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India govt says it may import dairy products

To meet the growing demand and considering the fact that the supply of milk in the ensuing summer season being a lean season may be less, there were demands from several dairy cooperatives for the import of milk fat and powder…reports Asian Lite News

India may import dairy derivatives such as fat and powder, only in case the situation warrants, in order to help dairy cooperatives to meet the summer demands, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying said in a release Thursday evening.

The ministry also said in case of imports are needed, the government will ensure that it is routed only through its agency National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) and the needy will be given the stocks at the market price after proper assessment. The government though conceded that there has been some demand and supply gap observed in the dairy sector, primarily due to increased demand for nutritious, safe and hygienic milk and milk products post-COVID-19 pandemic.

This comes after MP Sharad Pawar, in a letter addressed to Minister of Animal Husbandry, Dairying and Fisheries Purushottam Rupala, cited a media report on possible imports, saying any decision by the central government would be totally unacceptable because the import of these products will directly affect the income of the domestic milk producers.

“The dairy farmers have recently come out of the unprecedented COVID-19 crisis and such a decision will severely impede the revival process of the dairy sector. My concern may please be heeded. I shall be happy if the matter is looked into and the Ministry deters itself from taking any decision to import the milk products,” Pawar said in a tweet, attaching his letter to the minister and the news article he referred to.

To meet the growing demand and considering the fact that the supply of milk in the ensuing summer season being a lean season may be less, there were demands from several dairy cooperatives for the import of milk fat and powder.

“With this background, NDDB along with the government of India has been monitoring the demand-supply situation. Since the process of import takes time, the necessary back end processes are being put in place to timely manage the situation in case of any eventuality,” the ministry’s release said. (ANI)

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-Top News Asia News Bangladesh

Hasina hopes to import oil from India by 2023

Bangladesh wants to import oil from India through the pipeline within 2023-Hasina.

Hasina also mentioned the connectivity routes which were closed during the 1965 war, saying the routes were now being opened in phases…reports Sumi Khan

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina expressed hope to import oil from India by 2023 through a proposed pipeline project.

She made the remarks on Sunday during a meeting with Speaker of the Assam Legislative Assembly, Biswajit Daimary at her official Ganabhaban residence in Dhaka.

The Speaker led a four-member delegation which is part of a team of 32 MLAs from the northeast visiting Bangladesh.

The 130-km India-Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline (IBFPL) project aims to import oil products from the Siliguri Marketing Terminal in West Bengal.

Hasina also mentioned the connectivity routes which were closed during the 1965 war, saying the routes were now being opened in phases.

The Prime Minister also expressed gratitude to the contribution of the northeastern statesand West Bengal for sheltering the freedom fighters and refugees from Bangladesh in 1971.

Laying emphasis on regional cooperation, the premier said that Nepal, Bhutan, and India’s northeastern states can use the Chittagong air and sea ports, as well as Syedpur airports for mutual benefits.

On his part, Daimary called his trip to Bangladesh fruitful, adding that the people of Assam will be benefited from cooperation from the neighboring country.

He said said Assam wants Bangladeshi experts’ cooperation in the agriculture sector as the country has huge experience in this regard.

The delegation also stressed the need for strengthening people-to-people contact as well as trade and commerce in the region.

ALSO READ-India seeks early free trade deal with Bangladesh

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-Top News UK News

India proposes 15% duties on items imported from UK  

India’s average imports of semi-manufactured silver from the UK stood at $412.68 million. The figure stood at $275.22 million for certain silver goods and $51.03 million for blended whiskey…reports Asian Lite News

India has proposed additional customs duties of 15 per cent on the import of 22 products, including whiskey, cheese and diesel engine parts, from the UK in retaliation to Britain’s decision to impose restrictions on steel products.

In a communication to the World Trade Organisation (WTO), India said it is estimated that the safeguard measures taken by the UK on steel products have resulted in the decline of exports to the tune of 2,19,000 tonnes on which the duty collection would be $247.7 million.

