-The Telegraph Demand for sustainable or organic cotton on the rise, providing an opportunity for the country to excel A few years ago, images of the drying up of the eastern bed of the Aral Sea had shocked millions. It was linked to the widespread growing of unsustainable cotton, backed by the Uzbekistan government, to pocket greater forex earnings and satiate the demands of the global fashion industry. The demand for sustainable...

-The Hindu Business Line Policy deficit. The widening trade deficit with China points to a weakness in India’s industrial growth path It was headline news when Chinese customs statistics at the end of September 2022 indicated that for a second calendar year, India’s trade with China would settle at well above $100 billion. That was only partly because of the positive implications of burgeoning trade between the two countries that only two...

-The Tribune US spearheading move to force developing countries to open up to imports The US filed a fresh complaint against India at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) last week. In its submission, the US sought withdrawal of India’s import restrictions on genetically modified (GM) foods, including rice and apples. It said the demand for a non-GM certificate was disrupting American agricultural exports. This comes at a time when for no apparent...

-The Hindu Business Line Under-invoicing of imports is just one part of the story. Data asymmetries have many other factors. The trade data mismatch of India and China has attracted wide coverage from both electronic and print media. This mismatch is attributed to ‘under-invoicing’ by Indian importers for the imports originating from China. There is mismatch of $12 billion with China reporting its exports to India over $103 billion. Indian agencies, on the...

-The Hindu Business Line Production of Gobindobhog rice is estimated to be 5-7 per cent higher this year on the back of a better-quality crop giving a better paddy to rice conversion rate West Bengal’s premium variety of aromatic rice — Gobindobhog – has witnessed a near 11 per cent decline in prices on the back of prospects of arrival of a higher crop and better quality produce. The imposition of 20...