Regoverning Markets South Asia Newsletter (Vol. 19, No. 34 August 04 - August 10, 2007)

Research vital to enhance
citrus output

Dawn Islamabad,August 04, 2007

By Our Reporter

Government institutes are lag­ging in research that could help increase
and diversify the production of citrus in the country.

This was the crux of the one day seminar on "emerging food markets,
small producer, SMEs and trade policy of Pakistan" organized by
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here on Friday.

The speakers said in the absence of effective policy framework of the
government, the cit­rus producers were at the mercy of the middleman. They
lamented that the poorly managed water policies and untimely schedules of
canals by the government were also contributing factors to the low produce of
the citrus.

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri in his presentation:
"customised com­petitiveness: strategy to enter in global markets through
flexible specialization" said that SDPI had started the process of
institutional and policy mapping in Pakistan. It was aimed at build­ing close
coordination among different stakeholders for strategic interventions to create
aware­ness among stakeholders, small farmers friendly policy environ­ment and
regulation to protect small producers
and SMEs.

He discussed the global trends in food production adding that the volume
of food trade had been increased 2.1 times from 1980 to 2003, fruits and
vegetable trade grew 330 per cent, and meat and fish/seafood trade grew 300-400
per cent over the years.

He said that the US, Western Europe, Japan and other industri­alised
countries: were still the main food importers in the world, accounting for 75
per cent of food imports worldwide. He said that emerging-market region food
markets were growing on average five times faster than those in the US and
Western Europe and their growth rates as importers and exporters were 50 to 100
per cent greater than the developing coun­tries, showing a positive basic
emerging shift, he said.

Dr Iqrar Khan stressed upon the need for focused policy interven­tions
by the government arguing that there should be diversifica­tion in production
of citrus rather than depending on one variety of it such as Kinnoo to
effectively deal with the emerging challenges in the era of globalization.

Prof Dr Mumtaz Khan high­lighted the importance of research in
horticulture sector and summarized the research findings carried out in the
Institute of Horticulture in recent years. He urged optimal use of water and
other agricultural inputs to enhance productivity.

Dr Pordil Khan, highlighting the some of the policies and recent
initiatives of the govern­ment, shared that the depart­ment of agri-business,
agricul­ture ministry was in the process of developing first horticulture
policy of Pakistan, which would particularly focus on the enhancement of the
productivity and diversification of produce.

Shakeel Ahmad Ramay while giving a detailed analysis of the problems of
small farmers in the country, urged upon the govern­ment to minimise the
exploitative role of middleman by creating an effective system of regulations.

He also announced the forma­tion of an advisory group comprising
different stakeholders for the collective and coordinated­ efforts to safeguard
the interests of small producers and SMEs.

SDPI for better policy to
promote citrus fruits

Pakistan Observer Islamabad,August 04, 2007

By SHR Jahfery

The speakers de­plored that the citrus producers were at
the mercy of the middleman due to absence of effective policy framework of the
government.

They said that government re­search institutes were incapable to produce
high quality nursery, which could help to increase and diversify the produce of
citrus in the coun­try. They lamented that the poorly managed water policies
and un­timely schedules of canals by the government were the contributing
factors to the low produce of the citrus.

Acting Executive Director of SDPI, Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Dr lqrar Khan,
Director General Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Prof Dr Mumtaz Khan of Institute of Horticulture, University
of Agriculture (UAF) Faisalabad, Dr Pordil Khan, Con­sultant at MINFAL and
Shakeel Ahmad Ramay of SDPI discussed different problems related to citrus
fruit crops, problems to growers and their solutions in a one-day work­shop
on “Emerging food markets, small producer, SMEs and trade policy of Pakistan”
organized by Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) here Friday. Rep­resentatives
of different stakehold­ers like small growers of kinnow from Sarghoda district,
agriculture researchers, social society organisations and government offi­cials
participated in the event.

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri in his presentation “customized competi­tiveness:
strategy to enter in global markets through flexible specializa­tion” said that
the SDPI has been making serious efforts to protect the rights and sources of
livelihoods of small farmers in the country. He said that SDPI has started the
pro­cess of institutional and policy mapping (IPM) in Pakistan to built close
coordination among the different stakeholders for strategic interven­tions to
create awareness among stakeholders, small farmers' friendly policy environment
and regulation to protect small produc­ers and SMEs.

