EU asked to ban Indian, Asian imports
EUROPE'S 13 major shrimp processing companies have formed a cartel and asked the European Commission(EC) to ban valueadded shrimp imports from India and other Asian countries.Indian exporters have requested the ministry of commerce to immediately take up the matter with the EC. 

RBI favoring Indian JVs abroad
There has been a sharp increase in RBI approvals for corporates wanting to invest in joint ventures abroad. Government data reveals that 542 proposals were approved till March 1998 involving over $1billion.Of this $766 million involves investment through equity and loan  and another $298 million in the form of corporate gurantee 
on behalf of overseas joint ventures. 

Dhaka favours revision of export rules under Sapta
BANGLADESH has proposed changes in existing rules of origin under the South  Asian preferential Trading Arrangement(Sapta) to boost intra-regional trade. 
Bangladesh has suggested that certain items not completly produced by exporting countries- that is, produced with inputs procured from outside the SAARC countries- should get proferenctial treatment. But there should be restrictions in place to ensure that the price of the imported inputs would not cross 65per cent of the freight on board (FOB) value of the finished products, Ahmed said. 

Indonesia may have to import cooking oil from Malaysia
Indonesia , the world's second largest producer of crude palm oil (CPO), may have to export cooking oil from Malaysia if local prices continue to rise and stocks diminish, a government official said on wednesday. 

Why Vietnamese textile units rely on imported cotton
VIETNAM'S cotton output satisfies a mere five to eight per cent of the textile industry's annual demand of 60,000 tonnes, forcing plants to import most of the raw material. 

CIL allowed 'concessional' duties for equipment imports
The Governemt has allowed Coal India Ltd to avail 'concessional' 
import duties for machinery and equipment Imports under the $1.06 
billion World Bank-Exim Bank of Japan funded coal sector 
rehabilation programme 

Banks become exporter friendly, able to meet credit target
Banks have met their stipulated export credit target in the last 
financial year,even though export credit does not fall within the 
definition of 'priority sector'.Banks have to extend 12 per cent of 
their total credit to exports. 

Hegde favours early electronic exports plan
The Commerce minister, Mr.Ramakrishna Hedge held a meeting 
with senior officers of his ministry to review exports trends and 
projection for 1998-99.The minister reiterated the need to aim at 
20 per cent growth, even where sectoral projections indicated a 
16 to 17 per cent growth rate. 

Where SAdd makes trade happy
SADD, the new special additional duty of customs introduced in 
the Union Budget, is being used in novel ways. The DEPB (Duty 
Entitlement Passbook) scheme is very attractive now since 
SAdd is waived when duty is paid against the passbook credit 
under the June 13 amendement. The amendement has found 
acceptance in the field and consignments are being cleard without 
major hurdles. 

Indian floriculture: No longer in the pink but in the red
The floriculture industry in India, whcih started with a big bang in 1992-93, had its share of success.The growth rate of Indian floriculture in the last seven years has been around 563 per cent as compared to Equador(313 per cent) and Zimbabwe (463 per cent). 
Our cutflower exports have galloped from Rs1.08 crore in 1992-93 to 18.08 crores in 1996-97 and they are expected to cross Rs.25 crores in 1997-98.More than 200 hectares of land is under hi-tech protected cultivation. 

Seafood exports to European Union yet to pick up
SEAFOOD exports to the European Union(EU) are yet to pick up despite the European Commision, the executive arm of the 15-country EU,lifting a six-month old ban on Indian seafood imports in December,1997.A lower number of Indian exporters in one reason. Of seafood worth Rs 4,687 crores exported during 1997-98,only Rs 412 was to the EU.This is in stark contrast with the 
Rs 970 crore worth of seafood exported to the EU in the previous year. 

Pakistani sugar imports sour domestic producers
FREE imports by Indian traders of cheaper sugar from abroad are hurting the domestic industry whcih is demanding protection,mainly from pakistani exporters who are being helped by theri government.Indian sugar porducers complain that New Delhi has been ignoring their plea even as Pakistan, saddled with a surplus and keen to earn foreign exchange at a time when the nuclear test-related sanctions have affected captial inflows, is pushing sugar sales to India. 

Withdrawal of EU GSP benefits won't harm Indian exports much
The European Union's (EU's) threat to withdraw concessions granted under the Generalised System of Preferences(GSP) in response to India's nuclear blasts will have only minimal impact on the country's export products,other than seafood and chemicals,according to a study. 

