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SPICES

* Jeera futures tumbled on NCDEX on Monday, shedding over four percent. Weak demand and rising arrivals in the spot market weighed on. In the meantime, coriander and turmeric futures traded steady to weak on the bourse weighed down by tepid demand.

* India's export of spices during Apr-Nov declined 14% on year to 898,007 tn, according to data from the Spices Board India. In terms of value, the exports rose marginally by 0.3% to 204.8 bln rupees. Sluggish demand for most spices, including chilli, cardamom, jeera, coriander and ginger, weighed on exports. However, garlic exports rose sharply by 107% on year at 35,175.6 tn. While exports of jeera during Apr-Nov declined 17% on year to 133,250 tn, turmeric exports rose 10% on year to 111,968.5 tn. India exported 28,105 tn of coriander, which is down 15% on year, the data showed. Exports of small cardamom declined 16% on year to 5,355.4 tn. A huge decline of 59% was also seen in ginger exports at 38,765.5 tn. Exports of chilli in Apr-Nov were down 24% on year at 299,611.3 tn, while mint product exports rose 26% on year to 55,434 tn, according to the data.

* Spices Board said it had rescheduled the 14th edition of World Spice Congress from February to Sep 15-17. The congress is scheduled to be held at the CIDCO Exhibition and Convention Centre in Navi Mumbai. The rescheduling is due to constraints in international travel owing to the COVID-19 situation in some of the major spice importing countries. "The venue for the event will remain the same and all existing registrations of delegates and exhibition stalls will be carried forward to the rescheduled event," the board said.

* The value of India's spices market is expected to rise to 1 trln rupees by 2025 from 800 bln rupees this year, with the share of the organised sector likely to reach 50% from 38%, according to experts at the National Spice Conference. Currently, the value of the organised segment is pegged at 300 bln rupees. Improved quality, introduction of smaller stock-keeping units and increased shelf life of spices is one of the major reasons for growth of the organised segment, Ramkumar Menon, chairman of World Spice Organisation, said at the conference. Growth prospects in the case of spices are high and branding plays an important role, as it not only makes a memorable impression on consumers, but allows customers and clients to know what to expect from a company. It is a way to distinguish oneself from competitors and clarify what makes one a better choice, according to a panel of experts at the conference. Currently, the branded spices market is growing at a compounded annual rate of 10-15%, against 7-10% in the case of the unorganised segment. India, the world's largest producer, exporter, and consumer of spices, produces 75 of its 109 varieties. Around 85% of the spices produced in India are consumed domestically. The country accounts for more than 48% of global demand.

COTTON

* The US Department of Agriculture has scaled down its estimate for global cotton output in 2022-23 (Aug-Jul) to 114.4 mln bales (1 US bale = 218 kg) from 115.4 mln bales projected a month ago. The reduction is attributed to a decline in production in India, the department said in its World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates report for January. Cotton production in India in 2022-23 is seen falling to 25.5 mln bales from 26.5 mln bales estimated in January. However, the output in Brazil is estimated to remain the same at 13.3 mln bales and in the US at 14.7 mln bales. The agency sees global cotton consumption at 110.7 mln bales, down 190,000 bales from its projection in January due to a decline in use by mills in Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam, the report said. Global ending stocks of cotton in 2022-23 are pegged at 89.1 mln bales, down 850,000 bales from the figure projected last month. Consumption in India is estimated unchanged at 22.5 mln bales. The estimate for exports from India has been scaled down to 2.5 mln bales from 3.1 mln bales last month. For Pakistan, consumption is seen at 8.8 mln bales, against 9.9 bales projected in January. Cotton ending stocks in India for 2022-23 are now seen at 10.8 mln bales, lower than 11.2 mln bales projected a month ago, the report said.

* The Multi Commodity Exchange of India will relaunched cotton futures contracts, with some modifications, on Feb 13. The exchange will initially launch three contracts expiring in April, June and August. The modifications would be made in symbol, description, trading unit and the base value of contracts, it said. Trading will be allowed only up to 1700 IST on the date of expiry of a contract. The delivery and settlement procedure and the warehousing procedure will be informed separately by the Multi Commodity Exchange Clearing Corp Ltd. Near month position limit will be applicable from the first day of the expiry month in which the contract is due to expire. If the first day is a non-trading one, the near month limits would start from the next trading day, as per the notification. In August, the Securities and Exchange Board of India had suspended trading in all cotton futures contracts on the Multi Commodity Exchange of India, the country's largest commodity exchange, for one month, to align the contract specifications with that of the market.

