HORTICULTURE/FRUITS & VEGETABLES
Time of sowing sunflower seeds is vital in W.Bengal: Survey
THE problems over the yield of sunflower seeds cultivated in West Bengal are influenced more by the time of sowing the seeds, a survey of the areas cropped has revealed. The survey was conducted by the Hyderabad-based Oilseeds Research Centre ... More

TEA
TN small tea growers seek S-T reduction
SMALL tea growers have appealed to the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms Jayalalithaa, to lower the sales tax on tea to one per cent. "We have represented to her on the grounds of the recent lowering of the tax in Assam. Already, Assam had a ... More

Low quality hits Coonoor tea
WITH buyers complaining of a general decline in quality, prices dropped for the bulk of the 12.7-lakh kg of teas offered at the auctions conducted by the Coonoor Tea Trade Association (CTTA) here on Friday. Following unprecedented rains in ... More

Mixed trend in Kochi tea sale
A MIXED trend persisted for almost all varieties of tea at the Kochi tea auction. Though the dust sale witnessed a good general demand, it was comparatively low for leaf varieties. Of the quantity of 9,89,000 kg on offer in the dust category, ... More

TECHNICAL ANALYSIS
Positive divergence in NY cotton
NYCE cotton futures ended higher on Friday, after upbeat crop reports from the USDA spurred buying interest from trade and speculators ahead of a three-day weekend. Federal offices and the commodity exchanges in New York will be shut on Friday ... More

TOBACCO
`Cigarette imports under OGL may hit farmers'
IMPORT of cigarettes under the Open General Licence (OGL), coupled with concessions under free trade agreements/bilateral treaties, may threaten the demand for local tobacco. This could adversely affect Indian tobacco farmers, fears the Tobacco ... More

AGRICULTURAL POLICY
Huge Govt support still distorting farm trade: OECD
The report critically highlighted the continuing widespread reliance on the State support linked principally to production and prices. More

CM announces sops for AP farmers
GIVING a boost to the morale of farmers in the State, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, has announced sops to the farming community in the drought-hit areas. In his mass contact programme named `Rajiv Palle Baata' launched here on ... More