GAGA B2B - CONNECTING IMPORTERS AND EXPORTERS

[ad_1] India's merchandise trade deficit widened to $19.1 billion in the month of April, Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said on Wednesday. A Reuters poll of economists had pegged April's trade deficit at $17.23 billion.India's trade deficit had narrowed to a 11-month low of $15.6 billion in March.Merchandise exports inched up 1.06 per cent on an annual basis to $34.99 billion. Meanwhile, imports in April grew 10.3 per cent year-on-year to $54.09 billion after growing $57.28 billion in March government data showed.Merchandise exports and imports in March were $41.68 billion and $57.28 billion respectively."We are hopeful on trade growth in the current financial year," said Barthwal. "Goods exports in april have gone up," he noted.The increase in the import bill was attributed to rise in inbound shipments of of gold, petroleum products, electronics, and pulses, according to the data. In April, oil imports amounted to $16.46 billion. Gold imports ...

[ad_1] Construction of a gargantuan network of roads, highways, tunnels, bridges, airports, metros and high-speed trains is the showpiece of the Narendra Modi government. But one crucial piece of Modi's massive infrastructure upgrade remains invisible to voters. "There is deeper transformation going on behind the scenes, too, in sectors with which most Indians have no direct contact but which affect their lives all the same. One of these is ports, which has seen huge improvement in capacity and efficiency," The Economist wrote last week."India's politicians are often criticised for focusing on visible outcomes. But fixing infrastructure most voters do not see and simplifying rules most do not consider show that the state is capable of enacting deeper reform," wrote The Economist.WIth India signing a deal with Iran to manage its Chabahar Port for the next 10 years, Modi's port play has come to light. This is the first time India will take over mana...

[ad_1] New Delhi: India has a strong institutional mechanism to prevent any potential dumping of goods from China following the US’ decision to increase tariffs on key imports such as electric vehicles, an official said Wednesday, adding that Washington’s decision indicates that “no country is willing to put all their eggs in one basket post the Covid-19 pandemic”.The US on Tuesday announced plans to slap new tariffs on Chinese EVs, advanced batteries, solar cells, steel, aluminium and medical equipment.India is also following a policy to ensure the country has domestic capability for manufacturing of EVs, the official said, adding that India’s policy is sound and its is speculative to worry. “We have our DGTR system, our effective anti-dumping system. So, in case somebody wants to dump, we have all the institutional mechanism to look at it. We will do that accordingly,” the official said.The DGTR or Directorate General of Trade Remedies is an investigation arm of the commerce a...

[ad_1] India has taken several steps to prevent EtO (ethylene oxide), a carcinogenic chemical, contamination in spices exported from India, a senior government official said on Wednesday. The steps were taken following the reports on recall of products from two Indian spice brands in Singapore and Hong Kong due to presence of EtO residue in certain spices of Indian brands MDH and Everest. "The Spices Board has taken steps to ensure the safety and quality of Indian spice exports to these regions," Additional Secretary in the Commerce Ministry Amardeep Singh Bhatia told reporters here. The board has made it mandatory to test such consignments destined to these two countries. A techno-scientific committee has also conducted a root cause analysis, inspected processing facilities, and collected samples for testing in accredited labs. "In response to the committee's recommendations, mandatory sampling and testing for EtO residues has been implemented for all spic...

[ad_1] New Delhi: India plans to put in place a standard operating procedure (SOP) for negotiating its free trade agreements and address new disciplines such as labour, environment, gender and indigenous peoples.The commerce and industry ministry will meet former negotiators and experts over a two-day Chintan Shivir to discuss India's strategy and SOPs on its FTAs and address measures such as the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism, critical minerals and Artificial Intelligence in trade negotiations."We are doing many FTAs and need SOPs on how to go about them. Technical issues such as capacity building, how to approach different countries and how to do an economic analysis would be discussed," said an official.To be held on May 16-17, the discussions will focus on India's FTA strategy, and economic assessment and modelling. "It is important to know about the utilisation of the various FTAs," said another official. Government think-tanks will also part...

