Cotton

Good rabi crop can bring down inflation: FinMin

New Delhi, April 13: Battling to control the rising prices, the Finance Ministry sounded confident of bringing inflation within manageable limit if the rabi crop is good and global commodity rates stablise.

"If the rabi crop is good, if international commodity prices stabilise, we should be able to manage inflation this fiscal within manageable limit," Finance Secretary D Subbarao said to a news agency in an interview.

Referring to rising commodity prices, he said no country, including India, is completely decoupled with the global happenings.

Generally, recession in the US is accompanied by a fall in commodity prices, but this has not happened so far, he said.

However, if there is further downturn in the US, or recession, that should have a moderating impact on commodity prices, he said.

In the backdrop of soaring inflation, the Finance Ministry is also preparing itself for a moderation in economic growth this fiscal compared to the projected 8.7 percent for 2007-08.

He, however, exuded confidence that expansion would still be in the high path of over 8 percent.

"Growth will be moderate but it will be in keeping with high growth trajectory. It will be eight percent plus. At the present juncture, controlling inflation becomes our priority, if there is moderation in growth, then so be it," Subbarao said.

He also ruled out a collapse in economic growth.

"There is no question of growth crashing dramatically. I am optimistic about growth rate. It will moderate but I don't think it will crash to six percent," he said.

On impact of slowdown in growth on revenue collections and fiscal deficit targets for the current fiscal due to various fiscal sops announced to tame inflation, he said it is too early to make any assessment.

The government has announced a slew of measures such as reduction in customs duty on edible oil, maize pluses besides banning exports non-basmati rice.

Containing inflation is the first priority even if it is at the cost of some sacrifice, he said further.

The Ministry has estimated a revenue loss of Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 4,000 crore due to a cut in customs duties on edible oil, maize and other products early this month.

Gross tax collections are estimated at Rs 6,87,715 crore for 2008-09 against Rs 5,85,410 crore, as per the revised projection for last year.

Subbarao maintained that inflation was a regressive tax and hurts the poor more.

According to data released on Friday, inflation soared to 40-month high of 7.41 percent towards the close of last fiscal, while industrial production started looking up in February after performing dismally in the last four months.

Subbarao spoke to a news agency a few days before the latest inflation and IIP data was released.

Meanwhile, various think-tanks have talked of moderation in India's economic growth rate this fiscal.

While IMF has projected 7.9 percent growth, Manila-based ADB estimated it at 8 percent and the Prime Minister's Economic Advisory Council said it is 8.5 percent.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also cautioned that rising global food prices could derail economic reforms and impede economic growth and employment generation.

"A steep rise in food prices will make inflation control more difficult and can thereby hurt the cause of macro economic stability," said the Finance Secretarty who is currently on visit to Washington for IMF-World Bank's spring meeting.

Call to set up Saarc food bank to face climate change
DHAKA (April 13 2008): Agriculture experts at a seminar here on Saturday underlined the need for establishing a common food bank for the South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation ( Saarc) member countries to face adverse impact of climate change on food production.

They also suggested carrying out more researches to invent more saline, drought and flood tolerant crop varieties and improving early disaster warning system, official news agency BSS reported.

Saarc Agriculture Centre organised the seminar titled 'Climate Change and Its Impact on Agricultural Production System in Saarc Region'. Bangladeshi Agriculture Secretary Abdul Aziz said work of creating Saarc food bank has already been started as per the decision of the last Saarc summit in New Delhi. Aziz underlined the need for establishing an adaptation centre and creating an adaptation fund for mitigating climate change.

"Climate change is not a problem of only Bangladesh, it's a global problem and the South Asia will face its worst adverse effects," he said, adding "only Bangladesh could not adapt with the climate change without regional co-operation as the flood depends on flows of trans-boundary rivers

cotton open negetive in nybot...................Cash - - - 73.81 * Feb 25, 09:53 - - - - - n/a
May 08 73.80 73.80 73.42 73.42 Apr 14, 02:30 - -0.74 - 74.16 - Call Put
Jul 08 77.65 77.65 76.95 76.95 Apr 14, 02:30 - -0.74 - 77.69 - Call Put
Oct 08 - - - 82.08 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 82.08 - Call Put
Dec 08 84.50 84.50 84.30 84.30 Apr 14, 02:29 - -0.78 - 85.08 - Call Put
Mar 09 - - - 88.21 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 88.21 - Call Put
May 09 - - - 89.27 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 89.27 - Call Put
Jul 09 - - - 90.27 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 90.27 - Call Put
Oct 09 - - - 90.87 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 90.87 - Call Put
Dec 09 - - - 91.57 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 91.57 - Call Put
Mar 10 - - - 93.44 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 93.44 - Call Put
May 10 - - - 94.04 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 94.04 - Call Put
Jul 10 - - - 94.64 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 94.64 - Call Put
Oct 10 - - - 95.24 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 95.24 - Call Put
Dec 10 - - - 96.72 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 96.72 - Call Put
Mar 11 - - - 97.17 * Apr 11, 17:46 - - - 97.17 - Call Put

