The Himachal Pradesh fruit and vegetable growers' association on Wednesday urged the union government to review its import policy and delete apple from open general licence (OGL) in the interest of fruit growers of the country. Association president Lekh Raj expressed concern over the presence of imported apples from countries like New Zealand and Australia in the fruit markets of Mumbai under the OGL. ``This had happened as the apples had been included in the OGL. They are likely to make their way to Delhi markets as well,'' he claimed in a statement here. Pointing out that this would be detrimental to the interests of the growers, he urged the government to delete apple from OGL so that the growers were not made to face competition with foreign traders.

EU farm reforms

The European Union's recent farm reforms, which would lift some subsidies for the grouping's farm products, is worrying the Thai tapioca industry. Under the EU's Agenda 2000 reforms,the European Union will cut the bloc's beef, cereals and dairy prices by 15 per cent and offer farmers direct aid as compensation. That could leave the EU with rising output it cannot export because of globally agreed restraints on subsidies. ``Under this policy, farmers in the EU will have to grow less so it looks like the grouping might need to import more,'' a senior official at the ministry's foreign trade department who asked not to be identified told Reuters on Wednesday.

One-day trade bandh

The Bombay Metal Exchange Ltd will observe a one-day bandh in Maharashtra on July 1, 1999 against the high tax levies, said a press release. Meanwhile, the federation of associations of Maharashtra, of which Mahajan is a member, has asked the wholesale and retail business community in the state to observe a complete bandh on July 1 to protest against the improper levies imposed by the state and norms governing the trade.

Australian farm bodies

Australia's main farm bodies said they did notknow who would succeed Tim Fischer as leader of the National Party, nor did they have a preferred candidate. ``It's up to them,'' a spokeswoman for the leading farm lobby group the national farmers' federation (NFF) said. A spokesman for Australia's biggest farm organisation, the New South Wales Farmers' Association, said farmers genuinely did not know who was most likely to succeed Fischer, pointing out that the vote would go to the party room. ``There will be lots of room for jockeying,'' with Fischer not stepping down until July 20, he said. Fischer told parliament earlier on Wednesday afternoon that he planned to shift to the backbench, quitting as head of the junior coalition partner in the conservative Howard government, as deputy prime minister, and as trade minister.

Thai rubber prices flat

Thai rubber prices were flat on Wednesday on a lack of fresh orders as big buyers remained sidelined, trade sources said. Main activity in the Thai rubber market this week centred around the filling of a20,000-tonne outstanding obligation to China. The deal was made early this month. ``We sold at an average price of 58 US cents per kg to China for prompt June/July shipment. It was not quite a good price,'' said a trader in the southern rubber town of Hat Yai. Songkhla port officials said a vessel arrived on Tuesday to ship 5,000 tonnes of rubber to China and another would arrive by the end of this week to carry another 5,000 tonnes. China bought 58,888 tonnes of rubber from Thailand in the January-April period this year compared with 107,988 tonnes last year.

Palladium futures low

Yen-based palladium futures closed sharply lower on Wednesday, with the benchmark contract diving to a near two-month low on selling driven by negative chart signals and a weaker dollar against the yen, traders said. Gold futures also ended lower reflecting movements in the currency market, though platinum ended mixed with operators largely cautious about the downslide, they said. Palladium futures ranged from 20 yen to33 yen per gram lower. Benchmark June ended down 33 yen at 1,162 yen, the lowest price for Tocom benchmark palladium since May 7.