สรุปข่าวเศรษฐกิจอินเดียประจำวันที่ 10 เมษายน 2557
India's 2013/14 natural rubber imports jump 49.3 pct y/y: Rubber Board
According to India’s Rubber Board, India's natural rubber imports jumped 49.3 percent to a record 324,467 tonnes in the year ended March 31 from a year earlier as excessive monsoon rains hurt production which fell 7.6 percent to 844,000 tonnes.
Natural rubber consumption was largely steady at 977,400 tonnes, compared with 972,705 tonnes a year earlier for the country, which imports the commodity from Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia and Thailand.
India's natural rubber consumption in the year April 2014 to March 2015 could rise to a record 1 million tonnes as demand from tyre makers is likely to improve. The Association of Natural Rubber Producing Countries estimated that India, the world's fifth-biggest natural rubber producer, would import around 300,000 tonnes in calendar year 2014. The association expected India's production to rise by 12 percent in 2014 to 950,000 tonnes.
(Source: Economic Times, Reuters)
About 40 per cent foodgrains stored unprofessionally: Assocham
About 40 per cent of government's foodgrain is stored in an "unprofessional" way due to acute shortage of storage capacity to the tune of 35 million tonnes, industry chamber Assocham said today.
Currently, 70 per cent of the total warehousing capacity of 112 million tonnes is owned by the government. Additional 35 million tonnes of storage capacity is required in the 12th Five Year Plan (2012-17) period, it said.
Due to inadequate storage capacity and inefficient logistics, Assocham General Secretary D S Rawat said that "around 20-30 per cent of total foodgrain harvest is wasted. ... Each grain bag is handled at least six times before it is finally opened for processing."
The warehousing market, which is growing at 9 per cent annually, is expected to cross the Rs 35,000 crore market in the 2015-16 fiscal, it said.
(Source: Economic Times, ASSOCHAM)
KFC creates a veg menu for India
KFC, the Kentucky-based fast-food chain has finally given in to India's penchant for vegetarianism and unveiled a segregated vegetarian menu along with a strong message about its newfound bias for vegetarian offerings. Executives at the company say the new menu will help them satiate high local demand for vegetarian options.
Around 42% of Indian households are vegetarian, according to the Food and Agricultural Association of the United Nations, and 35% of weekdays are vegetarian for rest of the non-vegetarian population.
Interestingly, McDonald's is the first global fast-food chain to bring in a customized vegetarian menu to India followed by as Subway. Similarly, nearly 70% of the total pizzas sold in the country are vegetarian pizzas even in regions like Punjab, which is known for its meat-loving populace.
At present, India is emerging as one of the fastest growing fast food markets in the world. According to a National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) report, the fast food industry in India is estimated at Rs 8,000 crore and is growing at a CAGR of 35-40% annually.
(Source: Times of India)
Jobs growth at its slowest pace in seven quarters
Jobs in eight labour-intensive sectors rose 0.23% sequentially in the October-December quarter, the slowest in seven quarters, as industrial slump forced companies to cut flab even as export-oriented sectors increased hiring to cash in on a weak rupee to grab a higher share in overseas markets.
Overall, employment was up by 83,000 in October-December, which is lower than 1.43 lakh in July-September and 86,000 in April-June last fiscal. While the textiles sector hired 92,000 workers followed by IT/BPO (17,000) and leather (13,000) during the third quarter of 2013-14, there has been lay offs in many sector, metals sector cut 20,000 jobs, automobiles (11,000), jewellery (6,000) and transport (2,000).
The good news is that direct employment has increased by 70,000 while contract jobs rose 13,000 during the December quarter. The textile sector added 72,000 direct jobs and 20,000 contract jobs while IT/BPO sector added just 1,000 direct jobs and 16,000 contract jobs.
(Source: Financial Express)
Thaiindia.net team
10 April 2014
