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Basmati exporters may have to review pricing
Are Indian basmati's best days over? This question has been raised in recent weeks because of the patent recently granted to RiceTec of the US for a long-grain rice variety with basmati's characteristics. The Indian government will, no doubt, fight any attempt to call US-grown rice as basmati. But even if that fight is won, India's basmati exporters have reasons to worry about their future.
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Urea prices abroad crash to $85-95 a tonne
Urea prices in the international market have dropped sharply to around $85-95 per tonne. The prices have nosedived to one of their lowest levels after falling to $110 per tonne in June last year. In the previous year, the prices had risen to as high as $180-190 per tonne. At the current price of around $90 per tonne, the landed cost of works out to be lower than the farmgate price of Rs 3,600 per tonne.
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Venture-capital companies' investment in projects spurts
Data collected from 14 venture capital firms indicate that a total of Rs 672.85 crore were invested by the venture capital funds in 622 projects since 1990. The main contributors to the pool of funds were domestic financial institutions with an investment of Rs 549.8 crore, FIIs with Rs 468 crore and multilateral development agencies with Rs 171.45 crore.
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Delhi guard change may spur commodities trading
The expected formation of a new government this week will inject fresh life into the country's sluggish commodity markets, especially cotton. Commodity traders are fulfilling only short-term requirements before the next government takes charge after India's second election in as many years.
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