Agriculture
`Vanilla cultivation promising'
THE potential for vanilla cultivation in the country is tremendous as a result of a growing demand for natural vanillin in place of the synthetic substitute following the shift towards natural products the world over.

Govt may let breeders certify seeds -- Draft proposal being studied by industry, stakeholders
THE Government is planning to amend the Seeds Act, 1966 to permit seed companies and breeders to `self-certify' their seed varieties.

Commodities
ITC-IBD to export processed foods
THE International Business Division (IBD), the agri-commodity exporting division of ITC, will soon enter the processed foods export business. The company will start exporting by early next year and take up mango and some of the other popular fruits for p rocessing and selling in the international markets.

Plantations
Planters team in Delhi with wish-list
THE Association of Planters of Kerala (APK) has urged the Centre to take remedial measures to protect the domestic industry which is in a serious crisis due to fall in prices resulting from cheap imports under trade agreements.

ITC launches Web site for small coffee growers
NOTWITHSTANDING the short-term vagaries of low price and other uncertainties of the export market, the country could emerge as a leading coffee exporter provided a majority of the small planters organise themselves to strengthen their bargaining power to get the right price.

Global coffee output to stay high: USDA
WORLD coffee production in 2000-01 is forecast at a record 115.1 million bags (of 60 kg), up slightly from the 1999-2000 season. Arabica production is forecast at 72.8 m bags, down less than one per cent from last season, and robusta output is forecast a t a record 42.2 m bags, up 3 per cent from 1999-2000, according to the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).

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