Prof. Dr Mumtaz Khan high­lighted the importance of research in
horticulture sector and summarized the research findings carried in the
Institute of Horticulture, in recent years. He urged the farms the optimal use
of water and other ag­ricultural inputs to enhance the productivity.

Shakeel Ahmad Ramay while giving a detailed analysis of the prob­lems of
small farmers in the country, urged upon the government to mini­mize the exploitative
role of middle­man by creating an effective system of regulations. He also
announced the formation of an advisory group comprising different stakeholders
for the collective and coordinated efforts to safeguard the interests of small
pro­ducers and SMEs.

Policy needed to redress
citrus producers’ problems

The Nation Islamabad,August 04, 2007

By Our Staff Reporter

The speakers deplored that the citrus produc­ers were at
the mercy of the mid­dleman due to absence of effective policy framework of the
gov­ernment here on Friday.

They said that government research institutes were incapable to produce
high quality nursery, which could help to increase and diversify the production
of cit­rus in the country. They
expressed these views in a one-day work­ shop on "Emerging food markets,
small producer, SMEs and trade policy of Pakistan" organised by
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI) according to a press statement
issued here.

They lamented that the poorly managed water policies and un­timely schedules
of canals by the government were also contribut­ing factors to the low produce
of the citrus.

Dr Iqrar Khan, Director Gener­al-Nuclear Institute of Agricul­ture and
Biology (NIAB), Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri of SDPI, Prof Dr Mumtaz Khan of Institute
of Horticulture, University of Agriculture (UAF) Faisalabad, Dr Pordil Khan,
Consultant at MIN­FAL and Shakeel Ahmad Ramay of SDPI were spoke on the occa­sion.

Representatives of different stakehok1ers like small growers of kinnow
from Sarghoda dis­trict, agriculture researchers, so­cial society organisations
and government officials participat­ed in the event.

Qaiyum Suleri in his presenta­tion, "customized competitive­ness:
strategy to enter in global markets through flexible special­ization" said
that the SDPI has been making serious efforts to protect the rights and sources
of livelihoods of small farmers in the country.

He said that SDPI has started the process of institutional and policy
mapping (IPM) in Paki­stan to built close coordination among the different
stakeholders for strategic interventions to cre­ate awareness among stakehold­ers,
small farmers friendly policy environment and regulation to protect small
producers and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs).

He discussed the global trends in food production adding that the volume
of food trade has been increased 2.1 times from 1980 to 2003, fruits and
vegetable trade grew 330 per cent, and meat and fish / seafood trade grew
300-400 per cent over the years.

He said that the US, Western Europe, Japan and other indus­trialized
countries were still the main food importers in the world, accounting for 75
per cent of food imports worldwide.

Dr Iqrar Khan stressed upon the need for focused policy interven­tions
by the government arguing that there should be diversification in production of
citrus rath­er than depending on one variety of it such as Kinnow to effective­ly
deal with the emerging chal­lenges in the era of globalization.

Dr Mumtaz Khan highlighted the importance of research in hor­ticulture
sector and summarized the research findings carried in the Institute of
Horticulture, (UAF) in recent years. He urged the farms the optimal use of wa­ter
and other agricultural inputs to enhance the productivity.

Pordil Khan, while highlighting the some of the policies and re­cent
initiatives of the government, shared
that the department of agri-business, MINFAL was in the process to develop
first horti­culture policy of Pakistan, which would particularly focus on the
enhancement of the productivity and diversification of produce.

http://thepost.com.pk/Arc_IsbNews.aspx?dtlid=110735&catid=17&date=08/04/2007&fcatid=14

Citrus
producers at mercy of middleman

The Post
Islamabad,August 04, 2007

By Imran
Ali Teepu

The
speakers deplored the citrus producers being at the mercy of the middleman, due
to absence of an effective policy framework of the government regarding different
problems related to citrus fruit crops, growers facing problems and their
solutions in a one-day workshop on "Emerging food markets, small producer,
SMEs and trade policy of Pakistan," organised by Sustainable Development
Policy Institute (SDPI) Friday.

They said
the government research institutes were incapable to produce high quality
nursery, which could help increase and diversify the produce of citrus in the
country.

They lamented
that the poorly managed water policies and untimely schedules of canals by the
government were also contributing factors to the low produce of the citrus.

