8 COMMODITIES/AGRI-BUSINESS FEBRUARY 13 BusinessLine

................CMYK

CHENNAI

8 BusinessLine SATURDAY • FEBRUARY 13 • 2021COMMODITIES/AGRI-BUSINESS

OUR BUREAU

Mangaluru, February 12

Buoyed by lower importtaxes, refi��ners purchasedmore palm oil. Imports ofthe tropical oil jumped by8 per cent in the fi��rstquarter of the oil year202021.

According to Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA)of India, the import ofpalm oil (which includesCPO, RBD palmolein, andcrude palm kernel oil) increased to 2.17 milliontonnes (mt) during theNovemberJanuaryquarter of the oil year202021 against two mtduring the correspondingperiod of the previous oilyear, registering a growthof 8.01 per cent.

Crude palm oil (CPO)

imports jumped 24 percent during the periodunder review due to dutyreduction from 37.5 percent to 27.5 per cent witheff��ect from November 27.

Soft oils downHe said the import of softoils decreased marginallyto 1.32 mt (1.36 mt) due tolower import of sunfl��ower oil.

Added to this, the import of soya oil was thelowest in January as astrike by truckers in Argentina seriously aff��ectedloading during November. This resulted in lesservessels of soya oil arrivingin India during January.

However, he said, theBudget has restructuredthe vegetable oil importpolicy.

Though the basic import duty on CPO waslowered by 12.5 points to15 per cent, this was more

than off��set by a newly introduced 17.5 per cent ofagriculture infrastructureand development cesswhich is earmarked to improve agricultureinfrastructure.

“Taken together, thetotal import duty on CPOincreased from 30.25 percent to 35.75 per cent.Soya oil and sunfl��ower oilimports are now subjectto a 20 per cent cess but

the basic duty decreasedfrom 35 to 15 per cent,keeping the eff��ective tariff��unchanged at 38.5 percent. The duty advantageof CPO thus narrowedfrom 8.25 to 2.75 percentage points,” he said.

Country-wise importsIndia buys palm oil fromIndonesia and Malaysia,while other oils includingsoya oil and sunfl��ower oil

are sourced from Argentina, Brazil, Ukraine andRussia.

During NovemberJanuary of 202021, Malaysiasupplied 1.23 mt of CPOfollowed by Indonesia at0.85 mt. India imported0.64 mt of crude soyabean degummed oil fromArgentina, and 0.54 mt ofcrude sunfl��ower oil fromUkraine followed by82,673 tonnes fromRussia.

Total vegoil importThe total import of vegetable oils (which includesedible oil and nonedibleoil) declined by 8 per centto 1.09 mt during January2021 compared to 1.19 mtin January 2020.

However, the overall import of vegetable oils during NovemberJanuary2021 stood at 3.55 mt (3.45mt) registering a growthof 3 per cent.

CPO imports

jumped 24% in Q1

of oil year 2020-21

Palm oil imports up 8% at 2.17 mt in Nov-Jan FUTURES TRACKERSymbol Delivery Centre

Price Unit

Previous Close (₹��)

