Thrissur: Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said on Sunday that the import of edible oils would continue as there was a huge oil deficit in the market. Speaking to journalists after launching a Coconut replanting and rejuvenation project at the Kerala Agricultural University, he said there was a gap of 5 million tonnes between the domestic production of edible oils and demand. “Imports will continue until domestic production is up. To offset...
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Ripe for the Plucking, but Fewer Dare to Try by Lydia Polgreen
PETTAH, India — As he approaches his first tree of the day, S. Mohan presses his calloused palms together and bows his head. “Oh God, I am climbing the Coconut tree,” he whispers. “Protect me from harm.” With no safety gear beyond a strap of palm frond tied around his ankles, he launches himself onto the tree’s arcing trunk, which rises dozens of feet into the air. With a swift...
More »Centre counters anti-FTA campaign by KPM Basheer
KOCHI: In a rare move, the Union government has launched an ‘Appeal to the People of Kerala’ advertisement campaign to counter the ‘false propaganda’ against the Indo-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA). Rarely does the Centre come out with such State-specific advertisement campaigns to counter resistance to its policy, it is pointed out. The half-page ads in the newspapers, issued in ‘public interest’ by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, is...
More »The iniquitous perils of the free trade pact
This is a statement sent in by V.R. Krishna Iyer, a former Judge of the Supreme Court, who is based in Kochi: Some of the provisions of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that India recently signed with the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will weaken India’s, and specifically Kerala’s, rubber sector because Malaysia and a few other countries that are a part of the ASEAN will flood the...
More »Fishermen, farmers to protest free-trade agreement
TNN/ MANGALORE: Many fishermen and farmers’ organizations in Mangalore have taken umbrage at a move by the Union government to sign a free-trade agreement with Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). The organizations - Karnataka Prantha Raitha Sangha (KPRS), National Fish Workers Forum, Karnataka Rajya Raitha Sangha and Karnataka Karavali Sampradayika Nadadoni Meenugarara Okkoota - will register their protest on October 2. K Yadav Shetty, general secretary, KPRS, said on...
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