Fertiliser Ministry hikes sale limit on subsidised nutrients to plantations
Following concerns raised by the plantation sector, the Fertiliser Ministry has hiked the maximum limit for purchase of subsidised fertilisers by six times to 1,200 bags per month per plantation from the earlier 200 bags.
The Department of Fertiliser (DOF) on Thursday issued a note increasing the maximum limit for sale of fertilisers to 1,200 bags per month per plantation. On January 21 this year, the DOF had fixed limits at 200 bags per month per plantation and 50 bags per month for other farmers, in what was seen as an attempt to curb excess use of nutrients and its diversion. However, DOF has not changed the purchase limit for other farmers.
NBHC sees regulations, consumer demand and exports driving food standards certification
Warehousing service provider National Bulk Handling Corporation (NBHC), owned by private equity firm True North, recently forayed into third party inspection and testing services of agri-commodities and food products through its service offering PROCOMM. With over 2,200 warehouses across the country, NBHC — which mainly serves corporates such as ITC and Britannia among food processors — sees a big opportunity for third party testing services. As the Indian farm sector gets more integrated globally, the growth in demand for quality certification will be driven by the rising food exports and compliance of food safety norms, says Ramesh Doraiswami, MD and CEO, in an interaction with BusinessLine.
Indian rice exports face hurdles on shipping woes
Exporters look to complete contracts rather than sign new deals
Though new opportunities are opening up for Indian rice exporters, especially for non-basmati, they are currently keen on fulfilling their contracts following logistics hurdles.
“Logistics in rice exporters has emerged as the biggest challenge. It seems to be going out of control but we are trying our best to fulfil the contracts signed than chasing new deals,” said BV Krishna Rao, President, The Rice Exporters Association (TREA).
