Rains in India and production estimates
Rains in most of the parts of the country North, west and east have brought in respite from the severe heat, but could also damage crops if the rains continue. Some area like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Orrisa have experienced rains that could damage crops like cotton, coarse cereals and rice.
Government of India came out with the first estimates for the food production for the year 2005-06 last week. The Corn production for 2005-06 is pegged at 12.17 MMT. The fourth estimates for 2004-05 estimate the corn production at 11.6 MMT. This is inline with industry estimates for the year 2004-05. The requirement for 2004-05 was close to 13.19 MMT, while in 2005-06 the requirement of corn is pegged at 13.73 MMT. The lower production will surely put pressure on corn and increase prices in the long run.
The major loss is reported in Soybean crop, production of which is expected to be down by 12.4% due to delayed rains.
The CBOT quoted lower by about $3.74 per ton for Dec corn. The FOB prices however remained unchanged at $102.5 per MT. The freight rates are going up steadily and might continue to gain.
U S Production estimates
USDA came up with the report on Sept 12, 2005 and the estimates for corn production have been increased from 262 MMT from August 2005 report to 270 MMT. The increase is mostly due to better than expected yield and a very early corn harvest that is already underway. The yield is estimated at 3.63 tons / acre (8.99 tons / hac) against 3.53 tons / acre (8.71 tons / hac) in the August report. In 2004-05 the productivity was 4.07 tons/acre (10.07 tons / hac). India has the average yield of 0.73 – 0.8 tons / acre (1.8 – 2.0 ton/hac) in corn. Though there are areas where the productivity is higher as well. USDA also came out with the world production numbers and the productivity in China (2.54 times), Argentina (3.45 times), Brazil (1.79 times), South Africa (1.56 times) and Mexico (1.5 times) is also higher than India.
The corn usage in US has also been estimated. In fiscal 2006, the usage in Feed and residual use is expected to be 148 MMT as against 156 MMT in 2004-05. The use in feed and industrial sector is expected to be higher at 72 MMT as against 68 in 2004-05. Use by ethanol sector is also expected to be higher at 38 MMT in Fy 2006 as against 33 MMT in FY 2005.
CLFMA Symposium ends with a set of recommendations
The CLFMA symposium that was held in Goa on Sept 16 – 17, 2005 had a theme of ‘Safety First – Farm to Fork’ ended with a set of recommendations being given to Government of India. The major one being setting standards for inputs (feed) and output (food) and making then mandatory.
Though there has always been interest in exports, but concern was raised on competitiveness of Indian produce in the wake of government policies which do not allow import of major inputs like grand parent stocks, vaccines, feed inputs (corn and soybean meal) and putting in barriers. Government was asked to allow import of corn and soybean meal of zero tariff and make it possible for Indian produce to be competitive in the world market.
Another major concern raised by the house was the taxation on the processed chicken, which unduly increased the prices and made safe and hygienically produced products expensive for the consumer. It was recommended that the exemptions be given to the processing sector so as the sector can utilize their capacities efficiently and provide safe food to the consumers at affordable prices.
Dr.James Denton, consultant with U S Grains Council in his presentation to a 300 strong gathering pointed out facts and spelt clearly that industry needs to consider consumer protection in the wake of food safety. This is for all consumers, outside the country or in the country. Consumers buy products on quality and food safety is an inherent part of quality. Food safety is the prerogative of the industry and governments can only provide oversight.
Amit Sachdev
Representative
U S Grains Council, India
bluecross303@gmail.com
Reporting from Coimbatore, Sept 19, 2005
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment