The Coconut Development Board has suggested that the price of coconut oil could be stabilised if the production of the commodity is maintained at the optimum level. As a corollary, the board has also suggested the development of upstream and downstream industries. The domestic producers can successfully ward of the import threats and can even emerge as a major exporter.

Sugar's opening stock turns bitter

With a huge opening stock of 65 lakh tonnes and rising import levels, the sugar industry had little to celebrate as it stepped into a new sugar year this October. A healthy sugarcane crop in the country and rising production world-wide has added to the woes of the industry reeling under the pressure of low global prices and rising unsold stock.

`Quality is cornerstone of Kenyan tea'

The chairman of the country's largest industrial tea co-operative -- Indcoserve, which has 17 co-operative tea factories under its fold-T Rangaiah, hasbeen closely associated with the small tea growers in Nilgiris. Besides, he was the secretary of the Nilgiris Small Tea Growers' Association, apart from being a member of the Tea Board for a per.

Tea fails to improve on supply shortage

The tea industry is beginning to feel the shortage in production but the auction prices are still lingering at lower levels. Overall there is shortfall of about 52 million kg of tea, of which the South Indian tea is falling short by about 5.8 million kg by end of July.

Weekly Coonoor tea sales rise sharply

As against 15-16 lakh kgs of tea sold every week, the auction of tea at Coonoor witnessed a big jump in the sale of tea at 23 lakh kgs this week. Significantly, a record high of 26 lakh kgs of tea will be sold at Coonoor in the coming week on Oct 15, as per the chairman of the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA), J Halan. Coonoor, which is the second largest tea trading centre after Guwahati, is known to be an export-oriented centre, as most tea boughtfrom here is exported to Russia.

Gold wars dazzle Chennai festival

Chennai is witnessing wars in gold, and this could very well be beneficial to the customer. These come hard on the heels of a gold festival announced by the recently formed Chennai Gold Club and has been triggered off by non members who feel they have a lot more value to offer the customer. The gold wars have hotted up with the unexpected rising prices (from Rs 380 to Rs 480 per gram in the recent past) and customers proving reluctant to make a beeline to the gold shops, festival or otherwise.

Gold juggernaut: Dust settles

The frenzied bull run in the global gold market seem to settle down but it's tremors are still worrying the domestic gold trade. Following the $75 wild price swing, most of the shorts, either in Comex or in the unfix trade has been washed out. The volatility has virtually paralysed the trade. While Indian traders have lost almost Rs 200-225 crore, Dubai might have lost around five times more than theIndians. If gold test $370 or does not fall below $320, domestic gold trade would face the worst ever crisis.

Delay in dumping duty hits HOC unit

The delay in the imposition of an anti-dumping duty by the government on phenol is likely to effect the production of the premium brand being brought out by the public sector Hindustan Organics Ltd's (HOC) unit located in Kochi. The public sector had some time back approached the department of anti-dumping for the imposition of the anti-dumping obligation in the wake of reported dumping of phenol by the US and Chinese multinationals in the domestic market.

More Russian fuel oil export permitted

Russia is easing a ban on fuel oil exports by increasing the number of refineries that will be allowed to export this month, a spokesman for Fuel and Energy Minister Viktor Kalyzhny told Reuters on Friday.

Declining trend in polyester exports

Exports of polyester fibre from the country are shrinking and chances of their recovering toany significant extent in the coming months, according to sources close to the industry, look dim at present. Sources point out that in the first five months of the current year, polyester fibre shipments have plummeted by nearly 46 per cent in volume terms and by as much as 65 per cent in terms of value compared with the same period of the earlier year.

Yarn exports may touch record high

Cotton yarn exports from India for the calendar year 1999, would touch an all-time record high, if the first eight-month shipment trend continues. The country's cotton yarn exports for January-August 1999, stood at Rs 4,323.88 crore, the highest ever, compared to Rs 3,860.19 crore registered during the corresponding period in the previous year.

Cotton export realisations likely to dip

Net value realisation from textile exports is poised take a further beating, with the political instability, softening of the rupee in the coming months as well as the complete lack of the marketing muscle of the domesticindustry in the global marketplace.

Floriculture, an Israeli export venture

Flowers account for 7.2 per cent of Israel's total agricultural production, and 26 per cent of the country's total fresh agricultural export. In 1998, Israel produced 1.4 billion flowers on an area of 1,900 hectares. Around 80 to 90 per cent of its destined for export.