-The Hindu Business Line Stagnation in the area under cultivation and marginal growth in yields have capped domestic output growth, says a report Mangaluru: Even while the import-dependent edible oils market in India has been affected by geopolitical factors, the domestic production of oilseeds remains below the global average. The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of oilseeds production in India has remained at 1.94 per cent between 2011-12 and 2020-21, as against global...

-The Hindu Business Line MSP signalling in favour of oilseeds, pulses should be backed up by credible procurement steps In announcing the minimum support prices for the kharif season, the Centre has rightly stuck to its plan of trying to wean away acreage from rice, particularly in rainfed areas, to pulses and oilseeds. This has been its policy since 2015, and it has resulted in output gains and increased acreage in pulses,...

-The Hindu Business Line Pesticide residues in India’s agri exports calls for a multi-pronged policy response As reported recently by this newspaper, India’s cumin exports have suffered a setback in recent months, with China claiming that pesticide residues exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) spelt out by it about six months back. Chinese authorities have said that consignments must be accompanied by a pesticide residue report. India has been through all this...

-The Hindu Business Line Rather than cut fuel prices, encouraging farmers to step up cultivation of oilseeds and raising LPG subsidy and vegetables will ease food inflation  It is true that a reduction in the prices of petro products will result in a modest fall in the prices of various commodities. However, the reduction in petro prices will happen only when both Central and State governments forgo a substantial portion of the...

-The Hindu Business Line CAI asks officials to take "immediate steps to avoid distortions in cotton prices." Cotton trade body Cotton Association of India (CAI) has raised concerns about alleged speculative trades taking place on the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX) platform. Citing a sharply lower open interest (OI) in MCX Cotton Futures for the May 2022 contract, CAI has flagged serious distortions in cotton prices causing speculative movements and asked the Exchange to...