Cold storage capacity in India at 32 MT against requirement of 35 MT : Agri Minister

NEW DELHI: There are 8,038 cold storages in the Country with a capacity of 36.77 million tonnes and 92 per cent of the capacity is owned and operated by private entities, Union Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar said in Lok Sabha.
Tomar said as per a study on All India Cold-chain Infrastructure Capacity (AICIC-2015), there was cold storage capacity of 32 million tonnes in the Country against an approximate requirement of 35 million tonnes.
The Minister said the base line survey conducted during December, 2013 by Hansa Research Group estimated that 92 per cent of cold storage are owned and operated by private sector, three per cent cooperative and remaining five per cent are under Public Sector.

Chennai Port planning to develop Logistics Park or Maritime Cluster

HENNAI: The Chennai Port Trust (ChPT) is planning to develop 120 acres of land in Mappedu near Sriperumbudur. Feasibility studies are under way to see if a Multi-Modal Logistics Park (MMLP) or a maritime cluster, could be built under the Sagarmala project.
The land, which had been taken on lease from SIPCOT, had been earlier earmarked for a dry port and road connectivity to Arakkonam too had been created for that purpose.
“The scope of that proposal has been now expanded due to change in times and demands of the industry and we are looking at an MMLP that brings value addition. The initial report for the project has been submitted by the consultant.
It would require an investment of Rs 300 crore and take two years to create the requisite infrastructure,” explained an official in ChPT. The port’s investment in either of these projects would be in the form of the land.
The park, which is close to the production centres, would have warehouses, container freight station, container yards, open area for cargo including telecom, apparel, consumer durables and automobile components.
“We already have road connectivity to the side, we are also examining the possibility of getting a rail link,” the official said. The plan would be to start it in stages and the port is also likely to acquire around 60 acres if more land is required.
At the same time, another consultant has submitted an initial report for a maritime cluster to be developed on that land. This was being proposed along with the Sagarmala Development Company Ltd

Multi Modal Terminal at Sahibganj to open up alternate route for Nepal bound cargo

NEW DELHI: The Minister of State for Shipping (I/C) and Chemical & Fertilizers Shri Mansukh Mandaviya informed the parliament that the completion date of the Multi-Modal Terminal (MMT) being constructed at Sahibganj in Jharkhand on River Ganga (NW-1) under the Jal Marg Vikas Project is August this year.  Sahibganj MMT is strategically located in the logistic chain of Eastern Transport Corridor of India. Being close to both NH-80 and the Sakrigali railway station, the MMT is expected to boost cargo movement in the area, leading to extensive socio-economic and industrial development of the region.
It will also provide alternate routefor Nepal bound cargo and open up international markets for sea trade for land locked states of Jharkhand and Bihar.
The Minister further informed that the projected traffic volume of Sahibganj MMT is 2.24 Million Tonne Per Annum (MTPA) by 2020-21 and the major cargo expected to be handled are stone chips, coal, cement, food grains, fertilizer and sugar. The MMT is projected to generate employment of 2500 persons.

Steel Exports decline 34% during last fiscal : Steel Minister

NEW DELHI: In comparison to 2017-18 (9.62 million tonnes), India’s total steel export has declined by 34% in 2018-19 and stood at 6.36 million tonnes.
In order to protect the domestic industry from unfair external competition, appropriate trade measures such as anti dumping duties and countervailing duties have been imposed. Government has also notified 53 Steel and Steel Product (Quality Control) Orders which is applicable for both domestic production as well as imports. The Steel Quality Control Order are implemented in the public interest for protection of human, animal and plant, safety of environment, prevention of unfair trade practices and national security.
Trade related issues are a part of ongoing economic relationship discussion between India and US.
This information was given by the Union Minister for steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan in the Lok Sabha