[ad_1] Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi on Wednesday said increasing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) would be a key strategy for enhancing India's financial services exports. Inaugurating a workshop on financial services in FTAs here, Joshi highlighted the pivotal role of financial services in India's export strategy. The workshop organised jointly by Department of Financial Services (DFS) and Exim Bank brought together key stakeholders from the government bodies and academia to delve into the intricate dynamics of FTAs and the pivotal role of financial services in the new-age FTAs. India has significant potential to capitalise on the growing demand for financial services globally, particularly with the emergence of GIFT City as a major hub for financial services, Export-Import Bank of India (Exim Bank) said in a statement. "In 2022-23, financial services exports reached USD 7.8 billion, recording a CAGR of 12.6 per cent during 2018-19 to 2022-23. The upward...

[ad_1] The US, while warning potential sanctions on any entity having business dealings with Iran after New Delhi-Tehran signed a 10-year contract on Chabahar Port, may have ignored the waiver which it had extended to India on the very port that is India's gateway to Afghanistan-Central Asia-Eurasia.It is in this context that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has emphasised that the project will benefit the entire region and people should not take a "narrow view" of it.He pointed out that the US itself had appreciated the larger relevance of Chabahar in the past.Jaishankar was speaking at an interaction after the launch of the Bangla edition of his book 'Why Bharat Matters' in Kolkata on Wednesday. On Monday, Jaishankar emphasised it is a deal between India and Iran indicating the sovereign rights of two countries to conclude the deal.The India Ports Global Ltd has been working in Chabahar Port providing cranes and handling cargo since 2018 in the back...

[ad_1] New Delhi: India's goods exports grew 1.06% on-year to $34.99 billion in April, while the trade deficit widened to a four-month high driven by ballooning gold imports, official date released Wednesday showed.Trade deficit rose to $19.1 billion from $15.6 billion in March.Imports increased 10.3% on-year to $54.1 billion in the first month of FY25. Gold imports in April more-than-doubled to $3.11 billion from $1.53 billion the previous month.Officials said purchases by the central bank, final consumer, and jewellers had pushed up gold imports.Switzerland has replaced Russia as the top source for India's overall imports. "Nearly half of the widening in the aggregate merchandise trade deficit between April 2023 and April 2024 was on account of the surge in the value of gold imports amid the rise in global prices," said Aditi Nayar, chief economist, ICRA.Centre optimisticGoods exports fell 16.1% month-on-month from March and officials attributed the decline t...

[ad_1] New Delhi: The country's merchandise exports are expected to increase about USD 60-70 billion to USD 500 billion by the end of FY25, apex exporters' body FIEO said on Thursday. In 2023-24, exports dipped over 3 per cent to USD 437 billion. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ashwini Kumar also said the country's services exports are also likely to reach USD 390-400 billion this fiscal. "We are looking for merchandise exports between USD 500-510 billion in 2024-25. In the services, we expect exports to be around USD 390-400 billion for the current fiscal," Kumar told reporters here. He said traditional markets like the US and Europe will help in boosting India's exports. [ad_2] Source link https://gagab2b.com/import-exporter-business/import-export-market-news/exports-may-rise-12-15-pc-to-cross-usd-500-bn-this-fiscal-fieo/?feed_id=80&_unique_id=664fe504b5880

[ad_1] New Delhi: The Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) expects India’s merchandise exports increase around 14% to $500-510 billion in FY25 from $437 billion in 2023-24, led by technology driven sectors of exports such as machinery, electrical and electronic, automobile, pharma and biotechnology which have received a fillip from the production-linked incentive schemes.It has pushed for Social Media Marketing and exploring the potential of social media like Facebook and Instagram for promoting e-commerce exports.“The export prospects are better for FY25…We are looking at merchandise exports between $500-510 billion in 2024-25. In services, we expect exports to be around $ 390-400 billion for the current fiscal,” said FIEO President Ashwini Kumar, adding that India’s traditional markets such as the US and Europe and utilisation of India’s free trade agreements with Australia, the UAE and EFTA will boost exports.Among services, management consultancy and medical tour...

[ad_1] India's rise in trade with Russia should not be seen as a "temporary phenomenon" as more economic opportunities are emerging, India's foreign minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. India and Russia have a close relationship stretching back decades, and New Delhi has refused to condemn Moscow over its February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, urging the two sides to end the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy. New Delhi has emerged as one of the top buyers of Russian sea-borne oil since Western nations imposed sanctions and halted purchases in response to the war, which Russia calls a "special military operation". "For long, we have looked at Russia from a political or security perspective," Jaishankar said at an industry conference."As that country turns eastwards, fresh economic opportunities are presenting themselves... the spike in our trade and new areas of cooperation should not be regarded as a temporary phenomenon." Trade...

[ad_1] The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is evaluating best global practices in trade finance and identifying regulatory reforms to align India's future needs to propose comprehensive solutions, Joint DGFT Tirumala Venkatesh said on Friday. Over 2.5 lakh bank realisation certificates (BRCs) have been self-generated under the revamped eBRC system, which was soft launched last November, enhancing the ease of doing business, he said. "We are conducting a trade finance study at DGFT. The objective is to identify global best practices and benchmark, identify latest trends and technologies and future trends, identify institutional policy and regulatory reforms related to aligning the future needs of the country in the area of trade finance and propose comprehensive solutions with a road map for implementation," Venkatesh said. Highlighting the huge opportunity for growth in trade finance, he said a framework to capture flow of data for export credit needs...

[ad_1] India needs to put in place a national security filter for business propositions with some countries to evaluate certain national security sensitivities, External Affairs Minister (EAM), S. Jaishankar, said on Friday, adding that as far as national security goes, it is more complex with China. Addressing the 'CII Annual Business Summit 2024' in the national capital, EAM Jaishankar said India has not ignored doing business with China, but "we need to define the issues and take precautions". “For some countries, we have to put a national security filter. In a business proposition, we have to evaluate certain national security sensitivities which may be there,” the Minister said during a panel discussion at the event. He also said that where China is concerned, “we will still encourage people in the country to manufacture, source, and procure in India”. [ad_2] Source link https://gagab2b.com/life-as-usual-possible-with-china-pak-jaishankar-tells-biz-...

[ad_1] The Federation of Indian Spice Stakeholders (FISS) on Friday said India's spice export may decline nearly 40 per cent in FY25 if the issue of ethylene oxide or EtO contamination in spices meant for exports is not addressed at the earliest. The statement came against the backdrop of Hong Kong and Singapore banning the sale of popular brands MDH and Everest after detecting carcinogenic chemical ethylene oxide in their products, leading to a mandatory recall from shelves. In 2023-24, India's spice exports totalled USD 4.25 billion, accounting for 12 per cent share of global spice exports. "Lot of exporters have orders on their hands and they have been halted to an extent after that episode. As per our estimate, spice exports could be affected by 40 per cent of the volume this year if the issue is not resolved quickly," said Tejas Gandhi, Secretary of FISS, an association of nearly 600 spice traders, exporters and farmers from across the country. Addressi...

[ad_1] New Delhi: India has not ignored business with China but needs to define the problems and take caution today, said Minister of External Affairs (MEA) Dr S Jaishankar here on Friday.Speaking at a panel discussion at CII Annual Business Summit, Jaishankar said that as far as national security goes, it is more complex with China. "If peace and tranquility in border areas are disturbed, would you do business with someone who has barged into your turf. If a country has gone back on written agreements and is doing something on our borders, how can we then say that the business world will continue as normal." But the external affairs minister added, "Business in the country has not ignored China. We need to define the problems, and take caution today." It may be pointed out here that China has emerged as India's largest trading partner.He also indirectly hit out at China's unfair economic practices and leveraging it for political purposes. "A dif...

[ad_1] With prices of pulses showing no signs of cooling off, the Centre has taken further steps to boost the supplies by removing the duty on desi chana (Bengal gram) while extending the import window for yellow peas till October 31, 2024. Chana or chickpeas attracted an import duty of 66 per cent. Also read: Rising temperatures affecting demand for pulses, says tradeThrough an extraordinary gazette notification issued on Friday night, the government announced the reduction of import duty on desi chana to nil, which will come into effect from Saturday, May 4, and also the extension of import window for yellow peas, which are used as a substitute for chana, till end-October. In early April, the government extended the duty-free import of yellow peas by two months to June 30, 2024. Anticipating a shortfall in chana output, the government in December 2023 had allowed imports of duty-free chana imports till March 31, 2024 and subsequently extended it till April 30. Chana prices hav...

[ad_1] NEW DELHI: India, China and Russia, along with five other World Trade Organization (WTO) members, on Monday criticised the European Union's decision to extend its existing safeguard measure on certain steel products beyond June 30.At a WTO meeting, they argued that the EU's safeguard duty - brought into force after the United States in 2018 imposed additional duties on certain categories of steel imports from the bloc - was inconsistent with the global trade body's rules.WTO members, including India, also criticised similar duties imposed by the United Kingdom."The EU said it has evidence that the steel safeguard measure continues to be necessary," said a Geneva-based official, who did not wish to be identified.During the meeting, China and Korea said the rationale for the extension of the measure was ill-founded, while Brazil argued that the only sustainable solutions for the global problem of excess steel capacity were those based on multilateral o...

[ad_1] India has raised objections to a European Union (EU) proposal to levy duty on export of (ferrous) scrap from member nations or ban export of scrap to non-OECD countries. Also read:Editorial. EFTA-India trade deal tentative in scope  At a recent meeting of OECD (The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries, Indian officials, including representatives of the Steel Ministry, have pointed out that such proposals are “a restrictive trade practice”, those in the know told businessline. “At the OECD meeting held in March-end, Indian officials present there raised objections to the levy of export duty on ferrous scrap or ban them from non-OECD member countries. It was pointed out that such a move is trade restrictive specially for developing countries like us which have been trying to buy/import scrap and use it for steel making and reduce green-house gas emissions”, the official in the know said. Globally 73 countries have already bann...

[ad_1] Russia has nudged Azerbaijan to play an active role to boost the International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) that is a key trade link between India and Russia. INSTC is the key transport corridor between Mumbai and St Petersburg via Iran. There are plans to link INSTC with the North Sea Route of the Arctic and the Chabahar Port in future.Azerbaijan has been slow in full implementation of INSTC, which has otherwise contributed to increase in India-Russia trade since 2022. Armenia is also interested in developing a branch of INSTC. While the Kazakhstan-Turkmenistan route is another branch of INSTC, another branch is the Iran-Caspian Sea route. Russia invited all the interested countries to participate in development of the INSTC, President Vladimir Putin said at the joint meeting with President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev in Moscow on Monday."Just as the Baikal-Amur Mainline (BAM), which became indeed the all-Union construction project, was called to serve inte...

[ad_1] Crude oil futures traded higher on Friday morning as the trade data from China showed improvement in its economy. At 9.52 am on Friday, July Brent oil futures were at $84.36, up by 0.57 per cent, and June crude oil futures on WTI (West Texas Intermediate) were at $79.79, up by 0.67 per cent. Also read: Rupee trades in narrow range against US dollar in early tradeMay crude oil futures were trading at ₹6,663 on Multi Commodity Exchange (MCX) during initial trading on Friday morning against the previous close of ₹6,606, up by 0.86 per cent, and June futures were trading at ₹6,645 against the previous close of ₹6,587, up by 0.88 per cent. Uncertainty over rate cut Data released by China’s General Administration of Customs showed a 1.5 per cent growth in exports during April against a decline of 7.5 per cent in March. The market expected growth to be around 1 per cent in April. China’s imports went up by 8.5 per cent in April against a decline of 1.9 per cent in March. Market ...

[ad_1] The government is formulating action plans for around 20 agricultural products including banana, mangoes, potato and baby corn to boost their exports and these are likely to be ready in the next 3-4 months.“We have identified 20 products. At present, India’s share is low in global exports. We are working on a detailed action for all these products,” said Rajesh Agarwal, additional secretary, department of commerce, adding that the action plan will be discussed with all the stakeholders including states for further action.Fresh grapes, pomegranate, watermelon, guava, green chilly, capsicum, okra, garlic, onion, groundnut, alcoholic beverages, cashew nut, buffalo meat, jaggery, natural honey, and ghee are the other products included in the exercise as India aims to increase its share in global exports to 4-5% in the next few years from 2.5% now.The US, Malaysia, Canada, Russia, Germany, France, Korea, China, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Belgium, and the UK have huge export pote...

[ad_1] India is in talks with several countries seeking partnerships for technical help on lithium processing, said four sources familiar with the matter, to bolster its nascent lithium mining and electric vehicle industries and avoid relying on China. India's Ministry of Mines began discussions with Australia and the United States last year, said the four sources, two from India's government and two industry participants. The Indian government and some private companies have also sought help from Bolivia, Britain, Japan, and South Korea, said the sources, who did not wish to be identified as the discussions were not public. Executives from Russia's TENEX, part of state-owned nuclear energy company Rosatom, approached the Indian government and have held at least two meetings with Indian officials this year, offering lithium processing technology and the possibility of collaborating with Indian companies, said one of the sources, a senior government official with dire...

[ad_1] The Committee on Cotton Production and Consumption (CCPC), a body set up by the government comprising all textile industry stakeholders including farmers, has pegged the crop higher for the current season to September, while raising export and consumption estimates.At a meeting held in Mumbai on Thursday, the CCPC, earlier known as the Cotton Advisory Board, also lowered last season’s production and estimated imports higher.Also read: Centre fixes Bt Cotton seed MRP at ₹864/packet for 2024-25, lowest hike since 2019The CCPC raised crop production for  the current season (October 2023-September 2024) to 323.11 lakh bales (of 170 kg each) against 316.57 lakh bales estimated in November 2023. Last season, the crop was pegged at 336.60 lakh bales (343.47 lakh bales earlier). Toeing Govt estimates Cotton production estimate is in line with the Ministry of Agriculture’s second advance estimate released on February 29. While maintaining imports unchanged for the current...

[ad_1] India's engineering goods including steel and machinery exports rose 10.7% year-on-year in March to $11.28 billion, growing in double digits for the second straight month, despite ongoing supply issues caused by disruption to shipping through the Red Sea, a trade body said. Engineering goods, which account for one-fourth of merchandise exports, rose 2.13% in the 2023/24 financial year, to $109.3 billion from a year earlier, Engineering Export Promotion Council (EEPC), a body affiliated with the Commerce Ministry, said in a statement on Thursday. Exports have been dented by a slowdown in global demand, the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war and the Red Sea shipping crisis brought on by conflict in the Middle East, exporters said. Engineering exports to the U.S. declined 5.7% year-on-year to $17.62 billion in 2023/24.India's merchandise exports fell in the 2023/24 financial year - the first decline since 2020/21 - to $437 billion from $451 billion in the previous year. Aut...

[ad_1] In its efforts to stimulate exports, Rubber Board has announced an incentive of ₹5 per kg for sheet rubber shipments. The scheme will be in operational from March 15 to June 30 and the Board has constituted an Export Promotion Cell to address the various issues and hand-holding support to exporters. Also read: Centre hikes allocation for national rubber scheme by 23% to ₹708.69 crore for 2 fiscalsM Vasanthagesan, Executive Director of the Board, urged exporters and Rubber Board companies to explore the present export opportunities to the fullest in the days to come. This will also help to stabilize prices of natural rubber in the domestic market as well. A decision to this effect was taken at a meeting conducted by the Board to take stock of the current situation and explore export opportunities and more than 60 exporters including Rubber Board companies attended. Sawar Dhanania, Chairman, Rubber Board; N Hari, Member; George Valy, President, Indian Rubber Dealers Fe...

[ad_1] Easing export ban, the government on Thursday permitted overseas shipments of a specified quantity of white onion from three ports. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) in a notification said that the exporter shall have to get the certificate from the Horticulture Commissioner, Government of Gujarat, certifying the item and quantity of white onion to be exported. "Exports of up to an aggregate quantity not exceeding 2,000 MT (tonnes) of white onion has been allowed through the specified ports, taken together, with immediate effect," it said. The exports are allowed from Mundra Port, Pipavav Port and Nhava Sheva/JNPT Port. Exports of onion -- a politically sensitive commodity -- are banned in general. However, the government allows specified quantities of shipments to friendly nations on their requests. DGFT is an arm of the commerce ministry, which deals with norms related to imports and exports. On December 8 last year, the government banned expo...

[ad_1] New Delhi A year since the withdrawal of Covid restrictions in China, the country has seen increased iron ore buying from India. Nearly 92 per cent of Indian iron ore exports, or 40.40 million tonne (mt) for the 11 month period (April – February) of FY24, went to China. In percentage terms, this is the highest ever shipment over a seven year-period (between FY18 and FY24) and second highest in volume, after 11M FY21, when exports to China stood at 47.73 mt.Also read: Steel exports surge in February, but India still net importerIn the 11M FY24 period, India’s exports stood at 44.23 mt of iron ore; up 162 per cent y-o-y. Shipments to China, increased nearly 200 per cent. Key feedstock Iron-ore is a key feedstock raw material for steel-making. Over the last seven years, around 83 per cent of Indian exports went to China, data collected from research firm BigMint show. For instance in 11M FY18, 82 per cent shipments were to China (17.6 mt out of 21.31 mt), which fell to 78...

[ad_1] Russian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has opened its office in Mumbai to give a boost to the bilateral trade between Russia and India amid big number of Russian entrepreneurs seeking partners in the country.The Honorary Representative of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) of Russia on Thursday opened the new office in Mumbai.CCI President, Sergey Katyrin, who is currently heading a Russian delegation of entrepreneurs in India, inaugurated the new office by cutting the ceremonial ribbon alongside prominent Indian officials."We are currently overwhelmed with requests from Russian entrepreneurs seeking partners in India. This opening (of the new office in Mumbai) doubles, and possibly even more, expands our opportunities for finding partners, organizing business missions, and participating in exhibitions, and congresses. It is of great significance for us," Katyrin said during the inauguration. [ad_2] Source link https://gagab2b.com/russian-chambe...

[ad_1] India’s goods exports grew 11.86 per cent to $41.4 billion in February 2024 (year-on-year), the highest monthly export in the current fiscal so far, powered by sectors such as engineering goods, electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals and petroleum products despite adverse factors like the Red Sea disruptions, slowdown of Western economies and fall in commodity prices, according to the Commerce Department.Also read: Global trade in goods may bounce back in first quarter of 2024: WTOImports of goods in February 2024 posted a higher growth of 12.16 per cent to $60.11 billion, compared to imports in the same month last year, widening the trade deficit during the month to $18.7 billion from $ 16.57 billion in February 2023, per quick estimates released by the government. Export optimism “The month of February has surpassed all our expectations…It is giving me a lot of hope that when we end the financial year in March, our overall goods exports will be more than last yea...

[ad_1] India's services exports jumped 11.4 per cent to USD 345 billion in 2023 despite global economic uncertainties, while China's shipments from the sector contracted by 10.1 per cent to USD 381 billion, according to a UNCTAD report. Sectors that contribute to India's services export growth include travel, transport, medical and hospitality.With an 8.9 per cent annual rise in current dollar value terms, the world services exports surpassed USD 7.9 trillion in 2023, a quarterly bulletin of UNCTAD said.The leading exporters among developing economies include India, China, Singapore, Turkiye, Thailand, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia, it added.India's services imports, however, dipped marginally by 0.4 per cent to USD 248 billion last year."The main driver of the YoY (year-on-year) rise of services exports in Q4 2023 was the ample growth of international travel receipts. In the post-COVID-19 recovery, travel receipts increased by 70 per cent in Asia (YoY)," th...

[ad_1] For the first time in its history of milk cooperatives in India, Amul’s brand of “fresh milk” will be sold in the United States. The Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) --- the umbrella body of milk cooperatives in Gujarat that markets and sells milk under the brand Amul --- has tied up with the Michigan Milk Producers Association to sell “fresh milk” in the East Coast and Midwest markets of the US.Also read: From Butter to BioCNG: Amul marketer gets future ready “We have been exporting milk products to the US market for the last 25 years. However, this will be the first time we will be selling fresh milk in the US under the Amul brand. We expect this to be a game-changer,” Jayen Mehta, managing director of GCMMF told businessline.“We announced our entry into the US market in presence of board members at the 108th annual general meeting of the Michigan Milk Producers Association a couple of days ago. They are a 108-year-old cooperative...

[ad_1] New Delhi: India has made a strong pitch at the World Trade Organization (WTO) for the formulation of guidelines to determine default maximum residue limits (MRL) in the absence of international standards.The traces pesticides leave in treated products are called residues and MRL is the highest level of a pesticide residue that is legally tolerated in food or feed.In a submission to the WTO last week, India said that stringent MRLs can be trade-restrictive and act as non-tariff barriers to international trade, disproportionately affecting exporters from developing countries.At present there are no uniform international standards.The proposal comes amid certain exports by India's two major spice brands - MDH and Everest - getting rejected by Singapore and Hong Kong. India's exports of basmati rice, chillies, tea and sesame seeds are subject to MRLs which have been touted as unreasonable. "These trends are trade-restrictive... and act as barriers to internation...