Worries over El Nino conditions have eased and there are indications of another year of robust monsoon rains, according to the latest assessment by the country’s weather office. Officials in the India Meteorological Department said El Nino conditions have weakened considerably and the assessment is that this is unlikely to pose any threat to the […]
India’s farmers and the poor stand to gain the most, irrespective of who comes to power, post the general elections 2019. Going by the manifestos of these two parties, it is clear that both are wooing farmers in a big way. At an estimated 263 million, farmers indeed form a key voting bloc in the […]
India’s economic growth in recent years has been driven by domestic demand and its exports were about one third of its potential, a World Bank official said, asserting that the next government needs to focus on export-led growth. Praising attempts to liberalise markets within India, Hans Timmer, World Bank Chief Economist for the South Asia […]
The International Coffee Organization (ICO) has raised its forecast for global coffee production in 2018/19 to 168.05 million 60-kg bags from its earlier estimate of 167.47 million. World consumption in coffee year 2018/19 is estimated at 164.99 million bags compared to 161.38 million bags in 2017/18. The inter-governmental body now sees a global surplus of […]
Current world cereal production estimate for 2018, incorporating Chinese historical production revisions, stands at 2 655 million tonnes (including rice in milled terms), the U.N. food agency said in its latest monthly report. Although this figure is 46 million tonnes higher than the previous month’s estimate, world cereal production is still down 1.8 percent (48.8 […]
The FAO Food Price Index held broadly stable in March, as a jump in dairy prices was offset by drops in cereal, vegetable oil and sugar price quotations, according to the latest benchmark UN report. The index, which tracks monthly changes in international prices of a basket of food commodities, averaged 167 points, down two […]
While the global cotton industry continues to face a number of challenges — trade uncertainties, slowing economic growth and weakening demand — consumption is still expected to set an all-time high in 2019/20, reaching 27.3 million tonnes, the International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC) said. However, that record-breaking number still won’t be enough to keep global […]
The International Grains Council (IGC) forecast that grains stocks would fall further in the 2019 season with an anticipated increase in both wheat and corn production insufficient to satisfy record demand. IGC see total stocks of grain falling by 29 million tonnes this season to 575 million tonnes following a 44 million tonne drawdown in […]
Global coal demand totaled 3.778 billion tonnes of oil equivalent (Btoe) in 2018, up 0.7 per cent on the year, bolstered largely by increased use in India and Southeast Asia, according to data released by the International Energy Agency. Coal rode the wave of increased demand from several Asian countries, as global energy demand grew […]
Silver will see a resurgence in demand this year from rural Indians spending cash handouts from the government designed to aid local economies ahead of the general election, according to Metals Focus Ltd. Purchases are set to rise to about 6,590 tonnes, beating the 6,442 tonnes bought in 2018 and marking the best year since […]