Latest news with #phytosanitary
Economic Times
4 days ago
- Business
- Economic Times
India-New Zealand conclude 2nd round of FTA talks; achieve progress on trade, investment, economic cooperation
PM Modi, Christopher Luxon Synopsis The second round of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement negotiations concluded in New Delhi, marking significant progress in trade, investment, and economic cooperation. Both sides are committed to a balanced and comprehensive agreement, aiming to strengthen bilateral trade and economic partnerships. The next round is scheduled for September 2025 in New Zealand, building on the momentum achieved. The second round of India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement Negotiations, which concluded in New Delhi, made significant advancements in multiple areas, including trade in goods and services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and economic cooperation. ADVERTISEMENT According to a release by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, discussions were marked by mutual interest in achieving early convergence on several texts. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a balanced, comprehensive, and forward-looking agreement. The Second Round of negotiations for the India-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (FTA) concluded successfully on July 25 in New Delhi, further advancing the shared objective of strengthening bilateral trade and economic partnerships. The Ministry stated that this development catalyses the shared commitment to deepen economic ties, as guided by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, during the visit of Christopher Luxon, Prime Minister of New Zealand, in March 2025. The FTA was launched during the meeting between Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and Todd McClay, Minister for Trade and Investment, Government of New Zealand, on March 16, 2025. The Third Round of negotiations is scheduled to be held in New Zealand in September 2025. The intersessional virtual meetings will maintain the forward trajectory set in the second round. ADVERTISEMENT According to government data, India's bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand reached USD 1.3 billion in FY 2024-25, recording a 48.6 per cent growth over the previous financial year, signalling the growing potential of the economic FTA is expected to enhance trade flows, support investment linkages, promote supply chain resilience, and establish a predictable and enabling environment for businesses in both countries. ADVERTISEMENT Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are treaties between two or more countries to reduce or eliminate trade barriers such as tariffs, quotas, and import restrictions on goods and services. These agreements aim to promote economic integration, increase market access, and enhance cooperation between nations. (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News, Budget 2025 Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online. NEXT STORY
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Running on Ice: Miami takes giant leap in fresh‑food logistics with $141M cold chain hub
Miami is cementing its position as a major gateway for perishable goods into the U.S. with the groundbreaking of a cutting-edge cold storage and phytosanitary facility at Miami International Airport (MIA). This $141 million project, part of a public-private partnership between the airport and PortMiami, ushered in a new era for fresh produce, seafood, and flower imports along the East Coast. Set to open in 2027, the sprawling 340,000‑square‑foot complex, about six football fields in size, will boost MIA's cold storage capacity by 50%, adding around 1.5 million tons per year of refrigerated space. Eighty percent of the facility will be devoted to temperature‑controlled cold storage, with the remainder serving as cutting‑edge treatment zones. Notably, 20% of the space will feature USDA‑certified, non‑chemical pest‑control technology that relies on electron‑beam pasteurization, allowing quicker inspections and better fruit quality by replacing dated fumigation methods. This capital injection follows a July 2024 lease approval for a four‑story freight terminal, which is expected to handle an additional 2 million tons of cargo through PortMiami. With MIA handling a record 3 million tons of cargo in 2024, including 90,000 tons of floral imports for Valentine's Day alone, the need for modernized storage and plant health inspections has never been greater. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the full edition in your inbox every Friday The post Running on Ice: Miami takes giant leap in fresh‑food logistics with $141M cold chain hub appeared first on FreightWaves.