* The Cotton Association of India has retained its production estimate for the 2022-23 (Oct-Sep) season at 34.4 mln bales (1 bale = 170 kg), it said in a press release. Production of cotton in north zone, which includes Punjab, Haryana and Rajastan, is estimated at 4.7 mln bales by the association. The estimate for the central zone, which includes Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, is 19.8 mln bales. The estimate for the south zone is 9.2 mln bales. Other small states account for rest of the output. Total supply of cotton for the 2022-23 season is estimated at 38.8 mln bales. The association estimates imports at 1.2 mln bales, 200,000 bales lower from the previous year. Exports are seen at 3.0 mln bales, lower by 1.3 mln bales from the previous year. Arrivals of cotton as on Oct 31 were estimated at 1.8 mln bales by the association. The association sees closing stock of cotton as on Sep 30, 2023 at 5.8 mln bales

OTHERS

* Rabi chana sowing ends. The area under rabi chana across the country was at 11.2 mln ha as of Thursday, down 2% on year, data from the farm ministry showed. The decline was primarily due to lower sowing in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh. Sowing of chana across the country has ended for the rabi season. On a week-on-week basis, the total acreage rose 0.6% from 11 mln ha, data showed. In Maharashtra, the second-largest grower, chana was sown across 2.9 mln ha, up 9.6% on year. In Rajashthan, it was sown across 2.1 mln ha, up 4.9% on year. The acreage in Madhya Pradesh, the top grower, declined 11.1% to 2.2 mln ha. In Gujarat, it fell 31% to 765,000 ha, whereas it declined by 18.2% to 341,000 ha in Andhra Pradesh.

* The farm agency of Canada sees chana prices in 2022-23 (Aug-Jul) higher at $1,025 per tn from its estimate of $1,000 per tn in November because of lower world supply. Canada is one of the biggest exporters of pulses to India. "Crop quality is average when compared to the previous year. Supply of chana is forecast to fall by 16% as lower carry-in stocks more than offset the higher production," Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said in its December report. The farm agency has left price estimates for masur, dry peas, and dry beans unchangedfrom last month at $800 per tn, $460 and $1,210, respectively. World chana output is seen rising to 128,000 tn in 2022-23 from 76,000 tn last season because of higher harvested area and yields, according to the report. The agency has also raised its production estimate for masur to 2.3 mln tn from 1.6 mln tn in the previous year due to higher productivity. Production of dry beans is seen lower at 313,000 tn in this crop year against 386,000 tn a year ago, according to the report.

* The Union Cabinet approved 2-9% hike in the minimum support price of six rabi crops for the coming marketing season starting April. The minimum support price of wheat has been increased by 5.5% to 2,125 rupees per 100 kg, while that of chana was raised by 2.0% to 5,335 rupees per 100 kg, the government said. Wheat, the crucial rabi crop, accounts for over 70% of the rabi foodgrain output, and chana is the largest rabi pulse crop. Minimum support prices, or the rates at which the government buys crops from farmers in case prices slip in the market, gives security and direction to growers in terms of realisation from their produce. They also help boost production of a desired crop. The Cabinet also approved increasing minimum support price of mustard by 7.9% to 5,450 rupees per 100 kg, and for masur by 9.1% to 6,000 rupees per 100 kg. The support price for barley was increased by 6.1% to 1,735 rupees per 100 kg. In the fourth advance estimate, the government predicted output of wheat in the 2021-22 (Jul-Jun) crop year at 106.8 mln tn, while oilseed production is pegged at 37.69 mln tn. Pulses output was seen at 27.69 mln tn, against 27.75 mln tn estimated in the third advance estimate.

* India’s Guar split exports increased in the month of December ’2022 by 21% to 5,440 MT as compared to 4,500 MT previous month. While, the Guar split shipments went up by 66% in December ’22 compared to the same period last year. Out of the total exports, around 3,400 MT (62.5%) was bought by China, 1520 MT (28%) bought by the USA, 220 MT (4.04%) by Germany, 120 MT by Netherlands as well as by Switzerland both and 60 MT by Canada.

* India’s Guar gum exports increased in the month of December ‘2022 by 16% to 23,136 MT compared to 20,018 MT in the previous month. However, the gum shipments went down by 8% in December 2022 as compared to the same period last year. Out of the total exported quantity, around 10,734 MT (46.4%) was bought by the US, 2,412 MT (10.42%) by Russia, 2,365 MT (10.22%) by Germany, 658 MT (2.84%) by China and 561 MT (2.42%) by UK. We expect Guar gum export in Jan ’22 to be around 22,000-25,000 tonnes.

