Pick of BL commodities – August 18, 2024
1. India received 153 mm in the first half (1-15) of August, which is 15 per cent above normal of 133.3 mm for the period. It has helped the overall seasonal rainfall to reach 105 per cent of its long period average (LPA) between June 1 and August 15, reports Prabhudatta Mishra.
2. The sowing of all kharif crops, barring paddy, has been completed on 979.89 lakh hectares (lh) as of August 9, which is up by 1.4 per cent from 966.40 lh a year ago, latest data of the Agriculture Ministry showed. The country’s normal area (last five years’ average) is 1,095.84 lh in the kharif season, reports our New Delhi Bureau.
3. The storage level in the 150 major Indian reservoirs in the country continued to rise for the seventh week in a row with the storage improving in all regions, data from the Central Water Commission (CWC) showed. The storage level improved to 69 per cent of the 178.784 billion cubic metres (BCM) capacity at 124.016 BCM. This is higher than last year’s as well as the last 10 years’ average (normal level).
4. Strong export demand due to supply shortage in the global market has lifted the tobacco prices at the ongoing auctions in Andhra Pradesh, the largest producer of the commodity in the country. Tobacco sector stakeholders said a shortfall in supplies from countries such as Zimbabwe and Brazil among others has led to increased demand for the Indian produce, report Vishwanath Kulkarni and KV Kurmanath.
5. Organic rice exports from India during the first four months of the 2024-25 fiscal have exceeded the total organic rice exports in the 2023-24 fiscal, leading to allegations of irregularities in the shipments. Trading sources say soaring shipments point to flouting of the ban on white (raw) and broken rice, besides evasion of 20 per cent export duty on parboiled rice from the country. “Some in the trade have taken the organic route to hoodwink authorities,” said a trading source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.