Accordingly, India’s proposed suspension of concessions would result in an equivalent amount of duty collected from products originating in the UK, it said.

“India hereby notifies the (WTO’s) Council for Trade in Goods of its decision to suspend concessions or other obligations under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 and the Agreement on Safeguards that are substantially equivalent to the amount of trade affected by the measures of the UK,” it added.

The other products include processed cheese, scotch, blended whiskey, gin, animal feed, liquified propane, some essential oils, beauty preparations, cosmetic and toilet preparations, unsorted diamonds, silver, platinum, semi-diesel engine parts, unwrought gold, turbo jets, and certain electric conductors.

India’s average imports of semi-manufactured silver from the UK stood at $412.68 million. The figure stood at $275.22 million for certain silver goods and $51.03 million for blended whiskey.

The communication also said that the proposed suspension of concessions would be in the form of an increase in duty on the selected products originating in the UK.

“The suspension of concessions and other obligations will continue to apply until the safeguard measures of the UK are lifted,” it said, adding “India wishes to clarify that suspension of concessions will be equivalent to the amount of trade affected by the UKs’ measures”.

The measures imposed by the UK consist of tariff-rate quotas imposed on 15 steel product categories with an out-of-quota duty of 25 per cent.

Both the countries held consultations on August 5 virtually to discuss the extensions of the safeguard by the UK on certain steel products, originally applied by the European Union.

On September 1, India proposed to impose retaliatory customs duties under the WTO norms on about $250 million worth of goods imported from the UK if no agreement is reached on compensation in a case concerning the imposition of restrictions by Britain on steel products.

India has raised concerns at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) over the UK’s move.

New Delhi has stated that it has substantial trade interest in the sector.

According to an earlier communication of the WTO, India had submitted its concerns to the UK regarding the manner in which safeguard measures have been extended, which is violative of the global trade provisions and the WTO’s Agreement on Safeguards.

India had requested compensation under the agreement.

Last year, New Delhi has also proposed similar measures against the European Union (EU) under the aegis of the WTO against a move of the 28-nation bloc to impose safeguard duties on certain steel products.

In 2018, India imposed retaliatory customs duties on certain American goods against their move to impose high customs duties on certain steel and aluminium products.

The WTO is a Geneva-based, 164-member global body which frames rules and norms for exports and imports and adjudicates trade disputes among member countries.

India is negotiating a free trade agreement with the UK, talks for which are expected to conclude anytime soon.

The bilateral trade has increased to $17.5 billion in 2021-22 compared to $13.2 billion in 2020-21. India’s exports stood at $10.5 billion in 2021-22, while imports were $7 billion.

ALSO READ-Govt may slash import duty on steel to near-zero levels

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Business

‘India imported less than 1 per cent crude oil from Russia’

The minister also highlighted the fact that they are currently in talks with some western oil firms…reports Asian Lite News

Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Hardeep Singh Puri, informed the Rajya Sabha on Monday that in the last three financial years, India imported less than 1 per cent crude oil from Russia.

Responding to a question raised by Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi, Puri said, “In the last three financial years, we imported less than 1 per cent crude oil from Russia, and in the first nine months of this fiscal, only 0.2 per cent of our oil requirement has been imported from Russia.”

Puri also said that India imported 7.3 per cent of its oil requirement from the United States. He asserted that India and the US have a strong bilateral energy relationship.

The minister also highlighted the fact that they are currently in talks with some western oil firms.

Hardeep Singh Puri

He said that Indian oil companies have invested in Russia, which has been very profitable — $337 million investment has resulted in $3.7 billion revenue — and another 20 years remain.

Puri said that India has company to company crude import arrangements as well as government to government deal with Russia.

The minister further said that out of the five million barrels per day consumption, 60 per cent crude oil comes from the Gulf countries, while India has imported only 0.419 million metric tonnes of crude oil from Russia which is less than 1 per cent.

Earlier on March 14, Puri had stated in the Rajya Sabha that the Centre cut petrol and diesel rates last year when they were most required by the consumers.

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