PR Resource – Muarateweh.net

The textile industry, one of the largest employment generators in India, has reported a 6.3 per cent dip in exports growth due to rupee appreciation.

Apparel Export Promotion Council(AEPC) Chairman Vijay Agarwal expressed his concerns over the appreciation in the value of rupee in a letter issued to the Textile, Commerce and Finance Ministers.

”Export receipts of apparel exporters decreased from Rs 20,484 crore in the first half of 2006-07 to Rs 19181 crore during second half of the year, given the same rate of exports. This is a dip of 6.3 per cents in export revenues,” he said.

An Apparel Export Promotion Council release said today that exports have actually started falling (continue reading…)

MUMBAI: Onion prices, which had shot up sharply a few months back, have now tumbled on increased arrivals and exports controls by the federal government, officials and exporters said.

“Farmers in all onion producing states are busy harvesting. Market arrivals increased substantially and prices are falling,” CB Holkar, vice chairman of National Agricultural Co-operative Marketing Federation of India (Nafed), told Reuters on Thursday.

Wholesale prices in India’s largest onion trading hub, Lasalgaon in Maharashtra state, have eased to Rs 400 a quintal, from Rs 1,500 in February. Retail prices have fallen from a peak of Rs 25 a kg to about Rs 8 in Mumbai. “The minimum export price (MEP) is too high and export is impeded at this price,” Holkar said. (continue reading…)

Sennheiser Electronic Corporation is happy to announce the promotion of Oliver Baumann to VP Export for the Latin American market. Since it is one of Sennheiser’s fastest growing markets, the promise of even greater sales places unique demands on Baumann in his new position. It seems unlikely that the company could have selected a more qualified candidate to rise to that challenge.

Born to German parents and raised in Latin America, Baumann is fluent in English, German, Spanish, and Portuguese. Perhaps more importantly, his cultural competency spans the hemisphere and allows him to communicate with and anticipate the needs of Sennheiser’s Latin American customers. Baumann has been with Sennheiser for ten years, always in Latin America, working in market development and sales managerial positions. Baumann replaces Greg Beebe, who was recently appointed director of global relations for Sennheiser. (continue reading…)

The Ministry of Trade forecasts that prices of some agricultural and forestry exports will continue to rise this year due to shortages in the world market.

This is a positive sign for Vietnamese traders and producers since they will be able to increase their exports more easily, say ministry officials. Some 50% of forestry and farm products are currently sold as exports.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Cao Duc Phat, commended that there is a positive outlook for the agriculture export industry thanks to the strong growth it posted last year.

Ministry officials expect the turnover from these exports will grow to US $7.5 billion, an increase of 5.8% compared to 2006. (continue reading…)

From sushi to nasi lemak and dhosai to rice noodle, Asian culinary traditions share an essential ingredient–rice.

The Asian staple is derived from the seeds of three dominant cultivars of the grass plant Oryza sativa: the short-grained japonica, the long-grained indica and the broad-grained javonica. Centuries of trade beyond the Asian continent have spread rice-eating culture to every corner of the world.

Some 135 million hectares of agricultural land are planted with rice and about 3,000 million people are dependent on rice for food and livelihood. The Food and Agriculture Organisation says Asia harvests over 500 million tonnes of paddy annually.

However, the grain that forms the basis of Asian social, religious and cultural heritage appears (continue reading…)

HARD WORK: Managing Director, Hettikanda estate, Sarath Kahapalaarachchi, hails from Panadura.

He tries to expand the boundaries of his businesses amid several worries.

“My tea estate is in Kalawana. I started the tea estate seven years ago. It was an abandoned rubber estate. I converted it into the tea estate. There are ten employees working under me,” he said.

“In Ratnapura there is a scarcity of labour. I need about forty workers. I bring labourers from other districts. So the labour cost is high. Once you bring them it is difficult to keep them. They don’t stick to one place. Tea is a major industry in this area but there are several issues that hinder the progress of this industry,” Kahapalaarachchi said underlining the difficulties. (continue reading…)

Farmers from the Mekong Delta that are responsible for over 50% of the country’s entire rice crop have had major successes in combating rice diseases. The increased productivity and new disease resistant growing techniques will allow them to harvest between 6-8 tonnes of rice per ha for the winter-autumn crop, said Nguyen Tri Ngoc, Director of the Cultivation Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The growing quality demands of international markets and a surge in market prices are also helping to boost rice exports. According to agricultural experts, rice prices for the 2005-2006 years soared by 35% over the previous five-year period. Rice exports from Vietnam have increased by more than US $40 per tonne due to improvements in rice quality and the price gap between regional neighbours such as Thailand and Vietnam has continued to be narrowed.

However observers have been quick to point out that agricultural and rice-processing sectors (continue reading…)