`Modernise unorganised milk sector'
India has emerged as the largest milk producer of the world producing 74.3 million tonnes annually. However, as much as 80-90 per cent of India's milk and dairy industry is in the unorganised sector, according to an Internet debate initiated by Dairy Outlook of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of the US. Tanzania with 98 per cent of its dairy industry in the unorganised sector tops thelist. Other countries tracked by the FAO seem to have almost half of their dairy industry in the unorganised sector. For example, 40 per cent of Sri Lanka's dairy industry is unorganised, Brazil (40 per cent) and Costa Rica's 44 per cent.

Castor futures recover
The castor futures recovered amid trade buying coupled with speculative demand. The February futures rose to Rs 1,685 from the recent low of Rs 1,668 per quintal. Spot price is seen in a narrow range, hovering around Rs 325-328 per 20 kg. Daily arrivals are reported around 15,000 bags a day. Arrivals will increase to 30,000-45,000 bags by end of the year, traders said.

Siliguri cardamom auction centre
The proposed auction centre for large cardamom at Siliguri has cleared the last hurdle, with the West Bengal government lowering the sales tax rate to that prevailing in neighbouring Sikkim. Sikkim, the only other state that grows large cardamom, used to attract grower- sellers from West Bengal as it had a sales tax rate of threeper cent against 12 per cent here.

Brazilian drought damages coffee
Drought has harmed Brazil's 2000/2001 coffee crop, but it is too soon to say how seriously, an official of the Association of Coffee Producing Countries (APPC) said. `The lost coffee will be considerable," Bryan Lewin, chief economist for the APPC, said in a presentation in Costa Rica. "We still have to wait for flowering to forecast the behaviour of the harvest. But we have trustworthy information that enormous areas of the harvest have been affected by drought."

Indonesia sees bountiful coffee crop
Indonesian coffee farmers in the hills of Sumatra island are optimistic that good weather will help provide bountiful harvests next year. In Tekad village, in a key growing area of Lampung province, coffee trees have produced fruits waiting to be harvested next June or July. Better crops are expected to make up for losses suffered by farmers in recent months as a firming rupiah hurt incomes. "From what I've seen in theplantations, I am pretty sure the harvests are going to be good. I believe I can collect two tonnes of coffee compared with one tonne this year," said Tamsi, 78, an ethnic Javanese farmer who has grown coffee since 1968.

`Gold to cross $600-mark by 2010'
Robert Mundell, the latest economics Nobel recipient said this week in Paris, "Gold will certainly be a reserve asset in the next century. Countries simply will not risk just holding paper currency, especially if there is any change in the international monetary system. Gold provides a stabilising effect in a world of entirely flexible currencies. The world has only had 28 years of total paper currencies and paper currencies generate inflation."

Argyle's rough diamond sale up 34%
Sales of rough diamonds by Argyle have shot up during the third quarter of 1999 by nearly 34 per cent, though the output during the period was down by nearly 36.8 per cent. The main reason for the jump in sales was better price realisations. On the other hand,one of the factors that affected production was the on-going programme of pit-expansion coupled with a brief shutdown for maintenance purposes. Argyle production of rough diamonds, as can be seen from the accompanying table, amounted to 7.9 million carats during the period, compared with 12.5 million carats during the same period of the earlier year.

Anglo-ZCCM to sign deal
Anglo American Plc has confirmed its commitment to buy several assets of Zambia's vast mining empire and a deal will be sealed before the end of the year, Zambian finance minister Katele Kalumba said on Thursday. Kalumba said a January 31, 2000 deadline for the conclusion of the deal to crown the country's ambitious privatisation process was unchanged, but the signing of the contract earlier than anticipated would end anxiety and uncertainty.

Leather footwear exports up 58%
The tidings for the leather footwear industry is very good. The good fortune is shared by the leather goods and saddlery and harness sectoralso. However the news from the finished leather, footwear components and garment segments are not very encouraging. According to figures released by the DGCI & S, Calcutta, the total earnings from footwear export during April-July were Rs 454.07 crore against Rs 286.98 crore in the same period last year, showing a substantial increase of 58.22 per cent. In dollar terms also, the increase has been 51.74 per cent at $105.65 million against $69.62 million.

Domestic flat-glass sales up in Q2
Industrial revival, especially in the building and automobile sectors, has given a boost to the flat glass industry. Sales in the second-half increased by 13 per cent during July-September 1999 compared to the same period last year. Average daily sales have jumped to 1,202 tonnes from 1,060 tonnes. With about 30 tonnes monthly sales of imported glass, the average daily sales in the second quarter of this financial year were around 1,232 tonnes. In the first quarter, the jump had been only 8.8 per cent, accordingto informed sources and data available from industry observers.

Shortfalls push crude oil to new high
The crude oil prices recorded nine- year high as the global inventories are seen falling much faster. The benchmark Nymex December crude breached $26 level and may cross $35 level in the near future according to reports. According to a research report by Vadilal Forex, Asia is braising for the impact of oil prices at nine-year highs amid fears they could go even higher.

Textile engineering in dire straits
The indigenous textile engineering industry which is engaged in production of complete machines as well as their accessories for the textile industry, finds itself in a pathetic plight with as much as 65 per cent of its manufacturing capacity built up at a huge cost lying idle at present. This, according to sources close to the industry, is due partly to slackness in the textile industry, but largely because of irrational policies pursued by the government.

Spinning industryturnaround
The spinning industry is heading towards a slow turnaround, though those hard hit during the last three years are still sceptical about such a claim. According to senior officials of leading spinning mills of Coimbatore, industry watchers and members of various bodies representing the interests of spinning industry, if the current pace of performance is sustained for the next three to six months then the trend could be indicative of the beginning of a ``small boom''. The optimism, is based on the high growth in exports and low cotton prices in the domestic market.