In a bid to maximise sugarcane production in Uttar Pradesh, the state government has formulated a policy of replacing outdated varieties with high yielding varieties and providing timely financial assistance to farmers.

Futures trading must be extended

Indian agriculture is now gradually opening up to the world markets. While trade liberalisation creates new economic opportunities, it also poses new challenges. Notably, price volatility and the capacity to cope with it are again becoming major policy concerns.Training managers for horticulture

Many years ago a leading Indian company sought my advice on recruiting a manager for a horticulture project. Knowing how difficult it would be to find a suitable candidate my final comment was, "Please shortlist two candidates - I will employ the one you reject." Good horticulture managers are worth their weight in gold.

Natural rubber production cost up

The average cost of cultivation andmaintenance up to the yielding stage for natural rubber has registered a 22 per cent increase over the past two years, according to a study by the ministry of finance. This means that the growers are losing more than Rs 10 for each kilo gram rubber produced in their holdings if the ruling market price of Rs 30 per kg is taken into account.

Aromatic plants face extinction

The government should focus on conservation of aromatic plants which are on the brink of extinction, feel experts, according KC Dalal of National Research Centre for Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Anand, Gujarat.

Currently, there are about 200 species of aromatic plants which have been assessed as critically endangered and vulnerable in the wild. For this, what is required is a prioritised conservation strategy.

Recovery evades base metal on LME

A recovery witnessed in the base metal prices on the London Metal Exchange (LME) proved short-lived. As a result, almost 60 to 70 per cent of the gains was eroded in the pasttwo weeks. Aluminium once again fell below $1,300 to $1,280 per tonne. Similarly, copper and zinc prices have also fallen back to $1602 and $1,025 respectively.

Coal sales plummet

Coal industry sales plummeted in the first three months of this fiscal, adding to the piling inventory of "vendible stocks," that have no takers. Experts said if the trend continued till the middle of the year, coal company balance sheets may not remain as rosy as they are now.

Diamond outlook bleak

De Beers' Central Selling Organisation (CSO) president Anthony Oppenheimer is understood to have struck a subdued note on the global diamond business outlook for the current year. He is reported to have told the recent World Diamond Congress in Bangkok that the Japanese offtake was down by 39 per cent in the first five months of 1998 while some of the east Asian markets were virtually dead.

Pig-iron producers face crisis

The world's first Corex module of 350,000 tonnes, which was operating at ISCOR inSouth Africa, has been permanently closed down as Jindal is preparing for trial runs of its Corex module at its green field steel plant. ISCOR had first closed down the steel facility attached to Corex module as it was uneconomic but was running the Corex to produce pig iron for sale.

Salt imports not required

India will not have to import salt in the current year as there are surplus stocks available. There were concerns regarding the availability of salt after the cyclone in Gujarat caused severe damage to the salt pans. The Salt Commissioner's office has decided to grant a relief of Rs 750 per acre to the cyclone affected salt works in Saurashtra and Kutch and the first of the three tranches of disbursement will be made at the end of the current financial year, according to deputy salt commissioner AN Ansari.

Ibuprofen recovers after a lull

Prices of anti-inflammatory generic drug, Ibuprofen are picking up in both domestic and international markets after a depressed period duringJanuary this year. The drug is now tentatively climbing up to the price levels of April 1996 - April 1997 period. Price in the domestic market has gone up from Rs 410/kg to Rs 446/kg between April and June 1998.

Urea remains protected

Urea has to come into India come what may. That has been the irreversible fact in the Indian fertiliser scene which is unlikely to change in the near future. The only consolation for import-haters may be the upwardly or downwardly revised estimates of the quantum of urea that is needed to be imported into the country year after year. Bureaucratic circles are sceptical over the implementation in any substantial measure of the high-level Hanumantha Rao Committee recommendations on the fertiliser pricing policy.

Cotton arrivals put at 161 lakh bales

With the current cotton season nearly coming to an end, arrivals all over the country, as of July end is lower at 161.43 lakh bales as against the previous year's arrivals of 175.58 lakh bales. The totalavailability this year is expected to be in the region of 187-189 lakh bales which includes 5 lakh bales of cotton imported, and the surplus stock of the previous year -- which is 24.02 lakh bales.

The unsold cotton this year is likely to be approximately 22 lakh bales as arrivals of another 3-5 lakh bales are expected within the next two months.

Cotton yarn exports up

The slide in cotton yarn exports seems to have stopped following fresh demand from some of the Asian countries. The share of cotton yarn exports to the total cotton textile exports basket inched forward in June. Exports to Hong Kong, Japan and Mauritius showed good recovery during this period.

India exported 36.6 million kg cotton yarn worth Rs 4,35.76 crore in June compared with 39.29 million kg yarn worth Rs 4,39.48 crore during the same period last year.