Acting
Executive Director of SDPI Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Dr Iqrar Khan, director
general, Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Prof Dr Mumtaz
Khan of Institute of Horticulture, University of Agriculture (UAF) Faisalabad,
Dr Pordil Khan, consultant, Minfal, and Shakeel Ahmad Ramay of SDPI discussed
different problems related to the citrus fruit crops, problems to growers and
their solutions in the workshop.

Representatives
of different stakeholders like small growers of 'kinnow' from Sarghoda
district, agriculture researchers, social society organisations and government
officials participated in the event.

Dr Suleri
in his presentation, "Customized competitiveness: strategy to enter in
global markets through flexible specialization" said the SDPI had been
making serious efforts to protect the rights and sources of livelihood of small
farmers in the country.

He said
the SDPI had started the process of institutional and policy mapping (IPM) in
Pakistan to built close coordination among the different stakeholders for
strategic interventions to create awareness among stakeholders, small farmers
friendly policy environment and regulation to protect small producers and SMEs.

He
discussed the global trends in food production adding the volume of food trade
had been increased 2.1 times from 1980 to 2003, fruits and vegetable trade grew
330percent, and meat and fish/seafood trade grew 300-400percent over the years.

He said
the US, Western Europe, Japan and other industrialised countries were still the
main food importers in the world, accounting for 75percent of food imports worldwide,
adding that emerging-market region food markets were growing on average five
times faster than those in the US and Western Europe and their growth rates as
importers and exporters were 50 to 100percent greater than the developing
countries, showing a positive basic emerging shift, he added.

Dr Iqrar
Khan stressed upon the need for focused policy interventions by the government
arguing that there should be diversification in production of citrus rather
than depending on one variety of it such as Kinnow to effectively deal with the
emerging challenges in the era of globalisation.

Prof Dr
Mumtaz Khan highlighted the importance of research in horticulture sector and
summarized the research findings carried in the Institute of Horticulture,
(UAF) in recent years. He urged the farms the optimal use of water and other
agricultural inputs to enhance the productivity.

Dr Pordil
Khan, while highlighting some of the policies and recent initiatives of the
government, shared that the department of agri-business, MINFAL was in the
process to develop first horticulture policy of Pakistan, which would
particularly focus on the enhancement of the productivity and diversification
of produce.

Shakeel
Ahmad Ramay while giving a detailed analysis of the problems of small farmers,
urged the government to minimise the exploitative role of middleman by creating
an effective system of regulations.

He also
announced the formation of an advisory group comprising different stakeholders
for the collective and coordinated efforts to safeguard the interests of small
producers and SMEs.

Govt.
research bodies blamed for poor produce

Daily
Times Islamabad,August
04, 2007

By
Staff Report

The government-run research institutes are incapable of
producing high-quality nurseries, which could help growers increase and
diversify the citrus produce. The absence of government's effective policy
framework has put the citrus producers at the mercy of the middleman. And the
poorly managed water policies and untimely schedules of canals by the
government are also contributing factors to the low produce of the citrus.

This is crux of the views that experts shared with the
participants of the workshop on "Emerging food markets, small producer,
SMEs and trade policy of Pakistan" at the Sustainable Development Policy
Institute (SDPI) here Friday.

Dr Pordil Khan of Food and Agriculture Ministry, while
highlighting the government initiatives for the agriculture development, said
that the ministry was in the process of developing country's first horticulture
policy, which he said would focus on the enhancement of the productivity and
diversification of harvest.

Prof Dr Mumtaz Khan of the Institute of Horticulture,
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, highlighted the importance of research
in horticulture sector and summarised the research findings carried in the
institute in recent years. He urged the farmers to optimally use water and
other agricultural inputs to enhance crops productivity.

Dr Iqrar Khan of Nuclear Institute of Agriculture and
Biology (NIAB) stressed the need to focus on policy interventions by the
government and said there should be diversification
in production of
citrus instead of depending on one variety, such as kinnow, in this age of
cutthroat competition.

Dr Abid Qaiyum Suleri of SDPI said the US, Western Europe,
Japan and other industrialised countries were still the main food importers in
the world, accounting for 75 per cent of food imports worldwide. He said that
the emerging-market region food markets were growing on average five times
faster than those in the US and Western Europe and their growth rates as
importers and exporters were 50 to 100 per cent greater than the
developing countries. This shows a positive emerging shift, he said.

