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50 Task Force teams set up last month conducted raids in districts from March 29 to April 9
The Task Force teams comprising officials from the agriculture and police departments and seed certification and development agencies have seized over seven tonnes of spurious and illegal hybrid cotton seed with herbicide tolerant trait worth ?13.15 crore during the raids conducted in districts from March 29 to April 9.
In all, the 50 Task Force teams set up last month have conducted raids/inspections on 1,860 seed shops besides seed processing plants and godowns.
The reports submitted by the teams were reviewed at a meeting held here on Tuesday by Principal Secretary (Agriculture) C. Parthasarathi and Inspector General of Police Y. Nagi Reddy.
According to officials, the teams have arrested 31 persons for and registered cases under Section 420 of the Indian Penal Code against 6 persons following the detection of spurious seed during the raids. In all, they have seized 4,283 kg of expired herbicide tolerant (HT) cotton seed worth ?3.32 crore and over 2,842 kg (6,317 packets of 450 grams each) of spurious HT cotton seed worth ?9.83 crore.
Besides, the Task Force teams have also issued show cause notices to Narmadasagar, Karthiyan Agri-Genetics, Kohinoor Seeds and Vibha Agro-tech seed companies.
Speaking at the meeting, Mr. Nagi Reddy said cases under the provisions of the IPC and Prevention of Dangerous Activities Act would be registered against those indulging in spurious and illegal seed to minimise loss to the farming community.
Commissioner of Agriculture M. Jaganmohan, Director of Telangana State Seed and Organic Certification Authority K. Keshavulu, Director of Horticulture L. Venkatram Reddy and others also participated in the review.
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Despite agriculture minister Prabhu Lal Saini is raising voice against genetically modified (GM) mustard, agriculture department has extended permission once again for the sale of Bt cotton seed in the state for coming Kharif Season-2018.
Commissionerate of agriculture had issued an approval notification on April 3. Through this notification, 31 seeds companies have been given permission for sale of Bt cotton hybrids. The permission is given in the pursuance of the recommendation given by Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), Union ministry of Environment, Ministry of Science and Department of Biotechnology.
It is worth mentioning that Prabhu Lal Saini, on the sidelines of the global agritechnology meeting (GRAM) , had said that the mere touch of Bt cotton caused impotency. He, that time, mentioned that the Bt gene was extracted from a soil bacterium found in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after atomic bombs were dropped on the two cities during the Second World War.
But despite all concerns, agriculture department estimates that 22-25 lakh packets (a packets contain 450 grams) of Bt cotton seeds will be required in the state for the target sown area, for which around 30 lakh packets of Bt cotton seeds have been procured. As per department data, in last Kharif season total cotton sown area was 5.5 lakh hectare and department has set the same area to be sown as target for this season also.
“Farmers prefer Bt cotton hybrid to non Bt cotton as it produce 30% more yield. Not only the production is higher but the quality of fiber in Bt cotton is much better,” Ramgopal Sharma, Joint Director at agriculture department said. “Farmers are taking around 25-30 quintal per hectare yield which is 20-22 quintal per hectare in case on non Bt cotton. Department issues permission for the sale of Bt cotton with the condition that farmers should be given training by the companies,” he added.
What is Bt Cotton?
Bt cotton is genetically modified hybrid of cotton to be toxic to a pest called bollworms. It has been extensively grown in India since 2002 and in Rajasthan, on the contrary to agriculture minister’s concerns, Bt cotton is being sown in cotton-growing areas of the state since 2010. Today it is being sown in 80% of total cotton growing area in the state and in the district like Hanumangarh and Shriganganagar it is being sown in more than 95% cotton growing area.
What Saini earlier said
Agriculture Minister Prabhu Lal Saini, during the global agritechnology meeting (GRAM) at Udaipur in November 2017, had said that the mere touch of Bt cotton caused impotency. He, that time, mentioned that the Bt gene was extracted from a soil bacterium found in Hiroshima and Nagasaki after atomic bombs were dropped on the two cities during the World War II.
Concern cited
GM seeds and technologies have remained controversial in India and other countries. Bt cotton is included in genetically modified crops and it is the only GM crop for which commercial cultivation is permitted by GEAC. Environmentalist and scientist claims that Bt cotton leaves detrimental effects on Bt cotton users including human and animals or other crops located in the vicinity of Bt cotton farmers. The state of Maharashtra banned the sale and distribution of Bt cotton in 2012, but lifted the ban in 2013.
