-Livemint.com * Despite the slowdown in rural demand, the spike in food prices is not showing any signs of cooling. Here’s why * This is the best time for the budget to address the volatility in food prices. Reliable market intelligence on crop production and timely advisories to farmers can help stabilize prices New Delhi: For more than five years now, the Indian countryside has only heard stories of anguish. Consecutive years of...

-The Indian Express "Domestic demand has slowed more sharply than expected amid stress in the non-bank financial sector and a decline in credit growth," India-born IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath said. Citing a sharp economic slowdown in India and other emerging markets, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Monday lowered growth estimate for the world economy to 2.9 per cent for 2019. Besides, the International Monetary Fund also trimmed India’s growth estimate...

-Livemint.com The government’s inordinately large food stockpiles have resulted in an artificial market scarcity On 7 January, the ministry of statistics released India’s advance estimates of national income for 2019-20, pegging the economy’s growth rate this financial year at 5%. Based on data available for the first two quarters, this seems an overestimate. Most indicators suggest that actual growth may be lower than 5%. This is bad news, especially since there is...

-The Hindu Business Line Mumbai: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s advice to State governments to dismantle the Agricultural Produce Market Committees and move on to eNAM (electronic National Agriculture Market) has raised many eyebrows as the three-year-old nascent online platform is still facing teething troubles. Addressing the sixth World Congress on Rural and Agricultural Finance earlier this week, Sitharaman said, “I want to place emphasis on eNAM. We are trying to get the...

-Livemint.com * Farm distress, stagnant incomes have eroded demand, shows Nielsen data * Consumption in rural areas grew at 5% in terms of value in the Sep quarter, while in urban India, the growth was 8% Rural household consumption slumped to a seven-year low in the September quarter, in a sign that the prolonged agrarian distress and near-stagnant rural incomes have eroded demand for consumer goods, market researcher Nielsen said. Consumption of packaged consumer...