OilSeeds

* The US Department of Agriculture scaled down its estimate for global production of oilseeds for 2022-23 (May-Apr) on Wednesday to 636.7 mln tn from 641.9 mln tn last month. The agency had projected global soybean output in 2022-23 at 383 mln tn, 5 mln tn lower than the estimate in January. Global soybean exports are nearly unchanged at 167.5 mln tn due to lower exports from Argentina and higher shipments from Paraguay and Brazil, the agency said in its February report. In 2022-23, Argentina is seen exporting 4.2 mln tn soybean against 5.7 mln tn projected a month ago, while exports by Brazil and Paraguay are estimated at 92 mln tn and 6.3 mln tn, respectively. Soybean production in Brazil is estimated at 153.0 mln tn, unchanged from January. Meanwhile, production in Argentina is estimated at 41.0 mln tn, down 4.5 mln tn from the last month's projections. The agency has estimated soybean production in the US at 116.4 mln tn, unchanged from last month. Brazil is the world's top producer of soybean, followed by the US and Argentina. The agency has also lowered its estimate for global ending stocks of soybean to 102.0 mln tn from 103.5 mln tn in January. The estimate for global soyoil production in 2022-23 is at 61.0 mln tn against 61.5 mln tn a month ago. The agency has revised its estimate for global soyoil exports in 2022-23 marginally lower at 12.1 mln tn from 12.3 mln tn the previous month. The department has projected global soymeal output in 2022-23 at 254.4 mln tn, down from 256.9 mln tn in January. The agency estimates global exports of soymeal at 69.4 mln tn compared with 69.7 mln tn pegged last month. Soymeal is a derivative of soybean. It is manufactured by crushing the oilseed and is mainly used in production of poultry feed.

* The Soybean Processors Association of India has urged the government to raise the import duty on all edible oils. The association has also sought the abolishment of duty-free tariff rate quota for the import of sunflower oil in 2023-24.

* Maharashtra expects its soybean output to rise 19.7% on year to 6.6 mln tn in 2022-23 (Oct-Sep) kharif marketing season due to better yield and higher acreage, a state government official told Informist. The state's total food grain production, however, is seen a tad lower at 16.5 mln tn. Farmers in Maharashtra had sown soybean across 4.9 mln ha in the 2022-23 (Jul-Jun) crop year, up 6.8% from the previous year because of its remunerative prices of the commodity, the official said. Soybean yield in the state is seen increasing to 1.3 tn per ha in the ongoing season compared to 1.2 tn last year. Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Gujarat are key growers of soybean. Soybean is predominantly a kharif crop, accounting for around 12% of total food grain production in the country. Total production of oilseeds in the state is seen higher at 6.8 mln tn compared to 5.9 mln tn in 2021-22. Kharif cotton output in the state is also seen rising 5.1% on year to 8.2 mln bales (1 bale = 170 kg) in 2022-23 (Jul-Jun) because of adequate rainfall in Jun-Oct, improving productivity of the crop. Though some areas of the state like Marathwada suffered severe blow due to incessant rains during Aug-Sep, the overall productivity of cotton is seen improving to 329 kg per ha as against 300 kg per ha last year. Maharashta had received about 119% rainfall during Jun-Oct, the official said. Higher production is seen despite lower area under cotton. In 2022-23 (Jul-Jun) kharif season, cotton has been sown across 4.2 mln ha against 4.4 mln ha last year. Sugarcane harvest is estimated to be 144.5 mln tn as against 139.2 mln tn a year ago, the data showed. The crop size is expected to increase due to a rise in yield to 97 kg per ha from 93 kg per ha the previous year. In the ongoing crop year, production of pulses is seen increasing to 5 mln tn against 4.9 mln tn last year, while maize output is estimated a tad higher at 3.7 mln tn.

* In the ongoing 2022-23 (Oct-Mar) rabi season, farmers in the country have sown mustard across 9.7 mln ha as of Wednesday, up 7.7% from a year ago, according to data from the farm ministry. On a weekly basis, mustard acreage was up 0.1% from 9.71 mln ha, the data showed. Mustard is one of the main crops grown in India during the rabi season. The normal area under the crop is 6.34 mln ha. The acreage in Rajasthan, the largest producer of the oilseed, has risen 14% on year to 3.8 mln ha. In Madhya Pradesh, the second-largest producer, the acreage was up 20% at 1.4 mln ha. However, the acreage in Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana was down 10.3%, 9.5%, and 3.2% at 305,000 ha, 894,000 ha, and 732,000 ha, respectively. Prices of mustard are likely to fall in the coming week across key wholesale markets due to weak demand for the old crop before fresh arrivals hit the market in February.