Close (₹��)%

ChangeOI

MCX

ALUMINIUM Thane 1 Kg 167.7 167.6 -0.1 4785

COPPER Thane 1 Kg 636.9 634.1 -0.4 11777500

COTTON Rajkot 1 Bale 21450.0 21470.0 0.1 137775

CPO* Cash Settled 10 Kgs 1012.1 1015.4 0.3 53990

CRUDEOIL Cash Settled 1 BBL 4241.0 4200.0 -1.0 447700

GOLD Ahmedabad 10 grms 47508.0 47318.0 -0.4 13275

GOLDGUINEA Ahmedabad 8 grms 38015.0 37980.0 -0.1 53.28

GOLDM Ahmedabad 10 grms 47377.0 47196.0 -0.4 2004

GOLDPETAL Ahmedabad 1 grm 4726.0 4709.0 -0.4 56.507

KAPAS* Cash Settled 20 Kgs 1230.0 1233.5 0.3 244

LEAD Thane / Chennai 1 Kg 170.7 170.2 -0.3 3265

MENTHAOIL Chandausi 1 Kg 962.1 969.3 0.7 70.2

NATURALGAS Cash Settled 1 mmBtu 209.2 207.4 -0.9 15356250

NICKEL Thane 1 Kg 1350.6 1336.7 -1.0 3490500

RUBBER Palakkad 100 Kgs 15721.0 15682.0 -0.2 112

SILVER Ahmedabad 1 Kg 68492.0 68792.0 0.4 389160

SILVERM Ahmedabad 1 Kg 68454.0 68731.0 0.4 52730

SILVERMIC Ahmedabad 1 Kg 68441.0 68723.0 0.4 34417

ZINC Thane 1 Kg 221.9 222.2 0.2 12565

NCDEX

CASTOR DEESA Quintal 4398.0 4412.0 0.3 6905

CHANA BIKANER Quintal 4609.0 4645.0 0.8 30830

COCUDAKL AKOLA Quintal 2274.0 2261.0 -0.6 20050

COTTON RAJKOT Bales 21160.0 21160.0 0.0 0

DHANIYA KOTA Quintal 6504.0 6494.0 -0.2 2485

GUARGUM5 JODHPUR Quintal 6212.0 6220.0 0.1 2670

GUARSEED10 JODHPUR Quintal 3909.0 3913.0 0.1 7315

JEERAUNJHA UNJHA Quintal 13405.0 13425.0 0.1 1134

KAPAS RAJKOT 20 kgs 1231.0 1231.0 0.0 2446

RMSEED JAIPUR Quintal 6120.0 6103.0 -0.3 2580

STEEL GOBINDGARH Quintal 37730.0 37200.0 -1.4 600

SYBEANIDR INDORE Quintal 4802.0 4773.0 -0.6 5410

SYOREF INDORE 10 kgs 1123.0 1127.0 0.4 14175

TMCFGRNZM NIZAMABAD Quintal 7540.0 7756.0 2.9 7765

Source: MCX and NCDEX; all contracts are current month/near month; closing prices are taken fromprovisional bhav copy (as of 17.00 hours); *delivery option available

■ Demand will rise by 5.79 million barrels per day (bpd) this year to

96.05 million bpd, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting

Countries said in a monthly report, trimming its growth forecast

by 110,000 bpd from a month ago.

■ Investors pull $10.6 billion out of cash and $800 million from

gold. This is the first week of outflows from precious metals in

two months, says a Bank of America report.

MCX COMPDEX D -39 pts (-0.36%) MCX BULLDEX D -31 pts (-0.21%) MCX METLDEX D -72 pts (-0.51%) NCDEX AGRIDEX C 1 pt (0.10%)

PR. CLOSE HIGH LOW CLOSE PR. CLOSE HIGH LOW CLOSE PR. CLOSE HIGH LOW CLOSE PR. CLOSE HIGH LOW CLOSE

10807.08 10817.90 10749.14 10768.34 15031.08 15064.67 14963.54 14999.98 14197.10 14246.45 14087.35 14125.00 1190.50 1198.90 1189.80 1191.80

As of 17.00 hours

VISHWANATH KULKARNI

Bengaluru, February 12

Anyone can grow gerberas, thedecorative fl��owers, anywheresoon. Thanks to the ICARIndianInstitute of Horticulture,Bengaluru, that has developedtwo new gerbera varieties thatcan be grown by farmers in theopen fi��elds, unlike in the greenhouse currently.

These two varieties have thepotential to revolutionise thecultivation of gerberas, whichare grown on about 2,000 hectares in greenhouses. Also, thesetwo varieties can help cut downthe royalty being paid by the Indian growers to breeders inEurope.

The two new varieties, which

can be grown in areas with maximum temperatures of up to 40degree celsius, have been developed over eight years afterscreening the germplasm fromvarious locations across thecountry, said C Ashwath, Principal Scientist and Head ofIIHR’s Floriculture and Medicinal Plants division.

They would be commercialised soon and made available tofarmers at a price of ₹��1215 perplant, he said.

Cost-saving varietyPlants of about 30 varieties ofgerberas, currently grown inthe country are imported fromEurope, mainly Netherlands.Each plant costs about ₹��3540,

of which half the price goes asroyalty to the Europeanbreeders.

“The open gerberas are aboon to the small farmers as thecost of cultivation is lower thanthose cultivated in the greenhouses. They don’t have to incurthe greenhouse costs and theplanting material cost is less.Also, the open varieties needless of pesticide spray, once amonth as against two to three

rounds in the green houses. Thecost of producing each gerberafl��ower will be around 20 paisein the open as compared to ₹��2in the greenhouse,” Ashwathsaid.

“The new varieties look goodbut until and unless they aregrown in a big way, it is diffi��cultto assess,” said Shrikant Bollapally, a cut fl��ower grower andPresident, Growers FlowerCouncil of India. “These varieties look attractive for growers,who cannot think or aff��ord toinvest in green houses, which isa major cost. Moreover, it canavoid the royalty payments tothe foreign breeders,” Bollapally said.

The indigenous developmentof cut fl��owers varieties such asroses, carnation, gypsophia andlimonium, would benefi��t thegrowers, he added.

Now, grow gerberas in open fieldsICAR-IIHR’s new gerbera varieties can help cut

down on royalty paid to European breeders

C Ashwath, Principal Scientist

and Head of Floriculture and

Medicinal Plants at IIHR

OUR BUREAU

Ahmedabad, February 12

National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX)will relaunch futures contractsin hipro (highprotein) soyabean meal from February 17.

