From dairy to ecommerce & pharma: Indian exports thrive

From dairy to ecommerce & pharma: Indian exports thrive

Indian exports registered a reasonable trend of wide sectorial coverage and impact. However, an overall decline in dollar terms continues due to weak global demand. India signs dairy pact with Russia

India has signed a protocol pact with the government of Russia for the export of dairy products to the country. Russia's hard cheese demand of around 230,000 tonnes was met largely through imports from European countries. Given restrictions imposed by European countries in retaliation of the economic sanctions levied on imports from Europe, Russia has been on the lookout for alternatives to regions it can import hard cheese from. India being the largest milk producer in the world, has now come into play with the government confirming the protocol, which would allow Indian dairy exporters to start shipments of hard cheese. Russian phytosanitary authority Rosselkhoznadzor officials said only farms with less than the herd size of 1,000 cattle would not be allowed to export dairy products to Russia. In India, therefore, only two dairy farms - Parag Milk Foods and Schreiber Dynamix - conform to this norm. Devendra Shah, chairman of Pune-based Parag Milk Foods, said: “After signing of the protocol by the government of India, the Russian authority would sign it. The entire process would take at least 15 days to one month. After that, negotiations of prices and trade terms would take at least one more month. So, by June end we would be able to supply the first consignment of hard cheese to Russia." The opening of exports to Russia is also expected to lift international cheese prices, which currently range between $3,000 and $3,200 per tonne. Currently, only 60,000-70,000 tonnes of cheese is exported through official channels to Russia. India's total cheese capacity is estimated at 32,000 tonnes per annum. Ecommerce sales to be deemed exports

India's Commerce Ministry said that all Indian sales to foreign buyers through ecommerce platforms will be classified as exports and will be entitled to duty benefits under the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS). Under the MEIS, the government provides duty benefits at two, three and five per cent depending upon the products and country. The Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said while defining “ecommerce” for the purpose of MEIS that “e-commerce means buying and selling of goods and services including digital products, conducted over digital and electronic network”. This will help the government keep track of the sales of ecommerce products and monitor the process. According to experts, this move is a precursor to the government opening international markets to domestic e-commerce companies. This move will restrict the sale of goods from Indian ecommerce companies to foreign markets. India's pharma exports to US surge

Indian exports of pharmaceutical products showed a 9.7 per cent jump and exports to the US alone reflected a 33 per cent growth in the 2016 financial year, according to Indian commerce secretary Rita Teaotia. Teaotia said: “The country's pharmaceutical exports is one of the good stories of Indian exports. We have registered 9.7 per cent jump and 33 per cent growth in exports to US market. We see lot of growth potential of pharma exports in coming years.” She said that despite the US FDA issues faced by the several domestic pharma companies last year, the huge exports growth of 33 per cent shows our companies are capable of taking challenges. India supplies 20 per cent of global generic medicines market exports in terms of volume, making the country the largest provider of generic medicines globally and expected to expand even further in coming years. In order to take Indian pharma to next level in the International market arena, the Indian Ministry of Commerce, took initiative to position India as hub for affordable, credible and sustainable source of pharmaceutical products.

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