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Shrimp industry optimises advantages for development

by en.vietnamplus.vn Leave a Comment

Shrimp industry optimises advantages for development hinh anh 1 A shrimp processing factory (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – To enhance its competitiveness and weather difficulties, Vietnam’s shrimp industry is exerting stronger efforts and capitalising on every advantage to develop, according to insiders.

Businesses in the shrimp industry faced numerous difficulties in 2022 such as a lack of information about the global shrimp sector, certificate of origin issues, and high production costs. Currently, they are striving to secure better growth this year.

Having won favour with global consumers, shrimp products in Vietnam now have a new advantage as farming zones have been granted production unit codes and quality certificates, including VietGAP and GlobalGAP.

Phung Duc Tien, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the ministry has asked businesses and farmers in the industry to fully comply with legal regulations on aquaculture, food safety, and animal health, including the Law on Fisheries . They were also requested to make production plans in case of drought, saltwater intrusion, environmental changes, diseases, and high input costs.

Aside from certified farming zones and incentives for farmers and enterprises to produce quality products, free trade agreements also give Vietnamese shrimp a competitive edge.

Some fishery experts said that under the EU – Vietnam Free Trade Agreement ( EVFTA ), which came into force on August 1, 2020, import tariffs on most of Vietnamese goods, including shrimp products, have gradually been removed. The deal has provided a legal basis and also an opportunity for businesses to boost healthy and fair operations in European countries.

Shrimp industry optimises advantages for development hinh anh 2 Shrimp export s are targeted at 4.3 billion USD in 2023. (Photo: VNA)

In addition, the success in entering demanding markets is also partly attributed to the development of ecological and organic shrimp products.

Ecological shrimp farming has developed mainly in mangrove forest areas where farmers only need to release shrimplets, monitor weather conditions, and ensure suitable salinity.

Thanks to favourable legal procedures and organic certification, shrimp products from eco-farming have been sold well in many markets.

Huynh Quoc Viet, Chairman of the People’s Committee of the southernmost province of Ca Mau, which is home to the largest ecological shrimp farming area in Vietnam, said thanks to their quality, local shrimp products have managed to enter Europe, Australia, the Republic of Korea, and Japan.

Exports to Europe have grown 41%, Australia 85%, Canada 23%, the Republic of Korea 14%, and Japan 13%. These are positive signs for promoting the role of eco-shrimp products, he noted.

Tien said that apart from boosting exports and adherence to quality standards like VietGAP, GlobalGAP, and ASC (Aquaculture Stewardship Council), businesses should also make use of the domestic market to promote the stature of domestically produced shrimp. That will help the industry achieve this year’s export target of 4.3 billion USD./.

VNA

Tripura to host G20 conclave on clean energy from Monday

by economictimes.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

Synopsis

Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha said that earlier it was decided that the conclave will be held in Guwahati but Prime Minister Narendra Modi batted for hoisting such an event in Agartala. Delegates from several G20 countries including the US, China and Brazil and nine European nations will be joining the ‘clean energy for green future’ conclave.

Around 75 delegates will be arriving in Tripura on Sunday for a science conclave titled ‘ clean energy for green future’ as part of the G20 meetings, Chief Minister Manik Saha said. The event will be held on April 3 and 4 at the International Fair Ground at Agartala, the capital of the northeastern state.

“This will be a big opportunity for the state to showcase its wealth and resources before the global stage,” the chief minister said while speaking at a programme at Badharghat in West Tripura district on Saturday.

Saha said that earlier it was decided that the conclave will be held in Guwahati but Prime Minister Narendra Modi batted for hoisting such an event in Agartala.

Delegates from several G20 countries including the US, China and Brazil and nine European nations will be joining the ‘clean energy for green future’ conclave.

“Delegates from Bangladesh will also be attending the event as invitee members,” said Special Secretary of Industries and Commerce , Abhishek Chandra , told the media at the Civil Secretariat here.

“There will be nine sessions on various topics during the conclave. The G-20 delegation will also visit Oxygen Park and join a Yoga session. Besides, they will also visit the Agartala Book fair,” he said.

The chief minister is scheduled to meet the G20 delegates on Sunday and inaugurate an exhibition showcasing the state’s art, culture, heritage and business opportunities.

India assumed the Presidency of the G20 or Group of 20 for one year from December 1, 2022.

New Delhi has decided to host around 200 G20 meetings across the country during its yearlong Presidency of the intergovernmental forum of the world’s major developed and developing economies.

G20 comprises Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, the US, and the European Union (EU).

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Turning e-waste into e-wealth: An opportunity for the Indian EV ecosystem

by economictimes.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

Synopsis

India is one of the first few countries to have come up with a proposed Battery Swapping Policy, and apart from the central government, more than 20 Indian states have already announced their EV policies/policy drafts. However, amidst all this din and glitter of EV adoption, some concerns are being raised as to whether EVs are harbingers of a ‘green future’ or likely to complicate the scenario of e-waste in India?

