Sowing window available till early August: Government
Delay in the onset of monsoon and its slow progress have led to late sowing of paddy, pulses, oilseeds and cotton, but the sowing window is available till early August and its coverage is expected to improve with the progress of rains, the government told the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. Agriculture minister Radha Mohan Singh said the government has taken measures to address “any situation” arising due to deficiency in rainfall.
No proposal to hike urea price, will continue subsidy to farmers: Govt
There is no proposal to hike the price of urea and the government will continue to provide subsidy to farmers for the soil nutrient, the Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday. Fertilisers minister Ananth Kumar said that while the demand for urea is 31 million tonne (mt), the country produces only 22 mt. The rest is imported. He said there will be no shortage of urea at subsidised rates for farmers.
Pulses imports decline by 10%
to 3.66 million tonne in 2013-14
Imports of pulses declined by 10% to 3.66 million tonne (mt) in 2013-14 on account of higher domestic production, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. According to the data provided by MoS for food and consumer affairs Raosaheb Patil Danve in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, imports of pulses in 2012-13 stood at 4.02 mt. According to the third advance estimate for 2013-14, the production of pulses rose by 7.29% to 19.57 mt from 18.24 mt in 2012-13.
India exports 17.5 lakh tonne of sugar in October-March period
India has exported 17.5 lakh tonne of sugar in the first six months of the 2013-14 marketing year ending September, with the maximum quantity shipped to Iran, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. According to the data provided by MoS for food and consumer affairs Raosaheb Patil Danve, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha, India exported 17,53,840 tonne during the October 2013 and March 2014 period. The country had exported 3.48 lakh tonne of sugar in the full 2012-13 marketing year (October-September), as per the data compiled by apex sugar industry body ISMA.