‘Citrus
producers at the mercy of middleman’

The
News Rawalpindi/Islamabad

August
05, 2007

By
Rasheed Khalid

Speakers at a workshop on 'Emerging food markets, small
producers, SMEs and trade policy of Pakistan' said that citrus pro­ducers were
at the mercy of the middleman due to absence of effective policy framework of
the government.

The one-day workshop was or­ganised by Sustainable Develop­ment
Policy Institute (SDPI) here.

Representatives of small grow­ers from Sargodha district,
agri­culture research institutions, civil society and government officials
attended the workshop.

Speakers lamented that the government research institutes
were incapable of producing high quality nursery that could help in­crease and
diversify the produce of citrus in the country. They blamed poorly managed
water policies and untimely schedules of canals by the government for this low
production of citrus fruits.

Presenting a paper on "Cus­tomised competitiveness:
strategy to enter in global markets through flexible specilisation," Dr
Abid Qaiyum Suleri, acting chief of SDPI said that his organisation was mak­ing
serious efforts to protect the rights and sources of livelihoods of small
farmers in the country.

Discussing global trends in food production, he said that
the volume of food trade increased 2.1 times from 1980 to 2003, fruit and
vegetable trade grew 330%, and meat and fish/seafood trade grew 300-400% in
this pe­riod. He said that the US, Western Europe, Japan and other
industrialized countries were still the main food importers in the world,
accounting for 75% of food im­ports worldwide.

He said that emerging regional food markets were growing 5 times
faster than those in the US and West Europe. He said their growth rates as
importers and ex­porters were 50 to 100% greater than that in the developing
coun­tries showing a positive shift.

Dr Iqrar Khan, Director-Gen­eral Nuclear Institute of Agricul­ture
and Biology (NIAB), stressed the need for focused policy inter­ventions by the
government argu­ing that there should be diversifi­cation in production of
citrus rather than depending on one va­riety of it such as kinu to effec­tively
deal with the emerging chal­lenges in this era of globalisation.

Prof Mumtaz Khan from Insti­tute of Horticulture, University
of Agriculture, Faisalabad, highlight­ing the importance of research in
horticulture sector said that the farmers should make optimal use of water and
other agricultural in­puts to enhance the productivity.

Dr Pordil Khan and Shakeel Ahmad Ramay also spoke on the
occasion.

Poor
potato season for Bumthaps Saturday, August 04,2007 KUENSEL ONLINE

THIMPHU: On a wet and misty
morning of July 26 Ap Ugyen Dorji, 47, fueled his power tiller and trundled off
to Dekiling with his wife and a few other people from the neighbourhood riding
in the open flat bed carrier. Ap Ugyen Dorji was optimistic of a good yield. He
would be gathering his first potato harvest for the year. Several people were
already waiting near his field with Tshangs (a bamboo matted container).

On reaching his field Ugyen Dorji
got off the power tiller, folded up his black trousers and smiled and talked to
the others waiting there.

Just to check the yield he picked
up a spade and tilted a plant. To his dismay it had no more than two potatoes
hanging by the root. Slapping his wrinkled forehead Ap Ugyen Dorji cursed the
long dry spell in June for the disaster.“Last year’s yield was not that good
and this year it’s even worse,” says Ugyen Dorji.

Farmers across Bumthang valley
are worried whether it would be worth it taking the limited yield all the way
to the Phuentsholing auction yard, almost 400 kilometres away.

Bakhum, another farmer told
Kuensel that she worked hard on the only cash crop for Bumthaps. “But what
could I have done to save my crop from this type of natural calamities ?” said
Aum Bakhum. “I was lucky that I was able to harvest it before this rainy
season.”

Pointing to a small hut, where he has stored his meager
harvest Geley Jamtsho, 45, from Nangsephel said that he would  contribute his crop to the Bumthang
Dratshang.

If the dry spell resulted in a
poor harvest the continuous rainfall in the past week has destroying whatever
is left of it. Unable to harvest the crop farmers are worried that it might rot
in the mud if the rain does not abate.

“If we forcefully harvest in the
rain, it will cause more destruction,” said a farmer.

In Dhur gewog the crop was
destroyed not so much by the vagaries of the weather, but by wild boars.

Farmers in Tang, Chumey and
Chokhor plant their potatoes from the end of the February to mid April and in
Ura planting starts in mid April. Harvesting starts in June to early August.