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First Post
4 days ago
- Business
- First Post
India, New Zealand advance FTA talks in second round held in New Delhi, next round in September
India and New Zealand concluded the second round of free trade agreement talks in New Delhi on Friday, making progress in areas including goods, services, investment, and trade facilitation, India's commerce ministry said. read more India and New Zealand wrapped up the second round of negotiations on a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) in New Delhi on Friday recording progress in key areas such as trade in goods, services, investment and trade facilitation, according to India's commerce ministry. The discussions, which took place between July 14 and 25, followed the formal launch of negotiations in March during New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon's visit to India. A third round of talks is scheduled for September in New Zealand, with interim virtual meetings planned in the lead-up. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD The development comes just a day after India signed a trade agreement with the United Kingdom, as it continues parallel trade negotiations with the European Union and the United States. Both nations are working towards what the ministry described as a 'balanced, comprehensive and forward-looking' agreement. Continuing the momentum generated during the first round held in May 2025 in New Delhi, the second round of negotiations were held from 14th to 25th July 2025. 'This round accomplished significant advancement in multiple areas, including trade in goods and services, investment, rules of origin, customs procedures and trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and economic cooperation. discussions were marked by mutual interest in achieving early convergence on several texts. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to concluding a balanced, comprehensive, and forward-looking agreement,' the Ministry of Commerce and Industry said in a statement. India's bilateral merchandise trade with New Zealand reached USD 1.3 billion in FY 2024-25, recording a growth of 48.6% over the previous financial year, signalling the growing potential of the economic partnership. The FTA is expected to enhance trade flows, support investment linkages, promote supply chain resilience, and establish a predictable and enabling environment for businesses in both countries.
Zawya
23-06-2025
- Health
- Zawya
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) launch second phase of the Africa Phytosanitary Programme
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), in collaboration with the Government of South Africa, represented by the Department of Agriculture, launched the second phase of the Africa Phytosanitary Programme (APP) today – representing a major effort to stop the spread of plant pests and diseases in Africa using cutting-edge digital tools. The launch event was hosted by the Government of South Africa and brought together over 50 phytosanitary specialists from nine countries: Algeria, Cape Verde, Chad, the Republic of Congo, Liberia, Malawi, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia. They will participate in a weeklong Train-the-Trainer (ToT) workshop in advanced pest surveillance techniques, including the use of customised digital tools and applications for monitoring, detecting and reporting major pests of economic, regulatory and environmental importance in Africa. Participants will receive state-of-the-art tablets for geospatial pest surveillance, use field survey protocols developed by technical experts, and undertake practical sessions using the pest survey tools. 'Africa stands at a turning point. With immense biodiversity, rising agricultural productivity, and growing opportunities under the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), we are well-positioned to become a global leader in the trade of high-quality plant products. But this vision can only be achieved if we ensure that the movement of plants and plant products is safe, traceable, and fully compliant with international phytosanitary standards' said John Henry Steenhuisen, Honourable Minister of Agriculture, in South Africa, in remarks read on his behalf by Jan Hendrik Venter, South Africa's Director of Plant Health. 'Well-trained, well-equipped plant health officials across the continent are our best line of defence in maintaining pest-free or low-prevalence status, an essential condition for accessing these lucrative markets', he added. The first and pilot phase of APP started in 2023, engaging phytosanitary specialists from Cameroon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Guinea-Bissau, Kenya, Mali, Morocco, Sierra Leone, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Phase 2 builds on achievements made in the pilot phase and aims to train plant health officers, who upon their return to their countries will teach their peers in the national plant protection organisations (NPPOs) and other government stakeholders on the use of the APP suite of digital tools. "We are building a critical mass of phytosanitary inspectors, technicians and officers across Africa by equipping plant health officers with the tools and skills to prevent and address major plant pest threats, that ultimately jeopardize food security, agricultural trade, economic growth and the environment", said Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General and Officer-in-Charge of the IPPC, in her video message. Funded through generous contributions from the European Union and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, APP phase two builds on support from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) which funded phase one in 2023. FAO and the IPPC are working to replicate and scale up the benefits from APP to more African countries and other regions. Mitigating the pest problem in Africa Worldwide, plant pests destroy about 40 percent of crop yields, resulting in approximately USD 220 billion in economic losses[1]. In Africa, the impacts of climate change are worsening the problem, with invasive pests – such as, fruit flies, false codling moth, maize lethal necrosis disease, citrus greening and fall armyworm – causing major damages. Fall armyworm alone is estimated to cause the highest yield loss in Africa – USD 9.4 billion annually –, based on data from the Centre for Agriculture and Bioscience International (CABI). The African Union's Plant Health Strategy for Africa highlights that limited technical capability remains a key barrier to achieving sustainable agriculture on the continent. Through APP, FAO, the IPPC and partners aim to strengthen plant health systems and build national phytosanitary capacity across Africa. Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO): Regional Office for Africa.
