The Hindu Business Line : Tuesday, October 22, 2002

Centre to fine-tune urea pricing policy soon — To focus more on bio-fertilisers
THE Centre would shortly fine-tune the pricing policy for urea, aimed at "greater transparency and uniformity in subsidy disbursement to the urea units." Mr Tapan Sikdar, Union Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilisers, told this to ... More

HORTICULTURE/FRUITS & VEGETABLES

Sweet potato varieties released
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Union Minister for Agriculture, Mr Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, released two varieties of sweet potato at the Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI). An official spokesman said that the vines of these short ... More

PESTICIDES

Pest control to go branded
THE Rs 400-crore Godrej Sara Lee Ltd (GSLL) is planning to introduce branded pest-control services. The market leader in the Rs 900-crore household insecticide segment has decided to diversify into newer areas by tapping the nascent ... More

PLANTATIONS

New medical formulations with areca
IN its quest for alternative uses of arecanut, the Arecanut Research and Development Foundation has now formulated two ayurveda-based medicinal products in which areca is one of the main ingredients. A release from the foundation, which has ... More

Kerala Govt announces relief package for plantation labour
THE Kerala Government has announced a package of relief measures for plantation labourers who are faced with acute poverty in the wake of simmering crisis in most of the estates in the State. The package was decided at a high-level meeting ... More

SUGAR

Sugar mills rendering monthly release mechanism dysfunctional
FIRST, it was the northern mills, which sought permission from the courts to offload sugar in the open market in excess of their free sale quotas allocated under the Centre's monthly `release' mechanism. But now the phenomenon has spread to other ... More

UP sugar mills to delay crushing this season
Average ex-factory realisation from sugar during the 2001-02 season stood at 1,220 per quintal, as against Rs 1,370 and Rs 1,405 per quintal in the preceding two seasons. More

TEA

Gour Nitye launches `green dream' tea
HYDERABAD: The Kolkata-based Gour Nitye Tea & Industries Ltd has launched its `green dream' brand green tea here on Monday. The 90-year old company has tea estates in Assam, Dooars and Terai in West Bengal. According to the company's ... More

WATER MANAGEMENT

Conservation, key to looming water crisis
A SERIOUS water crisis of global proportion is looming large, threatening to affect not only the environment, but also food supply and health of several millions, unless remedial measures are initiated soon, experts have warned. Due in part to ... More

FOODS & FOOD PROCESSING

Nirmal Agro setting up canned pineapple plant
THE Kochi-based Nirmal Agro Industries (India) Ltd is setting up a 100 per cent export-oriented canned pineapple processing plant at the Kinfra Export Promotion Industrial Park at Kakkanad at an investment of Rs 32 crore. The foundation stone ... More

OILSEEDS & EDIBLE OIL

Whither flows the vegoil industry?
THE global outlook for agribusiness, in general, is turning positive. As economic recovery is widely expected to start in 2003, demand and trade volumes will rebound from the low levels seen in last 2-3 years. Economic growth, population ... More

SPICES & CONDIMENTS

Pepper prices continue to move northwards
PEPPER prices maintained their upward swing on demand and short supply in the international market. The increase has also reflected on the domestic prices. As a result, spot prices have gone up by Rs 800 per quintal while the futures by about ... More

EVENTS

Aqua expo in Bhimavaram

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