Maize Prices are stable
As the bird flu panic subsides, prices of the major coarse cereal, maize remained stable across the country, though there was some drop in prices reported from Karnataka from Rs.5162 ($116) per MT to Rs.4850 ($109) per MT. Most traders consider this as a temporary phenomenon. As the demand of poultry products including eggs goes up, the demand for maize show an upward trend. The average price in India at the market yard is slightly up from Rs.5807 ($130.5) per MT last week to Rs.5838 ($131.2) per MT this week.
In the wake of the current freak rains hitting parts of North and Central India, rabi crop specially wheat has been reportedly damaged in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. The damage is likely to be extensive, further reduceing the production. Optimistic estimates are 68-72 MMT of wheat production from the industry sources.
The corn prices in US at CBOT were down slightly from last week and closed at $88.97 per MT. The Fob values for March delivery were $109.25 per MT and slightly up to $109.65 per MT for April delivery.
Chicken consumption and bird flu
Bird flu has passed over, but the consumption is still low, but recovering fast. Government is doing a wonderful job in trying to create awareness through advertisements in print media. Associations like National Egg Co-ordination Committee (NECC) have roped in the film stars to convey the message about chicken safety. A regular advertisement campaign by NECC in the print media is being used to convey the message that poultry products (chicken and eggs) are safe to consume if properly cooked. Other associations are working closely with the government and providing necessary information.
Chicken is back on the menu on the airlines and passengers are consuming. Also the railways have put it back on its menu. But there is still a little hesitancy amongst the general consumers to purchase the products from the market, specially the live market.
The question though is what the consumer needs to know or what needs to happen in short and long term before the consumption is back on track and remains normal.
In the short term the companies need to win back the trust of the consumer and in the long term that trust needs to be maintained. For that to happen, the government will need to create a food safety net, wherein ‘a ‘Seal of Quality’ will need to be the part and parcel of the marketing of the food products like chicken or eggs. It will also be in the interest of the companies to create brands. Along with the seal of quality, the brand will be able to win the trust of the consumers. What is being seen is that the branded products are coming back much faster than the non branded products.
Another factor that will possibly help the industry is the guidelines from institutional buyers, which will help in establishing standards within the industry. Certified plants will need to meet and follow the standards if they wish to supply to the institutions and food service markets. The requirements could be a series of "best practices" from farm management, antibiotic free status, transport and slaughtering at a processing facility or a shop, which could be evolved over the years to become standards for the sector. This will lead to a general shift upwards to a higher standard and raise the profile of food safety.
It is also reported that the public's understanding of food risk issues, their assessment of food risks, their ability to deal with scientific information and their food safety practices is rather limited. Many are of the view that the public under-assesses the risk associated with some major microbiological hazards and over-assesses the risk associated with other hazards such as genetically modified organisms (GMOs), bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and avian influenza (AI). Proper awareness and consumer education is must and the companies must remain in the state of preparedness in the wake of any problems.
Biotechnology and its advantages
Though there have been many questions that have been raised regarding the efficacy of the GM products, and most of the questions have been answered and the advantages proved beyond doubt. The technology is being adopted world wide and even in India the area under Bt Cotton is expected to double in next one year. One question that has been asked is the use of water and if there is excess water usage for GM crops.
There has been several papers on this which prove that the water use is actually less in case the technology is adopted.
New herbicide resistant crops help to reduce soil erosion, maintain farm sustainability and reduce pollution of streams, rivers and wetlands. GM herbicide resistant crops are compatible with and encourage no-till agriculture.
Reduced pesticide usage is another benefit of genetically modified crops that are pest resistant. Currently, genetically modified pest resistant crops include Bt cotton, Bt corn, Bt sweet corn, Bt potatoes, and virus resistant squash. These crops are able to resist certain pests and need fewer pesticide sprays – thus less water usage. In the past, pesticide usage on cotton, sweet corn and potatoes has been very high with some of these crops requiring more than a dozen insecticide sprays per season. However, some Bt hybrids need less than 15% of the insecticide sprays than does traditional varieties.
If managed properly, the GM technology can promote better weed control, reduce tillage, save moisture or irrigation water, reduce soil erosion and reduce water needed for application of pesticides and herbicides.
As we look into the future, the world's population will reach 10 billion by 2030. According to World Bank, "Biotechnology will play a crucial part of expanding agricultural productivity in the next couple of years. If managed and adopted as per the standards set, the technology could be a tremendous help in meeting the challenge of feeding an additional four billion human beings, 95% of them in the poor developing countries, on the same amount of land and water currently available."
Amit Sachdev
Representative
U S Grains Council, India
bluecross303@gmail.com
Mar 11, 2006
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