iyush Goyal highlights impact on Exports due to decline in Export Credit

NEW DELHI: As per data compiled by RBI, the balance outstanding for export credit by all Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) increased from Rs 1,85,591 crore as on 31.3.2015 to Rs 2,43,890 crore as on 31.3.2018 before declining to Rs 2,26,363 crore as on 31.3.2019.
Government has taken following major steps to increase the flow of credit to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) exporters:
(i)    raising interest equalization rate under Interest Equalisation Scheme (IES) from 3% to 5% for MSME exports,
(ii)   including Merchant exporters under IES for Pre and Post Shipment Rupee Export Credit,
(iii)  facilitating export under GST by permitting Letter of Undertaking in place of bond with no bank guarantee for exporting goods or services or both,
(iv) allowing merchant exporters to procure goods from domestic suppliers, for export, with nominal GST of 0.1%,
(v)   provisional sanction of 90% GST refund amount for exports within 7 days,
(vi) reducing insurance premium rates by an average of 17% for export credit.
Department of Financial Services has informed that RBI is currently examining the priority sector lending norms for export credit and certain enabling guidelines are under consideration. When issued, revised guidelines are expected to release additional Rs.350-680 billion export credit under priority sector.
RBI has informed that it is not in favour of earmarking a part of foreign exchange reserves for export credit.
This information was given by the Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, in the Rajya Sabha recently.

Decline in exports reflect worsening Global economic conditions: FIEO

NEW DELHI: Reacting to the sliding merchandise exports growth during June, 2019, FIEO President, Mr Sharad Kumar Saraf said that such a de-growth in exports is a reflection of sluggish global demand and rising tariff war. The high exports base of June 2018 contributed in no less measure. The softening of crude and steel prices also pulled down exports.
FIEO Chief is of the view that due to US-China Trade war and developments in Iran further aggravated the problem of the world economy. The uncertainty attached to it will also affect the flow of investment and add to currency volatility.
Only 9 out of 30 major product groups were in positive territory during June 2019 including some plantation and agri sector, iron ore, ceramic products & glassware, drugs & pharma, electronic goods and jute manufacturing including floor covering. Rest all major sector of exports including almost all labour-intensive sector exports besides petroleum for first time in recent times were in the negative with such a decelerating trend.
Mr Saraf said that domestic issues including access to credit, cost of credit especially for merchant exporters, interest equalization support to all agri exports, benefits on sales to foreign tourists and quick refund of GST should be seriously looked into.

Exports down 10% in June on Global trade tension

NEW DELHI: India’s exports shrank for the first time in nine months in June as global trade tension hit shipments and the Country braced for the impact of the US withdrawing some benefits.
Exports shrank 9.71% last month to $25.01 billion while imports declined 9.06%. The trade deficit narrowed to $15.28 billion from $16.6 billion a year ago, data released by the Government showed.
Exports to China fell by a sharp 14.1% as the Country struggled with the impact of the trade war with the US — its GDP growth slowed to a 27-year low of 6.2% in the June quarter. India’s shipments to the United Arab Emirates fell 15.31% and those to Hong Kong dropped 9.68% in June.
“The decline in exports in June is due in large part to a base effect of an extraordinarily good month in June 2018,” said Commerce Secretary Anup Wadhawan, adding that the decline was also consistent with certain global trends, which have impacted exports in recent months.
The decline in crude prices also weighed on petroleum exports. The last time exports contracted was in September 2018, when they fell 2.15%. Data showed a decline in shipments for 21 out of 30 sectors with the steepest fall registered in gems and jewellery, engineering goods and petroleum products in June. Healthy exports are key to the Government’s plan to revive the economy. “The temporary shutdown of ONGC Mangalore Petrochemical Ltd for maintenance has adversely impacted exports of petroleum products,” the Commerce Ministry said in a statement. “Jamnagar refinery also experienced a routine maintenance related disruption in June 2019.”
In a report last month, rating agency Crisil said that the withdrawal of GSP will affect exporters of gems and jewellery the most with around 15% of these having availed of the benefits in 2018.
“Now there will be an additional duty of 7% on exports of precious metal-based and imitation jewellery,” the rating agency had said. “That will reduce competitiveness of domestic exporters and put pressure on margins.”