The monthly contract will beavailable for trade from Marchto September.

The launch of a futures contract for soyameal provides asynergy for the agricommodityexchange, which has active contracts for soyabean and soya oil.

As per market sources, astandardised contract and thesynergy between the three contracts will benefi��t primarily thesoyabean processors by allowing them to lock the spread anduse hedging mechanisms forinput and output.

High-protein meal“This is a modifi��ed contractfrom the earlier yellow soyabean meal contract. Soyabeanmeal containing 50% or moreprotein is called as Hipro Soyabean meal. Soyameal market isslowly moving towards highprotein soyameal and based onthe market trend and feedbackfrom trade participants, Exchange has modifi��ed the specifi��cation to Hipro quality,” informed a source at NCDEX.

The minimum initial marginrequired is 10 per cent. The unitof trade and delivery unit is 10tonnes and the ticket size is ₹��10per tonne. “This is a compulsorydelivery contract,” the sourceadded. The delivery centres areIndore in Madhya Pradesh andLatur in Maharashtra. Upon theexpiry of the contract, all theoutstanding open positionshall result in compulsorydelivery.

On expiry, the futures pricewill be matched and settled atthe cutoff�� price of the spot market.

NCDEX torelaunch soyameal futures

RADHESHYAM JADHAV

Pune, February 12

Maharashtra Farmers Producer Company (MahaFPC), aconsortium of about 400 FPCsin the State, is exploring partnerships and joint ventureswith corporate houses even asdebates and discussions onnew farm laws continue.

The MahaFPC has alreadylaunched India’s fi��rst onionstorage and marketing infra

structure through the publicprivatepartnership (PPP)model. Yogesh Thorat, MD, MahaFPC, told BusinessLine it ishigh time farmers looked atequitable partnerships andnot a subsidy to survive.

“There is no option for smallfarmers than to form FPCs andcorporate bodies will have todeal with FPCs. Corporate bodies would not be interested inproductioncentric operations

but in infrastructure andvalue chain development. Weare looking for investmentcentric partnerships and jointventures. This is the way tomove forward,” said Thoratadding that the onion experiment has boosted the confi��dence of farmers.

‘Unfounded fears’A section of farmers opposingnew farm laws has alleged that

big corporates will reap the benefi��ts of reforms and farmerswill be left high and dry.

“Farmers and farming hasto be competitive,” saidThorat.

According to Vilas Shinde,Chairman and Managing Director of the Nashikbased FPOSahyadri Farms, farmers’ collectives will increase their negotiation power with corporates.

Maharashtra farmers exploring tie-ups with corporates

G CHANDRASHEKHAR

Platinum has had a stellarrun so far with the marketbreaching the psychological $1,200 per ounceearlier this week. OnThursday, it touched a sixyear high of $1,270. Although prices are nowsomewhat correcting because of possible profi��t taking, experts feel there isstill some steam left in themetal.

It appears that platinumhas got out of gold’sshadow with the price dif

ferential narrowing toaround $600/oz — a condition seen about a year ago.Even as gold is underdownward pressure having fallen to around $1,815/oz, platinum is showingpromise as ETF infl��ows continue and fi��nancial investors seem to opt for it.

Supply deficitClearly, the platinum market was in a state of supplydefi��cit last year, accordingto the assessment of Johnson Matthey, the world’slargest refi��ner. This defi��citcame on the back of another short supply a yearearlier, too. Worse, the

World Platinum Investment Council has predicted a record defi��cit of 1.2million ounces for 2020.No wonder, the market isplaying catch up.

While there is nospecifi��c forecastyet for 2021, forall intents andpurposes themarket will continue to remainin defi��cit and onlythe quantum has tobe worked out. In theevent, investment demandwill remain robust. ETF infl��ows are also expected togather pace.

Market participants con

the adverse impact of thepandemic on the globalautomotive industrywhich faced a slump because of national lockdowns and shuttering ofproduction units. After all,the automotive industryaccounts for close to 85 percent of the overall demandfor the metal.

Palladium has been indefi��cit for many years nowand this year (2021) is likelyto be no diff��erent. Themetal is trading around$2,350/oz.

The author is a commodities

market specialist. Views are

personal

tinue to believe that platinum is undervalued in relation to gold. Given thetight market, platinumstill has some course to

run.

PalladiumPlatinum’s sistermetal palladium, too, is facing supply

shortfalls. In2020, the market

showed a relativelysmaller defi��cit, accordingto Johnson Matthey withthe defi��cit roughly 50 percent bigger the year before.

The smaller defi��cit lastyear can be explained by

Stellar run: Platinum breaches $1,200/oz COMMENTARY

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8 COMMODITIES/AGRI-BUSINESS FEBRUARY 13 BusinessLine