The cotton price stayed firm during the trading session at cotton market. Around 3,000 bales changed hands. The Karachi Cotton Association (KCA) spot rate remained unchanged at Rs 7,500 per maund.
The buyers made deals for all qualities offered by the ginners during trading session. Deals changed hands at around Rs 6,075 per maund to Rs 7,675 per maund.
Spinners and mills remained quality conscious and made deals on slightly higher prices during the session while leading ginners sensing future demand of quality lint offered thin volumes of better stocks on higher prices to the buyers.
Domestic buyers remained eyeing on better grades even on a bit higher price. They bought around 900 bales at Rs 7,675 per maund during the session.
Buyers would remain eager for quality lint on slightly higher price on the back of growing demand of cloth and yarn. Weather conditions in parts of cottonseed growing areas were normal.
There was possibility that leading buyers likely to import 15,000 bales of quality cotton in near future for meeting domestic and export demands of end products.
New York Cotton market remained in the grip of speculative selling pressure and the traders were looking for any good news from Chinese-USA corridors.
A senior broker said the ginners of Punjab offered quality cotton to the buyers around Rs 7,700 per maund while ginners of Sindh offered raw grade of lint to the buyers around Rs 5,975 per maund, depending on trash level.
Private sector commercial exporters were looking for better lots for Rs 6,375 to 6,450 per maund.
New York Cotton May Futures 2018 contract closed at 84,71 cents per pound, July Futures 2018 contract closed at 84.70 cents per pound and Cotllook A Index closed at 90 cents per pound..
Yarn production is set to expand 2.67 percent to 7.70 lakh tonnes this fiscal year on the back of rising garment exports, according to a report from the United States Department of Agriculture.
But the Bangladesh Textile Mills Association says the amount of yarn produced in the country is much higher at 13.50 lakh tonnes a year.
“In our estimate, yarn production in Bangladesh is much higher as cotton import has been on the rise over the last several years thanks to higher demand from garment manufacturers,” its Secretary Monsoor Ahmed said.
The total demand for yarn is more than 21 lakh tonnes. Of the amount, nearly 30 percent is imported, mainly from India, China, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Cotton import in Bangladesh has been increasing between 20 and 25 percent over the last few years, he said.
Last fiscal year, Bangladesh imported nearly 70 lakh bales [480 pounds make a bale], Ahmed said, adding that the quantity will increase 25 percent this year.
Bangladesh’s 430 spinners can supply nearly 90 percent of the demand for yarn from the knitwear sector and 35 percent from the woven sector.
As a result, Bangladeshi woven garment manufacturers import fabrics worth more than $6 billion from countries like China, India, Vietnam and Pakistan.
Raw cotton consumption is projected to increase to 6.7 million bales in fiscal 2017-18 on stronger sales of garment and other value-added products in domestic and foreign markets as well, said the USDA report published in November last year.
In fiscal 2016-17, raw cotton consumption was 6.3 million bales, the report said.
The USDA report said, in fiscal 2017-18 yarn and fabric consumption is expected to rise to 1.13 million tonnes and 7.4 billion metres on strong international demand for clothing due to population growth, urbanisation and disposable income growth.
Demand for quality cloth has also increased in domestic markets as wages and living standards are on the rise.
The retail market size of clothing in Bangladesh is nearly $8 billion a year, according to industry insiders.
Gradual development of the upstream supply chain, including spinning, dyeing, finishing, weaving and printing, creates more demand for cotton to meet required supply to the garment industry, the USDA report said.
Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said: “It’s normal. Our exports are rising. Since the government is giving LNG supply, so many more factories will come into operation and the yarn production will also grow.”
Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd, a Narayanganj-based green garment factory, said both yarn production and consumption will continue to grow as the country’s garment export has been rising every year. Yarn consumption at his factory has been growing at more than 10 percent year-on-year as his knitwear export is also increasing. Still, there is a gap of 10-15 percent in supply and demand of yarn in the local knitwear sector, Hoque said. So, there is scope for further production in the country. Moreover, there are a lot of varieties of yarn, which are mainly imported now to meet the local demand, he added.
A Matin Chowdhury, managing director of Malek Spinning Mills Ltd, a leading yarn producer, said yarn consumption in the local markets also increased due to higher consumption of clothing items by the people in the country.
Moreover, some spinning mills have of late gone into operations as the government has offered them gas connections, Chowdhury said.
Garment makers use more local yarn mainly to reduce the longer lead-time, he said, adding that this is one of the major causes for higher consumption of yarn in Bangladesh.
