Daily Economic News - 1 May 2014

Core sector growth slows to 2.5% in March
Growth in output of the eight core sectors fell to 2.5 per cent in March from 4.5 per cent in the previous month. For 2013-14, production in these sectors rose 2.6 per cent, the lowest in at least nine years. The growth in March was pulled down by the fertilizer, natural gas and crude oil segments. While cement production remained flat, growth in electricity generation nearly halved in March, compared to February. The core sector data for March could take a toll on industrial production data for the month, as these infrastructure sectors account for 38 per cent of the Index of Industrial Production. The steel sector was the only one that grew more in March (5.4 per cent), compared to February (4.8 per cent).

(Source: Business Standard)

US resists pressure to give India worst offender rating in IP review
The US Trade Representative avoided labeling India with the worst offender tag in its annual scorecard on protecting US patents, copyrights and other intellectual property (IP) rights. Instead, the United States kept India, which is in the midst of elections, on its Priority Watch List along with China and eight other countries.

(Source: Business Standard)

Inflation unlikely to moderate significantly in 2014-15
After declining for three consecutive months, prices spiked again in March as gains from seasonality abated. The consumer price index (CPI) rose to 8.31 per cent in March from 8.03 per cent in February, while the wholesale price index increased to 5.7 per cent from 4.7 per cent. Over the past three months, vegetable prices have come down substantially, pulling down the headline print. However, headline inflation has picked up again with vegetable prices rising in March. Food inflation in March rose to nine per cent from 8.03 per cent in February. Primary food inflation also swelled to 9.9 per cent from 8.1 per cent.

(Source: Business Standard)

Government, industry ask EU to lift ban on India mango exports
The government and exporter body FIEO have asked the European Union to lift a ban on mangoes shipped from India, saying concerns raised by the 28-nation bloc about the quality of the fruit have been addressed. Imports have been restricted as 207 consignments of mangoes and some vegetables shipped from India in 2013 were found to be contaminated by pests.
The UK imports almost 160 lakh mangoes from India and the market for this fruit is worth almost 6 million pounds a year. India, the world's largest mango exporter, sells about 65,000-70,000 tonnes of all varieties of the fruit overseas out of its total production of 15-16 lakh tonnes.

(Source: The Economic Times)

Basmati exports losing aroma as Iran goes high on curbs
India’s basmati exports to Iran, which in FY14 accounted for 40% of the its total exports of the speciality grain, dropped from 1.3 lakh tonne in January 2014 to 89,387 tonnes in February and further to 55,210 tonnes in March. Basmati rice exports accounted for 70% of India’s total rice exports in FY14, at R28,187 crore. Iranian authorities have been asking India’s exporters since January 2014 to furnish a series of documents on the good agricultural practices (GAP), ISO 22000, which deals with food safety management and packaging protocols, besides the “non-genetically modified crop” certification.
Iran, the sources added, has also revised the “accepted level” of arsenic in basmati rice from 150 ppm (parts per million) to 120 ppm and asked Indian exporters to put a tag on each pack of consignment for ensuring traceability in case aresenic content is found more than the specified limit.

(Source: The Financial Express)

Thaiindianet. Team

1 May 2014