fall in arrivals.

Against the expected arrival of 2,000-3,000 bags at the peak of harvesting season, merely 50-

100 bags are offloaded in local mandis every day.

With demand in best quality moong outstripping arrivals, moong (best quality) prices over the

last one week have gone up by almost Rs 600 to Rs 5,400-5,700 a quintal, while moong

(medium) rose to Rs 5,000 (Rs 4,500-4,800).

Moong dal (medium) was being quoted at Rs 6,000-6,100, moong dal (bold) at Rs 6,400-6,500,

while moong mongar ruled at Rs 7,000-7,200 a quintal.

The uptrend also continued in urad with demand outstripping arivals.

Urad (bold) was Rs 3,900, while urad (medium) ruled at Rs 3,200-3,300.

Amid report of damage to the crop, a rally in urad also appears likely in the coming days, said a

trader Prakash Vora.

Rise in spot urad prices also lifted its dal with urad dal (average) being quoted at Rs 4,400-

4,500, urad dal (bold) Rs 5,000-5,100, while urad mongar soared to Rs 6,000-6,400 a quintal,

respectively.

Increased demand from the mills also lifted masoor by Rs 100 a quintal over the last few

sessions. Masoor (bold) ruled at Rs 4,200-4,250, while masoor (medium) ruled at Rs 3,800-

4,000. Masoor dal (average) was quoted at Rs 4,800-25 , masoor dal (medium) at Rs 4,900-

4,925, while masoor dal (bold) ruled at Rs 5,000-5,025 a quintal respectively.

Sugar futures fall Rs 65/quintal in a week

Sugar prices dropped further by Rs 8-10 a quintal at the Vashi wholesale market as producers

continued to sell.

Prices in the futures market also extended their losses for the sixth consecutive day, taking the

total loss to Rs 60-65 in a week. However, traders were optimistic of higher demand in October

with a host of festivals on cards.

A Vashi-based wholesaler said: “Since last Diwali, Maharashtra’s sugar mills are continuously

selling sugar in local markets in the absence of eastern side buying which has gone to southern

mills due to favourable price parity. Producers and markets are already carrying ample stocks

and suffering from slack demand keeping activities hand-to-mouth.”

The Vashi market currently carries 115-120 truckloads (of 100 bags each) of inventory.

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Arrivals in the Vashi market were 61-62 truckloads (of 100 bags each), while local dispatches

were 59-60 loads. On Thursday evening, 14-15 mills offered tenders and sold 47,000-48,000

bags at Rs 2,810-2,900 (Rs 2,820-2,900) for S-grade and Rs 2,950-3,010 (Rs 2,950-3,010) for

M-grade.

Bombay Sugar Merchants Association's spot rates were: S-grade Rs 2,976-3,121 (Rs 2,986-

3,121) and M-grade Rs 3,132-3,282 (Rs 3,136-3,282). Naka delivery rates were: S-grade Rs

2,930-3,000 (Rs 2,930-3,000) and M-grade Rs 3,040-3,170 (Rs 3,040-3,170).

Uttar Pradesh rates were: Lakhimpur Rs 3,300 and Muzzafarnagar Rs 3,240

Becoming dearer

Almonds on display at a wholesale outlet in the Capital's Khari Baoli market. Prices of almonds

have increased by 70-80 per cent to Rs 620-640 a kg post the rupee weakening against the

dollar and the winter demand