Poppy harvest headed for record levels Monday,
August 06,2007 IHT

WASHINGTON: Afghanistan will
produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the
near-sole global supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how
to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, US officials said.
As President George W. Bush prepared for weekend talks with President Hamid
Karzai of Afghanistan, divisions within the U.S. administration and among NATO
allies delayed the release of a $475 million counternarcotics program for
Afghanistan, where intelligence officials see growing links between drugs and
the Taliban, the officials said.

United Nations figures to be
released in September are expected to show that Afghanistan's poppy production
has risen up to 15 percent since 2006 and that the country now accounts for 95
percent of the world's crop, three percentage points more than last year, officials
familiar with preliminary statistics told The Associated Press.

But counterdrug proposals by some
U.S. officials have met fierce resistance, including raising the amount of
forcible poppy field destruction in provinces that grow the most, officials
said. The approach also would link millions of dollars in development aid to
benchmarks on eradication; arrests and prosecutions of narcotics traders and
corrupt officials; and on alternative crop production.

Those ideas represent what
proponents call an "enhanced carrot-and-stick approach" to supplement
existing antidrug efforts. They are the focus of the new $475 million program
outlined in a 995-page report, the release of which has been postponed twice
and may be again delayed amid disagreements, officials said.

The officials spoke on condition
of anonymity because parts of the report remain classified.

State Department counternarcotics
agents had wanted to release a 123-page summary of the strategy last month, and
then again last week, but were forced to hold off because of concerns it may
not be feasible, the officials said.

Even as Bush met with Karzai on
Sunday and Monday at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Maryland, a
tentative release date of Aug. 9, timed to follow the meetings, appeared in
jeopardy. Some in the administration, along with NATO allies Britain and
Canada, sought revisions that could delay it until at least Aug. 13, the
officials said.

The program represents a 13
percent increase over the $420 million in U.S. counternarcotics aid to
Afghanistan last year. It would adopt a bold new approach to "coercive
eradication" and set out criteria for local officials to receive
development assistance based on their cooperation, the officials said.

Although the existing aid
program, supplemented mainly by Britain and Canada and supported by the NATO
force in Afghanistan, has achieved some results - notably an expected rise in
the number of "poppy-free" provinces from six to at least 12 and
possibly 16, mainly in the north - production elsewhere has soared, they said.

"Afghanistan is providing
close to 95 percent of the world's heroin," the State Department's top
counternarcotics official, Tom Schweich, said at a recent conference.
"That makes it almost a sole-source supplier" and presents a
situation "unique in world history."

In 2006, Afghanistan accounted
for 92 percent of global opium production, compared with 70 percent in 2000.

Massive livestock farm for East Monday,
August 06,2007 Daily News

COLOMBO: The Government will
embark on a massive agricultural and livestock development project by setting
up a giant livestock farm in 8,000 acres in Karadiyan Aru in the Eastern
Province. Trade, Marketing Development, Co-operative and Consumer Services
Minister Bandula Gunawardana said this farm would create many jobs in the
province.

“The liberation of the East is a
great achievement for which we should rejoice in that it has ensured the
development of the people,” Gunawardana said.

“We are engaged in a fast
development programme in the area after liberating it from LTTE clutches,” the
Minister said.Arrangements have been made to develop this State owned land
cleared by the Armed Forces under the Negenahira Navodaya (Eastern Province)
programme.

“We expect to fulfill our local
dairy demand by adopting latest technology,” he said. The Minister said farmers
in the East had been unable to engage in their vocation for a long period.

“This livestock farm will be a
boon to them,” he said.

Monsoon hikes price of vegetables Tuesday,
August 07,2007
BBS

SAMDRUPJONGKHAR: Price of
vegetable in Samdrupjongkhar has hiked by almost double since the past two
weeks.The price hike is due to the lack of supply, both local and from India.

A kilogram of green chilies costs
between Nu. 60 to Nu. 100 and a kilogram of cabbage costs Nu. 20 at the
Samdrupjongkhar vegetable market and the neighboring Indian town of Darranga.

Our reporter says earlier a kilogram
of chilly used to cost between Nu. 20 to Nu. 25 and a kilogram of cabbage costs
only Nu. 5. Vegetable vendors said the hike is because of the low supply and
flash floods in the Indian state of Assam.

Our reporter said, usually when
the vegetable season in Bhutan is over it is replaced by vegetables from India.