Chinese demand buoys up India's marine exports
INCREASE demand from China for Indian seafood more than offset losses due to the ban on imports by the European Union (EU) and helped the country's marine products sector avert disaster last year. 
The EU ban, which was eventually lifted, had brought about a drop in marine exports to the region by 48 per cent.But the rise in demand from China earned the sector Rs 47 billion in the 1997-98 financial year.Marine exports last year grew by 14 per cent in terms of volume. Financial exchange realised also went up by 12 percent as 
compared to 1996-97. 

Asian crisis triggers change in compositon of cotton textile export
IS THE COMPOSITION of cotton textile export basket tilting more towards value-added products? The  exports data for the January-May 1998, confirms the above trend what with fabrics and madeups notching up impressive gains at the expense of cotton yarn. 
The share of cotton yarn in the total cotton tixtile export basket for the first five months of the calendar year 1998 has dropped to 40.68 per cent from 48.03 per cent recorded the previous corresponding period. 

Tyre exports likely to cross Rs 1,000 cr, says report
TYRE exports from India are expected to cross the Rs 1,000 core 
mark in 1998-99, according to an Automotive Tyre Manufacturer's Association report.In 1997-98, the country had exported tyres worth Rs 903 crore. 
During the lsat decade, tyre exports have grown at annual compounded rate of 32 per cent and the country exports tyres to over 50 countries. In 1997-98, exports to US constiturd 30 per cent of the country's total exports with Asian countries accounting for 29 per cent of total exports. 

'Hercule Poirot' to trap fake Darjeeling tea
In a BID to prevent basmati-like patenting imbroglios,government has sought help from a global investingating agency to comb world markets for spurious brands of Darjeeling Tea. 
The Tea Board has appointed Delgium-based Cpmpumark to investigate and fiel details ofspurious tea sold under the Darjeeling tea brand using its global computer network and extensive market reserarch, a senior tea board official said.6July98. 

Govt mulls diversion of unsubscribed cotton export quota to open trade
The TEXTILE ministry in an attempt to bridge the gap between quota released for exports and actually shipped in the case of cotton, is looking at the prospect of diverting the unsubscribed quota from various federations to the open trade category. 
    However,the diversion of quota from federations to open trade category would be strictly restricted to inferior quality staple cotton of medium and medium long varieties only. 
    The inferior quality staple cotton would mean cotton of below fair average quality(FAQ) standard. 

India's crude imports to go up by 2 mt in '98-99
India's Crude imports are expected to go up by about two million tonnes to 36-37 millions tonnes this financial year in view of anticipated higher consumption. 
Petroleum ministry officials here forecast higher consumptionof pertoleum products-both crude and finished products- as India's industrial production, which slumped to a below average growth rateof 4.2 per cent in 1997-98 is again, expected look up this year. 

Indian demand peaks during first quarter
The First quarter demand for gold in India went up by 17 percent touching a new high of 190.7 tonnes compared with the corresponding quarter of 1997 boosted by continuing deregualtion and falling domestic premiums over the international price, a World Gold Council (WGC). 
In the developing country markets of West Asia and India, demand continued to make strong progress, up 11 per cent compared with the first quarted of 1997 to 335.1 tonnes. This reflected continuing deregulation, relatively low gold prices and growing consumer purchasing power. 

Ministry formulates action plan for export of minerals
THE COMMERCE ministry has finalised an action plan for export of important minerals such as iron ore, manganese ore,chrome ore and mica scrap. 
This has been done to tap the vast market that exists for these products, officials said.The total value of exports of these products for the year is expected to be around Rs 4,500 crore. 

Cotton exports pegged at 41 bales
Cotton Exports from the country have recorded a very poor performance during the current season so far with actual shipment totaling only 1.22 lakh bales as against the initial export quto of 7.20 lakh bales released by the Union textiles ministry. Along with the spillover of 88,000 bales from the last season, the totla shipment have been 2.10 lakh bales only as against an average 14 to 16 lakh bales during past few years. 

Textile exports drop to $1 bn in first quarter
The country's textile exports have dropped to about US$1 billion in the first three months of 1998-99 compared to $1.3 billion in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal, a senior government official said here on 9 July98. 

DGFT staff stir hits exports
Export activities have been badly hit by an ongoing pen-down strike by Directorate General of Foreign Trade(DGFT) staff. Thanks to this , no trade licenses are being issued. 
Exporters are worried as they cannot apply for duty entitlement passbook(DEPB) due to which working capital funds are blocked.Also, no applications are being processed for advance license and special import license(SIL). 

Govt frees crude imports under actual user licence
The Government has decanalised import of crude for private and joint sector oil refineries in line with its policy to dismantle the existing administered price mechanism. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade has issued a notification to allow free import of furnace oil too. The opening up of furnance oil imports emphasises the power ministry's recent direction on the new fuel policy which enable greater capacities on furnance oil. 