Moitree Express resumes journey after being stopped by protesters

Kolkata, April 14: The Kolkata-Dhaka Moitree Express flagged off on Monday was stopped briefly on its tracks by a citizens group called ‘Amra Bengal’, demanding the scrapping of Indo-Bangladesh friendship treaty. The train however resumed the historic journey within 10 minutes as the police swung into action.

The train was flagged off by External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, resuming passenger train services between the two neighbouring countries after 43 years.

About 50 members of the group blocked the train’s path for 15 minutes at Nadia at 8.35 am and were removed by the police before things could get out of control.

The six-coach train will be a bi-weekly service between Kolkata and Dhaka Cantonment. It will leave Kolkata on Saturdays and Sundays at 7.10 am reaching Dhaka at 10.30 pm.

From Dhaka, it will leave at 8.30 am and will reach Kolkata at 9 pm.

The Indian rake has a capacity of 368 passengers and the Bangladeshi one will have 418 passengers.

Railway Minister Lalu Prasad, Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi and Bangladesh High Commissioner to India Liquat Ali Chowdhury were present at the Kolkata railway terminal in north Kolkata at the flag-off ceremony along with a host of dignitaries.

Before partition, there was a regular over-night service from Kolkata to Goalanda and further upto Dhaka via Narayangunj. At the time of partition, there were three train services from Sealdah to various destinations of the then East Pakistan. These trains - East Bengal Mail, East Bengal Express, Barishal Express - were operational till 1965.

After 1965, there was no passenger rail service between India and the then East Pakistan which later became Bangladesh.

US retail sales register unexpected rise

Washington, April 14: US retail sales unexpectedly rose in March as consumers had to dig deep to cover record high gasoline costs, according to a government report on Monday that did little to dispel the gloom hanging over the economy.

Retail sales rose 0.2% in March, pushed up by a jump in gasoline sales, a Commerce Department report showed. Analysts polled were expecting retail sales to be unchanged from the previous month.

Sales at gasoline stations rose 1.1%. Gasoline prices hit records in March and have continued to rise since then, according to government data.

Excluding gasoline sales, retail sales were flat last month. In another sign of rising prices for commodities pressed by strong global demand, sales at food and beverage stores also rose. Retail sales data are not inflation-adjusted.

"It is a report that seems to highlight that consumers are moving into a more cautious mode," said Drew Matus, senior financial economist at Lehman Brothers in New York.

The report gave a boost to stocks and the dollar and sent US Treasury debt prices lower, but stocks and the dollar retreated, and Treasuries regained ground on disappointing bank earnings.

Meanwhile, business sales fell in February, leaving businesses with an unwanted buildup of inventories, a separate Commerce Department report showed. The inventory-to-sales ratio, which measure how long it would to deplete stocks at the current sales pace, rose to 1.28 months from 1.26 in January.

The retail sales data follows a report last week showing US consumer sentiment falling to its lowest in more than a quarter century in April, as worries about jobs and inflation darken shoppers' moods.

The economy appears on track for recession as a result of a severe correction in housing markets and a sharp pullback in credit have sharply slowed economic activity.

Excluding automobiles, retail sales rose 0.1%, in line with expectations.

The slumping housing market helped pull down sales at many retailers. Building materials and supplies sales slid 1.6%, while furniture and appliance store sales were also down.

Clothing store and general merchandise stores also saw declines in sales.

Non-store retailer sales rose 2.1%.

5% share in world trade by 2020 achievable for India: Survey

New Delhi, April 14: The growth-oriented annual review to the Foreign Trade Policy will boost Indian exports and help the country achieve the ambitious target of five percent share in world trade by 2020, a survey by CII has said.

"The annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy (2004-09) has fulfilled the Indian industry expectations," a CII CEO Opinion poll said.

Over 73 percent of the respondents said the target of India achieving 5 percent share in world trade by 2020 is ambitious but achievable.

At present, India`s share in the global trade is about one percent.

Majority of the respondents said the FTP review is growth-oriented and would help in sustaining the 8.5 percent growth rate of the country, besides, giving the much-needed boost to the rupee-hit exports.

About half the respondents said measures taken in the policy would help enhance their competitiveness and profitability in the global market.

