Ấn Độ: Giá hành bán lẻ tăng 5-10 Rs/kg do Pakistan cấm xuất khẩu hành

Retail onion prices up by Rs 5-10/kg on Pak export ban reports

PTI, Jan 6, 2011

NEW DELHI/LAHORE: The government's efforts to boost onion supply suffered a setback with Pakistan banning exports of the commodity via Wagah border which pushed prices up by Rs 5-10 a kg, even as competition watchdog CCI ordered a probe into possible cartels among traders.

Retail prices of onion jumped up by Rs 5-10 per kg to up to Rs 65 in metros due to lower supplies from Pakistan.

As 300 India-bound trucks carrying 3,000 tonnes of onion had reached the Wagah border near Amritsar, Pakistan's commerce ministry imposed a ban on movement through land route, giving a shock to India.

Onion prices increased to Rs 60-65 a kg in major metros such as Delhi, Chennai and Mumbai. "Retailers have jacked up prices on reports of ban by Pakistan," General Secretary of Tomato and Onion Merchants' Association in Delhi's Azadpur Mandi said.

New Delhi dubbed the Pakistan's decision as "shocking", with commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma stating the issue has been taken up with the concerned authorities in Islamabad.

"It is shocking and unfortunate that Pakistan has banned onion exports to India via land route...The matter has been discussed with the High Commissioner in Islamabad, who has already met the concerned officials there," Sharma said.

He said Pakistan has been asked to reconsider its decision or at least release the trucks carrying contracted quantity of the commodity.

As Sharma reviewed the situation with heads of government importing agencies STC and PEC, top secretaries of the ministries of agriculture, commerce and finance went into a huddle with cabinet secretary K M Chandrasekhar to find alternative supplies.

"I have concluded a contract with Pakistan via sea route. Onion will arrive at Mundra port(in Gujarat)," Commerce secretary Rahul Khullar said after meeting of the Committee of Secretaries.

The government of Punjab, Pakistan's most populous province, stopped onion exports to India this morning. The ban on exports has been imposed to control prices within Pakistan, a government spokesman said in Lahore.

Meanwhile, the Competition Commission ordered a probe into the possible cartelisation by traders.

"The commission has held many deliberations to study the possibility of cartelisation by onion traders and prima facie there appears to be a case. So, we have taken a suo moto action in carrying out the probe," an official said.

The Director General (Investigations) of the CCI will submit the report on probe within 45 days.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/-Retail-onion-prices-up-by-Rs-5-10/kg-on-Pak-export-ban-reports/articleshow/7230895.cms

IMF: GDP Ấn Độ tăng 8,75% năm tài khóa 2010-2011 và khoảng 8% vào năm tài khóa 2011-2012

IMF pegs India's GDP growth at 8.75 %

The Hindu
January 6, 2011

Projecting India's economy to grow by 8.75 per cent in 2010-11 with a moderation to about 8 per cent during the next fiscal, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has highlighted elevated inflation and complications in macroeconomic management as the near-term challenges confronting the authorities and called for further monetary action by the Reserve Bank of India to contain the price spiral.

In its report on India released here on Thursday following the conclusion of Article IV consultations with government officials on December 22 last year, the IMF said: “India's economy is projected to grow by 8.75 per cent in real terms in 2010-11, moderating to about 8 per cent the following year. Following last year's drought, this year's growth is already benefiting from the rebound in agriculture and pick up in private consumption and employment prospects have improved and disposable income continues to rise.''

Growth driver

The report maintained that infrastructure would remain an important growth driver and corporate investment would accelerate, aided by conducive financing conditions and robust demand growth. “India's medium-term growth prospects remain strong. The economy is expected to continue to expand rapidly, supported by high investment and productivity gains.''


Holding that risks to growth are broadly balanced with downside risks relating mainly to the global economy, the IMF report said that while surging capital flows could further spur investment, it could also complicate macroeconomic management. Sustained rapid growth over the medium-term, it said, would depend on sustaining reforms to facilitate infrastructure investment such as deepening the corporate bond market and lowering the cost of doing business. “Improving social outcomes and infrastructure are two key pillars of the government's strategy to achieve rapid and inclusive growth,” it said.