Demand for quality cloth has also increased in domestic markets as wages and living standards are on the rise.
The retail market size of clothing in Bangladesh is nearly $8 billion a year, according to industry insiders.
Gradual development of the upstream supply chain, including spinning, dyeing, finishing, weaving and printing, creates more demand for cotton to meet required supply to the garment industry, the USDA report said.
Siddiqur Rahman, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association, said: “It’s normal. Our exports are rising. Since the government is giving LNG supply, so many more factories will come into operation and the yarn production will also grow.”
Fazlul Hoque, managing director of Plummy Fashions Ltd, a Narayanganj-based green garment factory, said both yarn production and consumption will continue to grow as the country’s garment export has been rising every year. Yarn consumption at his factory has been growing at more than 10 percent year-on-year as his knitwear export is also increasing.
Still, there is a gap of 10-15 percent in supply and demand of yarn in the local knitwear sector, Hoque said.
So, there is scope for further production in the country. Moreover, there are a lot of varieties of yarn, which are mainly imported now to meet the local demand, he added.
A Matin Chowdhury, managing director of Malek Spinning Mills Ltd, a leading yarn producer, said yarn consumption in the local markets also increased due to higher consumption of clothing items by the people in the country.
Moreover, some spinning mills have of late gone into operations as the government has offered them gas connections, Chowdhury said. Garment makers use more local yarn mainly to reduce the longer lead-time, he said, adding that this is one of the major causes for higher consumption of yarn in Bangladesh.
The Mumbai Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) has detected tax evasion amounting to Rs 509 crore and have recovered Rs 381.57 crore from non-filers of tax since the implementation of CGST in the country.
Taking up an anti-tax evasion stand, the Mumbai CGST zone has so far identified over 47 thousand entities who are not paying any taxes since the CGST has been launched in the country. The number indicates that the amount of tax evasion in the Mumbai zone can go in thousands of crores. The Mumbai zone was the first in the country to make the arrest under the GST act and so far four persons have been arrested in cases of tax evasion.
The Mumbai CGST zone comprising 11 taxpayer commissionerates, including Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai, Palghar, Raigarh, Bhiwandi and Belapur, among others.
The total revenue collection from July last year to February stood at Rs 72,509 crore which is over 10 percent of the overall collection of GST(including state and central) in the country that is Rs 7,11,819 crore.
“We have a strategic way to approach such no-filers to get the returns filed and have been able to yield substantial revenue,” said Manpreet Arora, Additional Commissioner of CGST and Central Excise.
The area under cotton acreage is likely to decrease by around 15% with farmers shifting towards soyabean in the hope of better returns and after the Pink Bollworm infestation in Maharashtra and Telangana that damaged the crop reducing farmer incomes.
The area under cotton acreage is likely to decrease by around 15% with farmers shifting towards soyabean in the hope of better returns and after the Pink Bollworm infestation in Maharashtra and Telangana that damaged the crop reducing farmer incomes. The drop in cotton planting is likely to see a rise in soybean planting after farmers received good rates during the ongoing season and a rise in import duties, Cotton Association of India (CAI) president Atul Ganatra said on Monday.
“The Kapas sowing is expected to reduce by 10-12% in Maharashtra and Telangana due to the Pink Bollworm attack. The area under cotton could fall to 108 lakh hectares in the 2018/19 marketing season that starts at the beginning of October, down from 122.6 lakh hectares in the current year, he estimated.
On the other hand, soyabean prices have jumped by about Rs 1,000 per quintal in the last few months from Rs 28,000 per quintal to Rs 3,800 per quintal. Ganatra was speaking at the Cotton Meet on ‘Challenges Facing Cotton Trade’ on Monday.
Textile Commissioner Kavita Gupta said that the shift in area under cotton may not be significant. “There may not be much decline in total production as area under cotton in other states may compensate for any decline in area in pink boll worm affected states,” she said. The Commissioner suggested that Indian textile industry should strive to become world class on the lines of Egypt.
Pasha Patel, chairman, State Agriculture Price Commission (SAPC) pointed out that if soybean prices rose, farmers would shift to soybean and there would be no takers for cotton. Earlier, he had stated that last year the area under soybean in Maharashtra was 39 lakh hectares and area under cotton was 26 lakh hectares.