* India's oilmeal exports surged 153% on year to 433,430 tn in December, according to data released by The Solvent Extractors' Association of India.For Apr-Dec, exports of oilmeals rose 60% on year to 2.8 mln tn. The rise in oilmeal exports was mainly attributed to a surge in exports of mustard meal, which hit a record 1.7 mln tn in Apr-Dec, against 713,593 tn in the year-ago period. "The major consumer of Indian soybean meal are southeast Asia, where India has a logistic advantage and also can supply in small lots," the association said in a release. Additionally, as Indian soymeal is not genetically modified, it is preferred by certain European countries and the US for oilmeal, it said. The depreciation in the rupee also helped revive exports of soymeal in November. Exports of soymeal surged to 447,385 tn in Apr-Dec compared with 262,337 tn a year ago. During Apr-Dec, South Korea imported 715,715 tn of oilmeals from India compared with 465,735 tn a year ago, while Vietnam imported 684,251 tn, against 422,760 tn a year ago, the association said. In Apr-Dec, 920,673 tn of oilmeals were exported from Kandla port and 891,875 tn from Mundra port. Exports from Mumbai port, including Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust, were at 181,808 tn. Around 296,186 tn oilmeals were shipped from Kolkata port, and 534,914 tn from other ports, the association said.

* India's soymeal exports in December rose 64.2% on year to 225,000 tn, the Soybean Processors Association of India said. For OctDec, soymeal exports increased to 406,000 tn from 272,000 tn in the previous year. The 2022-23 kharif season began in October. Soymeal is primarily used as poultry and livestock feed. Indian soymeal is non-genetically modified and considered rich in protein. In December, production of soymeal rose to 1.0 mln tn from 599,000 tn a year ago. The output for Oct-Dec was at 2.6 mln tn, up from 1.7 mln tn in the year-ago period, SOPA said. Soybean arrivals in spot markets totalled 1.3 mln tn in December, up from 1.1 mln tn a year ago. During Oct-Dec, arrivals rose to 5.0 mln tn from 4.0 mln tn in the year-ago period. By the end of December, mills, traders, and farmers were left with around 9.88 mln tn of soybean stock, the association said. Soybean, a kharif oilseed, is sown during Jun-Jul and harvested in Sep-Oct.

* India's vegetable oil imports surged 28% year-on-year to 1.56 mln tn in December, the Solvent Extractors' Association of India said. The vegetable oil basket consists of edible and non-edible oils. The edible oil import basket comprises crude and refined palm oils, crude soyoil, sunflower oil, and mustard oil. India imports palm oil from Indonesia and Malaysia, and soyoil from Argentina. Sunflower oil is imported from Ukraine and Russia, and canola oil from Canada. India is the world's largest importer of edible oils. As of Jan 1, about 892,000 tn of edible oil was at ports, against 580,000 tn a year ago, and 2.3 mln tn was in the pipeline against 1.1 mln tn in the same period last year, the SEA said.

* The Director General of Foreign Trade has stopped duty-free imports of crude soybean oil from Apr 1, the commerce ministry said in a release today. However, the government will continue imports of crude sunflower seed oil under the tariff-rate quota regime issued for 2022-23(AprMar) till one year or Jun 30, 2023, whichever is earlier, said the ministry. In May, the government had permitted duty-free imports of soybean oil and crude sunflower oil for up to 200,000 mln tn for 2022-23 (Apr-Mar) and 2023-24 (Apr-Mar). The tariff rate issued on sunflower oil for 2023-24 (Apr-Mar) will remain valid till Mar 31, 2024, the ministry said. Tariff rate quota is a quota for a volume of imports that will enter India at specified or nil duty, but after the quota is reached, the normal tariff applies to additional imports.

* The production of crude palm oil in Malaysia fell 3.7% on month to 1.62 mln tn in December, data from the Malaysian Palm Oil Board showed. Exports of palm oil in December fell 3.5% on month to 1.5 mln tn, while those of biodiesel fell 17.1% on month to 15,002 tn, the data showed. Palm oil is also used to make biofuel. Total stocks of palm oil in the country fell 0.9% on month to 1.29 mln tn as of end December.

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