The government has set an export target of USD 200 billion for the 2008-09, up from USD 160 billion last year.

It announced extension of the Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) scheme till May 2009 and tax exemption to 100 percent Export Oriented Units till 2010.

Mumbai edible oil prices - Apr 15
Mumbai, April 15 - Following are the prices of various edible oils at the Mumbai market as on 10.00 a.m. (IST). All prices are in Rs. per 10kg.Excluding Value added Tax (VAT) Variety/Day 15 delivery.

15/04 09:58 Product: FOB Malaysian ports- Apr 15

15/04 08:17 Mustard Seed NCDEX May

15/04 07:50 Castor Seed NCDEX MAY

15/04 07:44 Soya bean NCDEX MAY

Govt`s price control policies likely to backfire, says study

New Delhi, April 15: Few price control policies taken by the governments, including India, are likely to backfire by making the international market smaller and more volatile, a think-tank of International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has said.

"Price controls and changes in the import and export policies may begin to address the problems of poor consumers who find that they can no longer afford an adequate diet for a healthy life. But some of these policies are likely to backfire by making the international market smaller and more volatile," said a IFPRI report titled 'rising food prices: what should be done?'

Like China and Russia, India has taken "the easy option of restricting food exports, setting limits on food prices, or both," it said, adding that India recently took steps to minimise the effects of higher prices on the population by curbing non-basmati exports, extending ban on pulses for one more year and liberalising imports of edible oils and maize to some extent.

"Export restrictions and import subsidies have harmful effects on trading partners dependent on imports and also give incorrect incentives to farmers by reducing their potential market size," IFPRI warned.

Besides, these national agricultural trade policies undermine the benefits of global integration, as the rich countries' longstanding trade distortions with regard to developing countries are joined by developing countries' interventions against each other, it added.

Meanwhile, IFPRI said that price controls would reduce the price that farmers receive for their agricultural products and thus reduce incentives to produce more food.

Govt to subsidise edible oil, make it available through PDS

New Delhi, April 16: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said the government will import one million tonnes of edible oil and 15 lakh tonnes of pulses, in a bid to check the rising prices of essential commodities. This oil will be subsidised at the rate of Rs 15 per litre and will be made available all over the country through the Public Distribution System (PDS), Pawar told the Lok Sabha.

The minister further said the government will take a decision on banning futures trade in essential commodities in case expert committee report is not received within 10 days.

Pawar said this while replying to a day-long discussion on price rise that saw the government coming under attack from friends and foes alike over its "failure" to tackle rising inflation.

"There is scarcity of edible oil in our country and we are dependent on import of edible oil. We will import one million tonnes of edible oil and we have told all public sector companies and they should import edible oil," he said.

On pulses, he said in the face of a shortage, the government had no option but to import it.

"We will be importing 15 lakh tonnes of pulses and we have placed an order 11.86 lakh tonnes before March 31," he said adding that the government has already abolished import duty on edible oils and pulses.

The hour-long reply saw a walkout by the Left members as also the opposition BJP.

Observing that a committee headed by Planning Commission member Abhijit Sen had been set up to go into Forward Market Commissions (FMC), Pawar said, "If the report of this committee is not received within 10 days, we will take a decision only on essential commodities which affect the common man."

Pawar`s statement came in response to demands that there should be a ban on forward trading in essential commodities, particularly foodgrains.

"If we do not get the (Abhijit Sen Committee) report in the next 10 days, we will talk to the regulator and take up the issues concerning items of daily use," he said, adding that though four items have been removed from FMC, this has had no impact on their prices.

Criticising the erstwhile NDA government for deciding to export wheat, he said it was "not taken at the right time as the production then had gone down and as a result godowns were emptied. Private traders benefited from the decision as over Rs 16,000 crore of subsidy was given to them."

Referring to the anti-hoarding drive and the implementation of the Essential Commodities Act by state governments, Pawar said five states had decided not to implement it, whereas 15 others were still considering the matter.

He, however, did not reveal the names of the states.

Refuting charges that food subsidy was being reduced, the minister said the amount had gone up from about Rs 19,800 crore in 2006-07 to over Rs 31,200 crore in 2007-08 and was expected to reach about Rs 45,000 crore in 2008-09.

Pawar sought to give a new dimension to the soaring prices despite satisfactory foodgrains production by saying that the purchasing power of poor people has increased due to welfare schemes like NREGA and therefore the demand has also gone up tremendously.

Pawar`s statement drew sharp protests from BJP and Left members.

Jeera maintains the strength; ends higher

Mumbai- Jeera maintained the strength it showed during the early trading session today till the closing. The active May contract closed at Rs.8821 today, up by 3.87 per cent against the previous closing.

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