“India Receives Two Bids for 20,000 Ton Rice Import Tenders”

India’s State Trading Corporation (STCI) and Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC) have received one bid each for their tenders to import 20,000 tons rice from Myanmar, according to local sources.

STCI and MMTC each called for tenders for 10,000 tons imports of 25% broken white rice for delivery between October 15 – November 15, 2014 at the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns in the North-Eastern state of Manipur and Mizoram.

While STCI received a bid of $750 per ton, MMTC received a bid of $867 per ton. Traders told local sources that the difference in bid amounts is due to logistical cost of transporting rice from Myanmar to the two states of Manipur and Mizoram.

The government of India has approved for importing 100,000 tons of rice for the catering to the public distribution (PDS) needs in the north-eastern states of Manipur and Mizoram and authorized STCI and MMTC to import 20,000 tons of rice each month over the next five-month period.

India, a net exporter of rice, had about 21.65 million tons (including a milled equivalent of about 6.65 million tons of paddy) in its central pool as of September 1, 2014. The stocks were about double the required buffer and strategic reserve norms of around 11.8 million tons for this time of the year, according to the FCI.

Despite having sufficient rice stocks, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) has decided to import rice due to likely transportation disruptions (to the two states) from the proposed railway conversion works on a 220-kilometer line between Assam and Tripura.

“Pakistan exports Rs 233.95 million items to India in first week of October”

Pakistan has exported items worth Rs 233.95 million to India during first week of October from 1st -7th to India via Wagha Border despite the Indian aggression on borders.

As per available documents, Pakistan exported dried fruits, salt, cement, gypsum, cotton, scrap and lime stone.As the winter is going to start, Pakistan has exported 106 metric tonnes of nuts worth Rs 20 million to India via Wahga Border.
The documents show that Pakistan exported 2505 metric tonnes of dried fruits (dates, figs and guavas) worth Rs 119 million to India during the first week of October.

Moreover, 23 metric tonnes of plants worth Rs 870,977 was exported to India from 1-7 October.

According to details, Pakistan has exported 511 metric tonnes of rock salt worth Rs 1.67 million, while 9015 metric tonnes of gypsum worth Rs 14.36 million was sold to India via Wagha Border during first week of October.

Besides that Pakistan has also exported 371 metric tonnes of lime stone worth Rs 1 million while cement worth Rs 9.49 million was exported via Wagha border.

Almost 760 metric tonnes of aluminum ores worth Rs 1.32 million were exported through Wagha border during 1-7 October.

Pakistan also exported disodium carbonate and hydrogen peroxide to India worth Rs 1.16 million and Rs 2.58 million respectively.

As per available documents, Pakistan exported scrap worth Rs 4.28 million, cotton (not combed) worth Rs 22.8 million and glass worth Rs 33.9 million to India during first seven days of October.As a whole, Pakistan exported items worth Rs 233.95 million with a total weight of 17,171 metric tonnes to India via Wahga border.

“India may impose safeguard tax to check Chinese imports: DIPP”

NEW DELHI: India today said it could consider imposing “some kind of safeguard duties’ on Chinese imports to bridge the huge trade gap as it cannot be sustained in the long run.

“This trade deficit (between India and China) is not sustainable in the long run and therefore it is very important to understand for Chinese companies that in the coming years, India will have to put some kind of safeguards whether it is in terms of standards.

“India will do this because (India) can not sustain this (trade deficit) for over a long period,” said Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) Secretary Amitabh Kant.

India’s trade deficit with China stands at about $36 billion with exports totalling only $15 billion against $51 billion imports.

Speaking at the function of industry body PHDCCI Kant said that it was time that Chinese companies should increase invest in India and set up manufacturing bases.

“Chinese companies should actually manufacture the same goods (which they export to India) in India. We welcome Chinese companies. You please invest and manufacture in India. We will welcome telecom equipment, power equipment but kindly manufacture in India.

“Our government wants Chinese companies to make in India and use India as an export base for other places,” he added.

The Secretary said that China is facing problems in export solar equipment to the US as America have imposed anti-dumping duty.

“…please use India as a base for exports…you will face anti-dumping duty on every good in future so the only solution for Chinese companies is to produce in India and export to America,” Kant said.

He asked Chinese companies to find domestic partners and export to regions such as Africa and Latin America.

“India is a very attractive FDI destination,” he said, adding: “we expect that this year, we will get about $50 billion FDI”.

He said although China is setting up two industrial parks – Maharashtra and Gujarat – but there is need to increase investment.

“Between April 2000 and July 2014, China have invested only $411 million. This is only 0.18 per cent of India’s total FDI which it has received so far. The Chinese figure is very low. Lower than Botswana and Rwanda. FDI from China in India is insignificant and extremely poor. This is shocking,” he added.

Assuring full support and hand holding to Chinese companies, the secretary said the Chinese companies should look at sectors such as automobile, power, telecom, infrastructure and devel opment of smart cities and industrial corridors”.

“China and India — the two elephants — when they dance together, the whole world will shake. America will shake, Europe will shake. And if you dance alone, then the world will not shake. Join hands with India to ensure that Chinese companies entered the world in partnership with India,” Kant said.

He said India’s average foreign direct investment in the last three years was about USD 39 billion and the country is now focusing on manufacturing growth and infrastructure development.

“India plans committee to ease customs norms for boosting international trade”- Latest in News

NEW DELHI: Two months after it blocked an international agreement on easing trade regulations, India has initiated measures to reform customs procedures and cut red tape to speed up international trade.

The government has decided to set up a national committee on trade facilitation, which will suggest and implement measurers to ensure seamless movement of cargo by addressing constraints like high transaction costs and poor infrastructure.

“The national committee on trade facilitation will be put in place soon, which will have representation from 7-8 departments. It will look after all aspects of trade facilitation,” a senior commerce department official told ET on condition of anonymity. “India is not against trade facilitation. We are expeditiously working towards it.”

India had on July 31 vetoed the trade facilitation agreement at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which sought to speed up global trade by reforming customs procedures, arguing that there should be a parallel deal on food security. Delhi, however, maintained that it was fully committed to trade facilitation.

The trade facilitation goal requires harmony between departments like customs, shipping & ports, road transport & highways, and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade ( DGFT). It is important to get each of them on board, said the official quoted above.

The WTO trade facilitation pact, signed in December 2013, contains legally binding provisions to standardise customs rules in all 159 member-countries for faster and more efficient movement of cross-border cargo.

“WTO deal or no deal, we are carrying out trade facilitation and customs reforms. It will cut transaction cost for exporters,” said the official. “We are anyway working towards ratifying the WTO TFA. We need to make legal amendments in two to three places. We are prepared,” he added. During his US visit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had told President Barack Obama that trade facilitation was important for India and it expected the US’ support in addressing India’s concerns over public stockholding for food security.

Finance minister Arun Jaitley had made several announcements in the budget, allocating significant funds towards trade facilitation.

It included extension of 24×7 customs clearance facilities to many more ports, airports and sea ports.