Weeding out the problems in wheat supplies

Just when the Government declared that it had won the `wheat war' and procured enough for the PDS despite the agitation by the Bharatiya Ki...

Just when the Government declared that it had won the `wheat war’ and procured enough for the PDS despite the agitation by the Bharatiya Kisan Union which wanted higher prices, another crisis broke out. Reports surfaced in the press over the presence of `exotic weeds’ in the wheat imported from Australia.

What compounded the problem was a note from the Agriculture ministry which said the `exotic weeds’ in the wheat had the potential of badly damaging the crop in North India.

In the event, the ministry then proposed, as a safety measure, that the wheat be sold in non-wheat growing states in the southern India. The importing agency, the State Trading Corporation (STC), has said the presence of weeds is not alarming ( weeds are found in all crops across the world) and that the ministry had not given any specific points on the basis of which any action can be taken against suppliers.

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As a compromise, the STC has asked the ministry to station its officers at loading ports in Australia to detect the weed at the source. According to the STC chairman, though the Australians say the weed is not a harmful one, they have offered to supply wheat from different parts of Austtralia if any consignemtn is found unsatisfactory prior to the actual shipments.

Branding India

Can Indian brands be global brands? Ask this question to any industrialist or a CEO and the answer would be, “Yes, but we don’t have the money required for it.” The India Brand Equity Fund (IBEF) was launched by the Government to promote Indian brands abroad.

The IBEF has a corpus of Rs 70 crore contributed by the Government and the private sector which will be used to fund the marketing efforts of selected Indian products abroad. At the second meeting of the IBEF Trust, it was decided that the first product to be supported by it would be a tea called Nargis which is already selling in Russian and CIS markets.

The tea is made by Projects India Blends, a company floated by six tea companies, including Tata Tea and Warren Tea. Nargis was launched in Russia and has sold one million kg already. The IBEF Trust felt that a product backed by a consortium of Indian companies was likely to do much better and should be encouraged. Special Indian fairs would also be supported by the IBEF.

Borrowing abroad

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As raising money from within country is becoming increasingly difficult, companies are going abroad to borrow money. A study of the money raised in the first quarter of 1997 shows that India had the second highest share.

During the first three months 23 non-US companies from 17 countries tapped the international markets.

Of the $ 2.2 billion raised through depository receipts, UK companies accounted for 23.50 per cent while India picked up 21 per cent. The figure would probably have been higher if it wasn’t for the political uncertainty created by Congress’s withdrawal of support to the UF government which prevented more companies from going abroad.

The largest issue was floated by the Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd of $ 527 million, followed by Telefonica of Spain with $ 229 million.