RBI efforts lauded

Turning to rising prices of food and other manufactured products as another major area of concern, the IMF lauded the RBI's efforts to tighten monetary conditions but noted that since short-term real interest rates still remain below historic norms and financing conditions have hardened only marginally, there was room for further steps to bring the real repo rate clearly into positive territory. “We see room for further rate increase [by the RBI] but, at the same time, it has to be done gradually and needs to be looked at continuously,” IMF's Senior Resident Representative Sanjaya Panth told the media at a briefing here. As per IMF's estimate, overall inflation is likely to ease to 6.5 per cent by the end of the current fiscal, even as headline inflation for November is pegged at 7.48 per cent while food inflation, according to the latest official data, has surged to a high of 18.32 per cent for the week ended December 25.

Apart from inflation, the IMF listed large capital inflows above India's absorptive capacity owing to low yields in advanced economies as another problem area that could impede growth. “While exchange rate flexibility would remain the first line of defence, reserve accumulation and macroprudential measures could be employed if strong flows continue,” it said. According to Mr. Panth, the current inflows are in the ‘comfortable' zone and there is no need for capital control.

Fiscal situation

As for the fiscal situation, the IMF felt that India should speed up its return to the pre-crisis monetary and fiscal policies to keep the economy in check. While hailing the government's policy of stimulus exit, the IMF board preferred tightening of fiscal policy as the stimulus exit strategy still remains incomplete in a scenario of high government debt and large capital inflows.

The IMF has estimated India's current account deficit (CAD) to touch 3.3 per cent of GDP in 2010-11 and rise to 3.5 per cent next year. While so far, the deficit has been financed mainly by foreign direct investment and equity inflows, the authorities need to keep an eye on the CAD level, it said.

PTI reports:

Subsidy reforms

The IMF also supported the objective to raise public investment, especially in infrastructure, and to improve social outcomes. With tax reforms designed to be revenue neutral, IMF economists see the need for subsidy reforms — particularly liberalisation of diesel and fertilizer prices — coupled with more efficient spending.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1045870.ece

Ấn Độ, Trung Quốc tiếp tục dẫn dắt tăng trưởng kinh tế châu Á: IMF

India, China to continue leading Asian economic growth: IMF

PTI, The Hindu

Two Asian giants, India and China, would continue to lead the economic growth story of this continent, a top International Monetary Fund (IMF) official has said.

“We expect growth to remain strong. We expect it to settle at a more sustainable rate of about 7 per cent for Asia as a whole, slightly down from 8 percent in 2010. We see China and India continuing to lead Asia’s growth,” IMF Head (Asia—Pacific) Anoop Singh said.

“Despite this positive outlook, there are still downside risks, but these mainly come from the external environment: the risk that global growth could be weaker than we anticipate.

Also, financial spillovers from advanced countries, especially in Europe, could be another source of concern, and constitute another downside risk,” Singh said in interview to the IMF online survey.

However he warned that the strength of Asia’s growth could lead to the threat of inflation.

Asia had to contend with the risks posed by possibly weaker global economic growth and financial spillovers from advanced economies, he suggested, but predicted that the region’s economic importance would continue to increase, he added.

“I think what you’ve been seeing in the last decade has been the further rise of Asia, and this time I will say it is a large part due to the rapid growth in China and India and this is expected to continue over the medium and the long term,” Singh said in response to a question.

Certainly the region has a certain dependence that needs to be rebalanced so that the momentum comes from a broader set of policies, he said.

“It is true that across Asia the region has been more dependent on exports than other emerging markets in the world.

And, therefore, in order to maintain these high growth rates, we do believe the region should reduce its reliance on export growth and we have emphasised the importance of rebalancing. That is, to raise domestic demand in Asia. This is also a major topic in our discussions with countries in Asia,” Singh said.

In 2011, he said Asia will face two set of challenges.

The first will involve managing the timing and exit from policy stimulus that many countries in Asia have used.

“This is because output is growing above potential in most economies. In fact, output gaps are closing and inflation pressures are emerging. So, our view is that although many countries have taken steps to remove monetary stimulus, there still is further room to remove policy stimulus,” he said.