“There was no MSP for cotton. This season, the area under cotton in Maharashtra has gone up to 42 lakh hectares while area under soybean has dropped to 36 lakh hectares. This season,farmers are seeing cotton planting as a risk. On the other hand, soybean is a sturdy crop and even if the planting doubles, the crushing capacity is available in the country,” he pointed out. India imports 70% of its vegetable oil needs and produces only 30% which means there is huge scope for growth, he said. Soyabean prices are likely to remain supported in the short term as production of Argentina has declined from 550 lakh tonnes to 400 lakh tonnes.
Meanwhile, Ganatra said that the country has signed contracts to export 200,000 bales of cotton to China after Beijing last week sought to impose tariffs on cotton supplies from the United States. India is expected to export 70 lakh bales (each of 170 kg) of the fibre in 2017/18 against 58 lakh bales shipped in the 2016/17 season, he said.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds worth Rs 3,500 crore, stuck due to incorrect filings by exporters, will soon be released, government sources said.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds worth Rs 3,500 crore, stuck due to incorrect filings by exporters, will soon be released, government sources said. “There are claims to the tune of Rs 3,500 crore that are stuck in the GST Network (GSTN). This is because exporters have filed wrong claims. They have miscalculated domestic and export supplies. These will be released shortly,” a senior finance ministry official said.
The ministry has asked the GST authority to get the data from the Customs department and correct it manually. The exporters, however, peg the pending refunds at around Rs 7,000 to Rs 10,000 crore. “I hope the inaccuracies come down fast and the situation improves,” Ajay Sahay, director general, Federation of Indian Exporters’ Organisation (FIEO), said.
There has been confusion among exporters while filing information regarding nil-rated goods, zero-rated supply and non-GST supply. “This has led to wrong information being provided by the exporters in the GSTR 1 and 3B forms,” the official said. There are discrepancies in the forms submitted by the exporters to the Customs department and the GSTN. Exporters have to file GSTR 1 and 3B online. The 3B is filed monthly and has details of sales, purchases and GST liability.
So far, the government has released Rs 12,700 crore, or 80% of the eligible claims, during the refund camps held across the country recently.
It, however, doesn’t include the claims on account of the erroneous filings. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBEC) has held the refund camps in their offices across the country from 15-31 March.
The exporters have demanded that a similar exercise be taken up by the state authorities.
With India’s exports to China registering a record increase of over 53 per cent in 2017, the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) foresees huge potential in the Chinese market for start-ups and small exporters.
The federation has urged exporters to tap the market potential in China and invited them to participate in the 25th China Export Import Fair, scheduled between June 14 and 20 at the Kunming Dianchi International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Yunnan Province, China.
With new trade restrictions being imposed by the US and the developed nations, it is time for Indian exporters to look for opportunities that are closer to home and the China-South Asia Expo cannot have come at a better time with huge opportunities available for the exporters to explore. The B2B and B2C expo will give exporters a chance to sell their products directly to the Chinese consumers, FIEO said in a release.
FIEO has offered to provide stalls to small exporters at concessional rate at the Indian pavilion.
The organisation foresees huge potential for export of organic chemical, textiles and garments, silk, food products, granites, minerals and medical device, pharmaceuticals, ayurvedic products, jewellery, handicrafts, tourism and building material.
China has started liberalising its import rules and regulations and this has helped boost exports considering the geographical location and logistics costs, the FIEO release said.
With a view to increase sales of products made using the hand-woven fabric, government plans to create a “Super Premium” segment for Khadi.
With an aim to tap luxury customer base, the government will first make a list of actual super premium Khadi products which are already being manufactured in other parts of country and try to showcase that in one place so that youngsters who are looking for stylish clothes can opt for super premium Khadi Products, said Secretary in the MSME Ministry, A K Panda.
Further, the Ministry also plans to bring top designers for the super premium segment products with the help of Textile Ministry, he added.
Initially these products will reportedly be sold in lounges in selected Khadi outlets and gradually the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) may also tie up with top global luxury brands to enhance the reach of the products.
In this direction, the proposal was also discussed in the board meeting of the KVIC that held on April 6.
The decision of the US to impose duties on certain steel and aluminium products besides hiking tariffs against Chinese goods has triggered a global trade war, with China retaliating to the move.
India can benefit from the ongoing challenges in global trade provided it plays its cards well, Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu today said.
He said that some countries are taking steps which are testing the entire global trading system.
“We are passing through a challenging but an opportune time. If we play our cards properly, and that is what we are trying to do… we can actually benefit from it by creating an opportunity around the issues that are happening globally. We have no choice but to respond in a positive manner,” he said.
The minister was speaking at the CII annual general meeting here
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