Cotton purchase touches new high: Payments to cotton cultivators in Maharashtra under the state government's monopoly cotton procurement scheme reached an all-time high of Rs 2,917 crore in the 1996-1997. The procurement topped 149.82 lakh quintals in unginned cotton as against the previous season's 130.95 lakh quintals.

Cotton yarn exports slump further: Cotton yarn exports, which has been on the downswing since the start of the South East Asian currency crisis in July last year, have touched a new low in February, both in volume and value terms. This has very much unnerved the spinning mills as well as exporters since experts feel the slump in exports may continue foranother two years when the South Asian countries are expected to tide over their currency crisis.

Rationalisation of cotton cultivation: There are as many as 85 cotton varieties grown in India and this is perhaps the only country that produces cotton belonging to all four botanical species (Gossypium arboreum, G-herbaceum, G-hirsytum and G-barbadense), besides hybrids. Such large number of varieties leads to ad-mixture at various stages creating problems of impurity.

Pesticide shortage hits floriculture: The floriculture industry has been making representations to the government to permit import of pesticides, and other chemicals through a state or central level body. This has been a major hurdle for the industry which has been given the status of `extreme focus' area by the central government.

World ammonia prices may go up: The price of ammonia in the international market is expected to increase from April as demand from the consuming industries is likely to rise, industryexperts say. The cost and freight (C&F) price of ammonia was hovering around $140-$150 per tonne in March as against $200 per tonne in the same month last year. The price has been on a downswing since the last six months and fell to $170-$180 per tonne in November last year.

Untimely rains hit guar gum output: The `wonder gum' -- guar gum industry has gone through some major shakeouts during the year. The gum which is an extract of the guar seed is a literal monopoly of India and Pakistan. This year, however, the crop has been drastically hit, mainly due to climatic changes. In Pakistan, traders say that there has been a virtual wipe out of the crop and exports therefore will be almost nil.

Global players may outsmart locals: Chairman and managing director of Metrochem Group of Companies Gautam M Jain warned the chemical industry against the entry of global players which could exploit the vast untapped market, through both trade and investments. In a paper presented at a forum of GujaratInvestors' and Shareholders' Association recently, he said, multinational companies (MNCs) with saturated overseas market intend to set up large facilities in India.

Exim policy to boost gold trade: The recently announced exim policy will give a considerable boost to the gold trade, both domestic and exports, said World Gold Council's CEO for India and the Middle East, Rolf Schneebeli. "With the positive steps in the exim policy, the government has shown that it wants to give a boost to gold exports and earn more foreign currency."

Nickel prices likely to rise: The rally in copper is seen pushing up prices of other base metals, mainly nickel, on the London Metal Exchange (LME). In the short-term, nickel is seen buoyant. Nickel dipped a low of $5,145 a tonne during the last week of February when Inco, a major nickel producer in Canada, announced it will not cut output.

Steel prices dip on heavy discounts: Heavy discounts offered by the producers pushed down prices of most steelitems, including billets, wire rods, hot and cold rolled coils in March in Calcutta, Delhi and Chennai, while in Mumbai prices remained static.

Experts for overhaul of wheat output: Agricultural experts are unanimous in their opinion that the wheat production in the country should be increased to 109 million tonne and maize production to 18 million tonne by the year 2020.

WB for oilseeds futures trading: World Bank has suggested that India should introduce forward and futures trading in oilseeds to manage price fluctuations. It has also called for curbing discretionary intervention of Forward Market Commission, the regulatory body governing commodities trading. In a report titled `The Indian Oilseed Complex : Capturing Market Opportunities' World Bank has suggested a six-prong approach for managing price instability.

Cumin output declines: Unfavourable weather conditions have led to a sharp decline in cumin output in Rajasthan. Yields in Barmer, Jalore, Jodhpur, Nagaur, Pali andSirohi districts of the state, where cumin is sown in vast areas, have registered a steep fall as compared with the previous year.

Coconut Board to focus on marketing: The Coconut Board will focus on post-harvest development technology and marketing of coconuts and its products during the Ninth Five-Year Plan period due this year. The Board plans to set up market information services and intelligence services to help the farmers get a good price.

Coffee exports on the decline: Coffee exports in fiscal 1997-1998 declined to 1,39,343 tonne from 1,81,295 tonne in the previous year, registering a fall of 23.14 per cent. According to provisional figures available from Coffee Board, revenue from coffee exports plunged to Rs 1,326.25 crore during the period under review.