“So I think the withdrawal of monetary and fiscal stimulus needs to be accelerated and this needs to be managed in conjunction with stronger currencies...We need greater upward flexibility in the currencies of many countries in Asia,” he argued.

“The second point is how to manage capital inflows that have clearly flooded many parts of Asia. Partly this is due to the growth divergence. We see higher growth in Asia compared to advanced economies,” Singh said.

“On one hand, these inflows certainly present many opportunities, but we need to build the economic framework to ensure these capital inflows can create momentum for investment and broader coordination over the medium term,” he said.

“However, in the near term, they create challenges for financial stability. And, therefore, countries are taking measures—including macroprudential measures—to try to deal with them.

I do believe that there is more room to take macroeconomic measures and also I will say that greater exchange rate flexibility offers an important buffer against the risks we see posed by the large capital inflows,” Singh said.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1038393.ece

Pakistan ngừng xuất khẩu hành sang Ấn Độ

Pakistan stops onion export

Sujay Mehdudia
The Hindu
January 6, 2011

File photo shows workers unloading sacks of onion from trucks that arrived from Pakistan at the Wagah border post. Pakistan has banned onion exports in order to control surging prices in domestic markets.

Commerce Minister terms it shocking and unfortunate

Even as onion prices show no signs of cooling down due to inconsistent supplies, the prices are likely to increase further with Pakistan deciding to ban its export to India through the Wagah border.

Terming it shocking, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma on Thursday said the issue was being taken up with the concerned authorities in Islamabad.

“It is shocking and unfortunate that Pakistan has banned onion exports to India. We have urged them that the contracted quantities should be released,” Mr. Sharma said here. He said the government was also exploring all options.

Reports said authorities in Pakistan on Thursday stopped 300 truckloads of onion bound for India on the Wagah border, saying exports had to be curbed to control prices in their own country.

Mr. Sharma said that State-run State Trading Corporation (STC) and Projects Equipment Commodities (PEC) Ltd. had signed contracts for getting onions from Pakistan. “The matter has been discussed with the High Commissioner in Islamabad, who has already met the concerned officials in the neighbouring country.”

He said decisions taken should be implemented and the convoy of trucks should not have been stopped. Asked whether Pakistan's action was in retaliation to India restricting cotton exports, Mr. Sharma said New Delhi's decision was not aimed at Pakistan. The government had put a ceiling of 55 lakh bales on cotton exports for the current season.

He, however, said a large quantity of onions from Pakistan will be reaching Mumbai via the sea route shortly. The STC has also approached the External Affairs Ministry seeking its intervention in the issue. The STC and PEC were asked to import 300 tonnes and 1,000 tonnes of onions respectively to contain prices in the domestic market, which had skyrocketed to Rs.75-85/kg in retail markets on December 22 and continue to rule at Rs. 45-70/kg in metros.

The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India, which was to store the onions imported from Pakistan and distribute it to retail outlets such as Kendriya Bhandar and Mother Dairy, said trucks were to cross Amritsar by afternoon and reach Delhi on Friday morning, but that did not happen. It has kept its storage facilities ready.

Pakistan, which started exporting onions to India in mid-December had been sending over 300 tonnes of onion every day, mainly through the Wagah border.

Source: http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1038403.ece

Ấn Độ: Lạm phát giá cả lương thực tăng 18,32% năm 2010

Food inflation zooms to 18.32%

The Hindu
January 6, 2011

Traders sort onions at a market in Guwahati

Much to the discomfiture of the Centre and in a further jolt to the common man, food inflation zoomed to almost a year's high at 18.32 per cent for the week ended December 25, 2010, owing to a spurt in the prices of vegetables, onions and milk.

The sudden spurt in the wholesale price index-based food inflation from 14.44 per cent a mere week ago — and more than double of what it was a month earlier — has not only surprised the government but also reduced it to helplessness, saying prices are not “fully” within its control. 