Local residents told our reporter
that the local produce has been on the decline. A farmer from Womrong,
Trashigang said initially they could not cultivate the vegetables on time due
to lack of rain and after the cultivation the dry spell continued which
hampered the growth of the vegetables.

The dry spell was then followed
by continuous rainfall deferring harvesting which damaged most of the
vegetables.

A vegetable vendor from the
Indian town of Darranga said the price hike can partially be blamed on the
flash floods experienced by Assam in India. He added that it is also difficult
to get fresh vegetables.

Meanwhile vegetable production
from the 6 eastern Dzongkhag has gone down according to the manager of the FCB
in Samdrupjongkhar.

He said normally at this time of
the year vegetable auction is in full swing. However only few sacks of
vegetables are arriving.

Indian sugar bad for 'Pak' growers Thursday,
August 09,2007 THE
NEWS

ISLAMABAD: Close to 70 per cent
of sugarcane produced by one million farmers this season is threatened by
dumping of sugar by importers from India and both the mill owners and leaders
of farming community have warned the government of dire consequences.

Substantial sugar lay surplus in
Pakistan from the last crushing season and 4.5 million tons is expected from
the bumper crop this year, said Iskander Khan, Vice Chairman Pakistan Sugar
Mills Association. Talking to The News here Wednesday, he said, "You need
to warn the government that if this import was allowed to glut the country's
markets there would be scant chances of the bumper crop being utilized this
November-start season by millers."

Ibrahim Mughal, Chairman
Agri-Forum, Pakistan, said, "These people in the government hand in glove
with the import lobby are bent upon destroying the farming families of Pakistan
that have standing cane crops on 2.6 million acre of prime agriculture
land."

Iskander Khan pointed out that
substantial Indian sugar being transported via Pakistan to Afghanistan is
actually being offloaded at various points in Pakistan as it is subsidized and
tax-free and thus offers exorbitant profits to importers and smugglers. The
sugar in transit cannot be offloaded in Pakistan and it is a criminal offence
besides being harmful to local industry and farming community.

Pakistani sugar export to
Afghanistan has been subjected by the Central Board of Revenue to 15 percent
regulatory duty, which already virtually bans sugar export from Pakistan to
that country. Gur, however, is allowed duty and tax free to be exported to
Afghanistan, which takes away a large chunk of cane produced in NWFP, and also
causes the gur prices to shoot up. Presently it is Rs50 per kg.

He added, "Imposition of
this duty has allowed Indian exporters a walkover in Afghanistan market at the
cost of Pakistani industry and farmers. Now the glutting of Pakistani market
has begun, and there is no one in the government to approach for remedy. No one
pays any heed to our SOS."

The first consignment of 6,000
tons can hit Lahore via Wagah border today (Thursday), say market sources,
adding that the second consignment of same quantity would be hitting Karachi
before the end of the current week.

The importers include Bratheran
Safi Limited, Saklima Exports Limited; Mukhlis Limited, Ieshaan Pamir Limited,
Alpine Expo Tex Pvt Limited; Ismail Mansoor Limited, Premium Exports, Arif Khan
Limited. Sakuma Exports Limited, Arif Khan Limited, and Momin & Co
Al-Khaleej Sugar Co Limited. Total volume of the orders booked from India for
sugar import might touch 50,000 tons by August 31 this year.

Govt to pay fertiliser subsidy Thursday,
August 09 ,2007 The Times of India

NEW DELHI: At a special meeting
to discuss fertiliser subsidy on Wednesday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh
overruled finance ministry's objections and agreed to give the first tranche of
Rs 17,223 crore as subsidy to the chemical and fertilisers ministry.

"This will enable us to
provide immediate relief to farmers. The subsidy money will be given to
fertiliser companies which in turn will provide fertiliser at subsidised rate
to farmers," chemical and fertilisers minister Ramvilas Paswan told TOI
after the meeting.

The additional requirement of the
fertiliser ministry is Rs 25,528 crore. The finance ministry had refused to
give more money saying it had no funds to pay for the supplementary requirement
for fertiliser subsidy. In the budget for 2007-08, the finance ministry had
allocated Rs 22,451 crore as fertiliser subsidy. The ministry, it appears, was
not prepared to spend so much for non-plan expenditure.

The total requirement of the
chemical and fertiliser ministry for providing subsidised fertiliser is Rs
47,900 crore which includes requirement of carryover of past years. With the
finance ministry refusing to give more money, the chemical and fertiliser
ministry sought the PM's intervention.