UNDER THE SCRUTINY LENS
*Commerce ministry asks enforcement division to prepare monthly list of exporters exporting substandard goods. 
*Exporters to be blacklisted and licence withdrawn. 
*Blacklisting of proprietor, partner and director on the board of the co 
*Operations to be completely computerised. 

AUSSIE WHEAT TO RECH INDIAN SHORES BY OCTOBER
A total amount of 14.25 lkh tonnes on Australian wheat will arrive at the Indian ports latest by first week of October, sources said. This follows the State Trading Corporation deciding to import only 14.25 lakh tonnes in place of 15 lakh tonnes which was originally decided. 
The government has decided to import five per cent less wheat since the production of wheat in India has been high and the contract with the Australian wheat board allows five per cent cut in total purchases. 

SEAFOOD EXPORTERS UNDER PRESSURE AS DEMAND SLUMPS
INDIAN seafood exports are under pressure.The rreasons: a 17 percent import duty on shrimp slapped by China last week, a Japanesse demand slump thanks to the fluctuating yen and a sudden glut of shrimp in US markets from the Gulf of Texas. 

END OF LONDON TEA AUCTIONS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR INDIA
The end of the historic tea auctioons here can give Indian exporters fresh marketing opportunities, Indian managers in the tea business. 
The celebrated London tea auctions came to an end last month after a history spanning 319 years. The auctions were launched by the East India Company in the year 1679, although in recent times their importance had declined sharply. 

FOOD MINISTRY MOOTS IMPORT OF OILSEEDS
The food and civel supplies ministry is in favour of import of oilseeds and has asked the commerce ministry to take necessary measures to permit free imports to match for the shortfall in domestic crip and to enhance capacity utilsation of solvent extraction units. 

EXPORTERS TARGET 25% OF WORLD SPICE MARKET
The All India Spices Exporters Forum has set a target of 25 per cent share of world trade in spices in value terms by 2000 AD. 
However, the decline in the quantity of spice exports in the recent years is likely to posee hurdles in the way to higher export growth. 
The share on Indian spice exports in total value of spice exports is 23 per cent at present. To achieve the target in the next two years, India's share has to go up by 2 per cent of the world trade. In 1997-98, the value of spice exports from the country stood at US $364 million which was 23 per cent of world trade. 

SUGAR IMPORTS MORE PROFITABLE THAN PRODUCTION
With the domestic cost of production proving higher by 25 per cent 
importing sugar has become more profitable than producing it in the country, according to industry sources.When imported sugar was available in teh retail morket for Rs12 per kg, the Indian producer had to sell one kg sugar for Rs 14, after paying all levies, the sources said. 

INDO-KENYAN TRADE TIES SLOW DUE TO COLONIAL HANGOVER
Despite tremendous potential in trade, Indian and Kenyan entrepreneurs have been slow in extending mutual ties, preferring to deal with the West because of their  colonial hangover, according to Kenyan foreign minister Bonaya Godana. 

MARINE EXPORTS REGISTER 2% RISE
Export of country's marine products during 1997-98 was to the tune of US$1.3 billion, for the fourth consecutive year. 
Nearly four lakh metric tonnes of sea food was exported to USA,Japan,European Union countries, West Asia and other countries. 
The Marine Products Export Development Authority(MPEDA) souces told UNI here, on Saturday, that about 1,01,318 tonnes of shrimps valued at Rs 3,140.56 crores were exported. 

DEVALUATION OF YUAN MAY NULLIFY GOL'S EXPORT PACKAGE
Loweer interest rates for export credit,additional entitlement of  special import license(SIL), rollback of special additional customs duty(SAD), and measures to boost premium on SIL are likely to be part of the export package to be announced by the government in Parliament any day now. 

INDIA'S DIAMOND EXPORTS NEAR THE BILLION-DOLLAR MARK IN Q1
The worst seems to be over for the Indian diamond industry. Exports have once again started picking up despite the currency crisis hitting hard the economies of the southeast Asian Countries. The growing exports along with the sharp reduction in inventoreis appears to be the key for fast recovering deamond industry. 

GOVT. TO HIKE CUSTOMS DUTY ON SUGAR IMPORTS
In order to stem the continuing flood of imported sugar, the Union government is planning to furhter increase the customs duty on sugar. According to souces, the increase in duty may be around 10 per cent, which coupled with the current duty of five per cent and a countervailing duty(CVD) of 7 per cent, would bring the total duty to 22 percent.