Hindustan Times
19-06-2025
- Business
- Hindustan Times
India, EU to focus on market access in fast-tracked FTA talks
NEW DELHI: India and the European Union have fast-tracked their free trade negotiations, proposing intensive deliberations on crucial market access issues such as eliminating tariff and non-tariff barriers in the next round of talks starting July 7 in Brussels, people familiar with the matter said adding that the two sides have already agreed on nearly a fourth of the 24-chapter deal. With only about six months left to a previously stated deadline to conclude a balanced, equitable and mutually beneficial deal, both sides are focused on core elements of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA), thee people added, requesting anonymity. Core elements include key matters such as removing tariff and non-tariff barriers on trade in goods, services trade, bilateral investment, rules of origin (ROO), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, and technical barriers to trade (TBT), they said. 'We have already achieved near consensus on several peripheral chapters, also crucial for smooth functioning of the FTA. These include good regulatory practices (GRP), transparency, mutual administrative assistance in customs matters, trade facilitation, and intellectual property rights (IPR),' one of them said. Common grounds have also been achieved in several other chapters, a second person said. 'Talks have intensified and negotiations have gained significant momentum. Frequency of meetings, both virtual and face-to-face, have gone up significantly after leaders agreed to have a deal by the end of 2025,' he said. During the EU college of commissioners' India visit on February 28, 2025, its President Ursula von der Leyen and Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the FTA agreement would be concluded by the end of this calendar year. 'Earlier, negotiation rounds happened once in a quarter or so. After the explicit deadline, talks are happening almost every month. In fact, engagements are so intense that both teams are constantly engaged even between two rounds. For example, before and after the 11th round that officially started on May 12 and ended on May 16 in New Delhi, the two sides held several sessions on May 11 and May 17,' the second person added. Even before the commencement of the 12th round, some tracks are working bilaterally this week, he added. While negotiating teams of India and EU are fully engaged, several key decisions and concessions would require political direction. It is expected that the EU member countries and the Indian political leadership will take necessary decisions at the right time, a third person said. 'Prime Minister Modi's first ever visit to Croatia, on his way back from the G7 Summit in Canada, is also significant for the proposed FTA as it is one of the EU members,' he said. In an interview with the Akashvani News in Zagreb, Indian Ambassador to Croatia Arun Goel said that the first ever visit of an Indian Prime Minister is of 'vital importance' in facilitating India-EU FTA. Earlier, addressing CEOs in Cyprus on Monday, PM said: 'Last month, there was an agreement between India and the UK on an ambitious FTA. Now, we are committed to completing an FTA between India and the EU by the end of the year. Talks have picked up pace. Its benefits will be available to all of you.' India and the EU resumed their FTA negotiations in June 2022 after a gap of nine years. Since then, they have finished 11 rounds of negotiation. The EU members are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. India and the EU have strong bilateral trade and investment relationship. According to government data, bilateral merchandise trade with the EU stood at over $135 billion (with exports to EU at $76 billion and imports from EU at $59 billion) making it the largest trading partner for India in goods. Bilateral trade in services in 2023 stood at $53 billion (comprising Indian exports worth $30 billion and imports worth $23 billion). EU investments in India are valued at over $117 billion with around 6,000 European companies present in India. Indiaʼs investments in the EU are valued at around $40 billion. According to people mentioned above, FTAs are one of the engines to boost India's trade. India is actively pursuing three FTAs. While the one with the United Kingdom is already concluded and expected to be signed after legal scrubbing, deals are expected with the EU and the United States soon, they said. Besides, talks are on with New Zealand, Peru and Chile for three other FTAs they added,