The issue went before a group of
ministers and also to the committee of secretaries. Finally, Paswan had his way
when the PM prevailed upon the finance ministry to release supplementary amount
of Rs 15,000 crore.

Of this, Rs 9,000 crore will be
paid in cash and Rs 6,000 by way of fertiliser bonds which will be interest
bearing and tradable in the market, Paswan said.

The demand for fertiliser subsidy
has been increasing over the past years. In 2003-04, it was Rs 11,835 crore,
2005-06 it was Rs 20,698 crore and in 2006-07, it became Rs 25,000 crore.

Mustard oil presses face extinction Friday,
August 10,2007 NEW AGE

NOAKHALI: People will rarely come
by traditional mustard oil presses, also known as ghani, at Begumganj in
Noakhali as the owners have already shut down a number of them as the business
remains no longer viable.

People now consume soya bean oil
instead of mustard oil which has forced the owners to discontinue with the oil
press business. A large number of people have also become jobless in such a
situation, local sources said.

Although a few mustard oil
presses still exist at the place, they are now on the verge of closure, the
sources added.

Chaumohani was once famous for
such oil presses. The country’s demand for mustard oil was mainly met with the
supply from the presses.

There were 75 mustard oil presses
in the district after independence, but the number of the presses has come down
to 36.

Mustard oil produced at these
presses was supplied to all the districts. Besides, it was exported to
countries such as India, Thailand, and Nepal.

Laddu Gopal, who owns an oil
press, told New Age that the 25 per cent of raw materials such as mustard seeds
were bought from the local farmers while 75 per cent were brought from Canada,
Australia, India, France, Pakistan and Koera.

The availability of soya bean oil
at lower prices drove out mustard oil from the market, which forced the presses
to be closed down, he said.

After independence, the mustard
oil presses started facing problems for want of proper policy on the import of
mustard oil, he said.

At present, only a few oil
presses are running amid difficulties such as shortage of raw materials and
lack of loan facilities.

Some owners urged the authorities
concerned to provide them with necessary support to save traditional mustard
oil presses.

When contacted, the Begumganj
upazilas nirbahi officer, M Mostafa Kamal Mujumder, said it was not true that
they were not getting government supports for bank loans.

Vegetable prices jump twofold Friday,
August 10,2007 THE
KATHMANDU POST

KATHMANDU: Prices of some of the
major vegetable items have jumped twofold over the past one year, as decline in
production triggered a short-supply in the market.

Prices have mainly skyrocketed in
case of items such as big tomato, small tomato, red potato, white potato, dry
onion, carrot and cabbage.

Data compiled by Kalimati Fruits
and Vegetable Market Development Board (KFVMDB) shows that consumers, at
present, are paying Rs 41 per kg for big tomato, Rs 33 for small tomato, Rs 23
for red potato, Rs 20 for white potato, Rs 24 for dry onion, Rs 32 for carrot
and Rs 18 for cabbage. .

In the same period last year,
they had paid Rs 13 per kg big tomato, Rs 7 for small tomato, Rs 15 for red
potato, Rs 12 for white potato, Rs 14 for dry onion, Rs 21 for carrot and Rs 8
for a kg of cabbage.

The prices of local cauliflower,
however, have dropped by one third during the period. It is presently priced at
Rs 22 per kg. "Decline in potato production in different parts of the
country due to various diseases at the harvesting time has resulted in a short
supply in this off season," Bharat Upreti, a wholesaler of potato and dry
onion at Kalimati told the Post.

He added that the disruption in
vehicular movement due to heavy rainfall and deluge in terai also affected the
supply situation, prompting whopping rise in prices.

Production of onion in India has
gone down this year and its prices have rallied up, Upreti said, adding that
the wholesalers are presently supplying far less quantity of onion than what
the market demands.

More than 90 percent of onion
consumed in Nepal is imported from India.

"Supply of vegetables has
dwindled to about 400 tons per day over the past couple of weeks, whereas the
normal daily requirement is 600 tons," said Binaya Shrestha, planning
officer at KFVMDB.

He attributed the present rally
of prices to the mismatch between demand and supply.

Of the total vegetable being
traded at Kalimati, the largest vegetable market of the country, 85 percent is
supplied locally, while the remaining 15 percent is fulfilled through imports
from India.

Turnover of some 400 wholesalers
in Kalimati hovers at around Rs 10 million each day.