 

Source:  http://www.thehindu.com/business/Economy/article1038324.ece

Ấn Độ vượt qua Trung Quốc trở thành thị trường thu hút nhiều nhất đầu tư của các công ty Nhật Bản

India overtakes China as most attractive market for Japanese firms

PTI, Jan 5, 2011

TOKYO: India has overtaken China as the most attractive overseas investment destination for Japanese manufacturers over the next decade amid increased labor costs in China, according to a survey.
China, however, remained the most popular investment destination over the next three years in the survey conducted last summer, having retained top spot since fiscal 1992 when the state-backed financial institution began conducting the survey by the Japan Bank for International Cooperation.
The result suggests an increasing number of Japanese companies are aiming to diversify foreign investment amid caution about rising labor costs and anti-Japanese demonstrations in China.
An additional survey conducted in November in the wake of bilateral tension over the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea provided further evidence of the trend.
China no longer dominates Japanese foreign investment and Japanese companies "are increasingly turning their attention to emerging markets as India and Vietnam," said Toshiharu Mimura, a senior economist at JBIC.
In the survey conducted in the summer of 2010, in which multiple responses were allowed, 74.9 per cent of the 605 Japanese manufacturers selected India as their investment destination over the next 10 years, compared with 71.7 per cent that chose China. In the previous year, China was first and India second.
As a destination over a shorter period, China came top at 77.3 per cent, followed by India at 60.5 per cent, Vietnam at 32.2 per cent, Thailand at 26.2 per cent, and Brazil at 24.6 per cent.
The companies that chose China and India said they viewed the two markets as having high growth potential.
Many companies, however, expressed concern over rising personnel costs in China amid the country's rapid economic growth, as well as labor issues, apparently reflecting a recent rise in disputes between Japanese firms and Chinese workers seeking wage hikes.
In the follow-up study to gauge the investment stance of Japanese companies after maritime collisions between a Chinese trawler and Japanese patrol boats near the disputed Senkaku Islands in September, 24.8 per cent responded that China was not as attractive as before, while 46.9 said it was important to reduce their dependence on China and diversify investment risks.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/international-business/India-overtakes-China-as-most-attractive-market-for-Japanese-firms/articleshow/7222416.cms#ixzz1ADcOFWuV

Robert Blake: Quan hệ Ấn-Mỹ mạnh hơn không nhằm đối trọng với Trung Quốc

Stronger Indo-US ties not to counterbalance China: US

 

PTI, Nov 16, 2010,

WASHINGTON/ NEW YORK: President Barack Obama's enthusiasm for a stronger Indo-US relationship is not to "counterbalance" China's growing influence over Asia, a top American official has said.
"I don't think you heard anybody say that in the course of the President's three-day visit (to India), we're looking to counterbalance China in any way," Robert Blake, assistant secretary of state for South and Central Asia, Robert Blake, told journalists in New York and Washington during a digital video press conference.

"The President repeatedly made clear that we want a positive, cooperative and constructive relations with China in the same way that India does," he said.

Blake asserted that Obama's trip was to support India's expanding role in global institutions and Asian institutions, but the backing is not at China's cost.
"I think this is much more about how to expand India's role in some of these global institutions and in some of the Asian institutions, and we expressed clearly our support for that. But we do not see that growing role as coming at the expense of China," he said, pointing that secretary of state Hillary Clinton had recently said that "we do not seek to contain China."
After Obama endorsed India's bid for permanent membership in the UN Security Council, US media pointed out that this was to counterbalance China.
"By endorsing India for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council, President Obama on Monday signaled the US' intention to create a deeper partnership of the world's two largest democracies that would expand commercial ties and check the influence of an increasingly assertive China," New York Times said.

The Los Angeles Times reported "the endorsement, though of little practical value at the moment, is aimed at boosting relations with India, and is a signal of the administration's vision of Asia at a time when China's influence is growing."

Acknowledging former President George Bush's trip for the civil nuclear deal, Blake asserted New Delhi and Washington were entering into a "more mature" relationship following Obama's visit.
"It will mark the first time that we have real embarked on serious specific global cooperation," Blake said, ticking off several areas such as agriculture, cooperation in Afghanistan, women's development and maritime cooperation.
"This is really a global strategic partnership now and we've started to put the flesh on that in very concrete ways," he added.

Source: The Times of India: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/Stronger-Indo-US-ties-not-to-counterbalance-China-US/articleshow/6933925.cms#ixzz1A12oOjtC