-The Hindu China was the largest importer of the grain in 2015-16. New Delhi: China may soon grant market access to India's non-basmati rice exports, acceding to a long-pending request from New Delhi. The Centre had repeatedly taken up the issue of the country’s ballooning goods trade deficit with China bilaterally. India had demanded market access for products including non-basmati rice, pharmaceuticals and several fruits & vegetables among others. India’s goods trade deficit with...

-Livemint.com/ Bloomberg Global population growth, the main driver of demand increases, is declining, while income growth in emerging economies is projected to be weaker, say OECD and FAO London: Food prices will stagnate over the next decade as the population growth rate declines and income expansion in emerging economies slows. Food costs will stabilize at a level slightly higher than in the years before the 2007-08 price spike, the Organization for Economic...

-The Hindu Business Line Points out that many will starve and lose their livelihood without govt support New Delhi: Citing the vulnerability of its small-scale fishing fleet and the need to ensure food security, India has demanded special and differential treatment in fishery subsidy disciplines being negotiated at the World Trade Organization (WTO) so that support to small and marginal fishermen gets exempted. In a recent meeting in Geneva on laying ground rules...

-Livemint.com Imports may total 5 million metric tonnes in 2016-17, the most since 2006-07, according to estimates New Delhi: India may import the most wheat in a decade as output declines in the world’s second-biggest producer. Imports may total 5 million metric tonnes in 2016-17, the most since 2006-07, according to the median estimate of seven traders surveyed by Bloomberg. Production is set to decline 1.8% to 85 million metric tonnes in the...

Situation alarming: More than one-third population hit by drought   The country is facing severe drought for the second consecutive year. Conservative estimates from official sources show that over a quarter of rural habitations are facing drinking water scarcity. Although both India Meteorological Department and Skymet have predicted a more than normal rainfall during June-September, 2016, the water storage available in 91 major reservoirs of the country has declined from 22 percent...