Sri Lanka’s move to ease exports to India worries pepper industry

Any export above the limit is subjected to 8 per cent duty under South Asia Free Trade Agreement.
By PK Krishnakumar  ET Bureau|Aug 13, 2019

Kochi: India’s pepper industry took exception to the reported move by the Sri Lankan government to hold talks with the Indian ministry for relaxing the minimum import price (MIP) fixed for black pepper to protect the domestic industry.

Over a year ago India had slapped an MIP of Rs 500 per kg on black pepper to curb increasing imports of the spice into the country that had pushed down prices to around Rs 350 per kg from nearly Rs 500 per kg.

The government had levied MIP  pepper traders and exporters complained that Vietnamese pepper was coming to India via Sri Lanka with certificate of origin issued by the latter.

“Sri Lanka should have ensured that no certificate of origin was issued for Vietnam pepper routed to the country which caused great damage to Indian pepper farmers,’’ said Kishore Shamji, Kerala coordinator of Indian Pepper and Spice Traders, Growers, Planters Consortium.

Currently, India levies zero duty import on 2,500 tonnes of pepper from Sri Lanka annually under the Indo-Sri Lanka Free Trade Agreement. Any export above the limit is subjected to 8 per cent duty under South Asia Free Trade Agreement as against the usual customs duty of 70 per cent on pepper import into India.

“Indian pepper growers feel no further concession should be made till domestic prices reach Rs 500 per kg. Any further concessions will lead to the destruction of pepper farmers in India,’’ Shamji said, adding that the spice extraction industry is already importing pepper without duty under advance licence for value addition and re-export. Indian pepper is the highest priced in the world market at present and as a result pepper from other markets is being smuggled into the country. “Brazilian pepper is being smuggled to the country and sold at Rs 370 per kg,’’ said Jojan Malayil, chief executive officer of Bafna Enterprises.



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Chilli industry spices up people's lives in central China

Source: Xinhua| 2019-08-08 20:45:43|Editor: mingmei

CHANGSHA, Aug. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese phrase "chixianghela" depicts a rich lifestyle of eating delicious and spicy food, and that's what Chen Jinxiang's life is all about these days.

Chen used to make ends meet by tending rice paddies deep in the mountains of central China's Hunan Province. But his life took a U-turn after switching to the chilli industry.

"Last year, I grew 0.4 hectares of chilli, and made about 30,000 yuan (4,260 U.S. dollars)," said Chen, a farmer in Xiuling Village of Rucheng County. "This year I have expanded the area to one hectare, and now the chilli is ready for collection."

In the serene village of Xiuling, which means "beautiful mountains" in Chinese, swathes of red chilli and peppers envelop the lush green mountains. The plantation is part of the county government's efforts to help lift locals out of poverty, while creating a "distinctive township based on chilli" in answer to a central government plan.

In 2016, the Chinese government issued a plan to create about 1,000 "distinctive townships" across the country that center on tourism, traditional culture, education, manufacturing and more by 2020.

Over the years, many such townships have mushroomed, including an "acrobatics township," "music township" and "opera township," to name just a few.

So the county of Rucheng, which has a tradition of chilli cultivation and perfect air and soil conditions for growing chilli, decided to turn itself into a special township of chilli.

According to official figures, by the end of 2018, a total of 780 hectares of chilli has been planted in the county. Local officials handed out more than 16 million chilli seedlings, and encouraged 5,461 impoverished families to grow more than 653 hectares of the crops.

To help the growers reap benefits, the local government introduced a major chilli company into the county. The company purchases the chilli from farmers at a bottomline price when the market price is low. Meanwhile, agricultural experts have been designated to help the poor farmers learn the techniques of plantation.

"We also help sell the chilli for the farmers online," a local official said.

China aims to eradicate poverty by 2020, the target year to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects.

The county made the leap in 2018, thanks to the chilli industry.

Last month, Quanshui Township, which administers Xiuling Village, was named one of the "Top Ten Special Agricultural Townships" in Hunan Province.

The chilli has been transformed into different products, including pickled chilli, chopped chilli and chilli sauce, and has been included in local spicy specialties.

In the exhibition hall of Fanhua Food Co., Ltd. in Rucheng, a variety of chilli products are on display.

"We came to invest in the industry in 2018, and our products have taken up almost a half of the chilli market in the county," said Zhu Shuqing, with the company. "We see rosy prospects."

Zhu said that the county is close to coastal provinces like Guangdong, where there is a robust market for chilli, particularly chilli from Hunan Province, which is known in China as a hotbed for chilli production and consumption.

"More people in China are beginning to fall for spicy food, and the chilli industry has huge potential," Zhu said. "The industry truly spiced up people's lives here."

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Chinese garlic prices have begun to fall

From The Fresh Plaza

Source: Voice of Chinese Villages

Publication date: 8/8/2019

The overall garlic price in 2019 rose in northern China. According to Xie Lei, an analyst at the Beijing Xinfadi Market, since May, prices of the new crop sold at the market have increased by 104% over the same period last year. In the following two months, prices continued to rise, only starting to fall recently.

Recently, the wholesale price at the market stayed at 8.4-9.6 yuan/kg, up 200% year-on-year compared with that of 2-4 yuan/kg during the same period last year. In the last 2-3 weeks, prices at the market became less stable and started to drop. As the stockpiling season will reach an end in August, many growers are rushing to sell, leading prices to start declining recently.

For garlic growers, the quality of garlic not yet in storage will decline by the beginning of autumn, accompanied by a lack of purchasers, so it is also the final opportunity to sell.

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