Duty cut pushes CPO import up by 18% in Dec
A 10 per cent duty reduction on the import of crude palm oil (CPO) on November 27 has helped boost CPO import during December, according to the Solvent Extractors’ Association of India (SEA).
India imported 7,48,006 tonnes of CPO during December 2020 as against 6,31,824 tonnes in the corresponding period of 2019, recording a growth of 18.38 per cent.
BV Mehta, Executive Director of SEA, said that the import duty reduction on CPO from 37.5 per cent to 27.5 per cent on November 27, 2020 has encouraged larger import of the oil during the period.
Nasscom launches Innovation Factory to promote AI in agriculture
The National Association of Software and Services Companies (Nasscom) has tied up with Telangana Artificial Intelligence Mission (T-AIM) to launch an Innovation Factory to identify and promote innovative artificial intelligence solutions to address challenges in agricultural sector.
They have announced an ‘innovation challenge’ for start-ups, inviting ideas that can make the lives of farmers easier by helping them increase incomes.
Coconut procurement price hike in Budget fails to enthuse farmers
The raising of procurement price of coconut in the Kerala Budget from ₹27 to ₹32 per kg has brought hardly any cheer to the farming community, especially when prices are witnessing a spiralling trend at ₹42.
Terming it as an eyewash, P Vinod Kumar, Chairman of Consortium of Coconut Producer Companies, said the government did not intervene when the farming community badly needed support on price drop at ₹27 during April, May and June last year. The State Agriculture Department was not proactive over the last five years and remained a mute spectator in the wake of the declining trend.