The Government of India as well as various state governments have taken several steps including introduction of financial benefits, schemes, subsidies, infrastructure development, and regulatory measures aimed at promoting the EV ecosystem in the country. It is truly remarkable to note that the EV market in India is slated to continue at 90% CAGR at least until 2030.

There is hardly a prominent car or two-wheeler maker that has not already introduced EV models or has one in the pipeline. India is one of the first few countries to have come up with a proposed Battery Swapping Policy, and apart from the central government, more than 20 Indian states have already announced their EV policies/policy drafts. However, amidst all this din and glitter of EV adoption, some concerns are being raised as to whether EVs are harbingers of a ‘green future’ or likely to complicate the scenario of e-waste in India?

EV growth = growth in Li-ion consumption

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The current goal of increasing EV share in the overall vehicle sales market from less than 2% at present to 30% by 2030, as declared by the government, is likely to lead to a saving of over 1 lakh crore in terms of fuel import bills that India currently pays every year. That is a fantastic achievement, but to make it happen, there is a need to expedite EV adoption powered by a massive surge in demand for Li-ion or lithium-ion batteries. The size, chemistry and design of these batteries will vary as per use cases. Even the local climate will have a bearing on the type of Li-ion batteries to be used.

Until now, like many other countries, India is also heavily dependent upon China to import these batteries as we do not have adequate Lithium or Cobalt reserves domestically to sustain manufacturing here. Therefore, if we look at the scenario from a practical perspective, we are still going to import energy. Just that the dependency will move away from the Gulf countries led by Saudi Arabia and towards China. While that is one concern to be noted, the other comes in the form of discarded EV batteries. A holistic ESG adherence and approach to clean the environment necessitates going beyond air pollution and tackling e-waste as well.

EV e-waste challenge and disposal opportunities

The Li-ion batteries have a limited shelf-life, and after a certain number of charge cycles, they have very little use potential left. Since these batteries contain several hazardous materials, disposing them or even recycling is complicated and risk-prone. If we look at an electric 4-wheeler, a battery lasts anywhere between 5-7 years depending upon the frequency of charging. Considering that within the next few years, we will have to deal with millions of such EV-batteries being discarded every year, it is important to focus on the e-waste challenge. Alongside the development of vehicle OEMs, there is a need to build an extensive infrastructure of waste disposal across India.

If we leave the batteries to landfills, it would not only harm the environment, but also be a major threat to lives. The batteries might explode when exposed to unfavourable temperatures or pressure in the landfills. Therefore, a well-defined framework integrating infrastructure and regulatory protocols must be in place to dispose these batteries.
The other option is to create a recycling ecosystem for these batteries.

Recycling EV batteries

Recycling of EV batteries can have far reaching benefits for the country. With each new recycling plant, it would become possible to reduce the environmental impact of batteries, and safely extract the costly rare earth materials like lithium, cobalt, and graphite etc. Over time, we can use these raw materials for domestic manufacturing of batteries and steadily reduce dependence on import.

India has ample reserves of materials like aluminium, copper, and nickel, and there is no dearth of knowhow when it comes to manufacturing battery cells. By extracting the rare materials through recycling, we can also start producing cathode and anodes domestically. It will create thousands of new jobs, boost the economy, and make India compete with China as a future battery hub.

Conclusion

Domestic recycling of Li-ion batteries used in the EVs is the best way forward for the country. It will not only help us confidently move forward towards EV adoption across all categories of vehicles, but also reduce the e-waste pileup. Further, with recycling, we can extract the rate materials which will make India Aatmanirbhar in the arena of EV batteries in the long run. With the right intent and knowhow in place what we need now is to scale investments and implement the right legislations to develop a robust EV battery recycling and manufacturing industry in India!

(The author, Tushar Choudhary , is the Founder & CEO of Motovolt Mobility )

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(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this column are that of the writer. The facts and opinions expressed here do not reflect the views of www.economictimes.com .)
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Easter holiday travel: No repeat of airport chaos, industry says

by www.bbc.co.uk Leave a Comment

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By Katy Austin
Transport correspondent

Airports and airlines have told the BBC they are confident they have enough staff to avoid a repeat of last year’s disruption in the Easter holidays.

Some struggled with staff shortages last year as passengers returned, leading to delays and cancellations.

Wages have risen, as businesses try to attract and keep new recruits.

Airline bosses have warned strikes in France are likely to cause issues, but still expect passenger numbers to return to pre-Covid levels of 2019.

EasyJet’s chief operating officer, David Morgan, said: “When they close an airport because of strikes you are going to see disruption. But the vast majority of flights, even during a disrupted period, will run smoothly”.

EasyJet started recruitment six months early, while Manchester Airport said it already had enough security staff for the summer peak.

Passenger numbers swiftly returned after Covid restrictions were lifted in March 2022. But many holidaymakers encountered huge disruption, as some aviation businesses could not scale up or reverse pandemic job cuts quickly enough to cope.

For people to get away on flights smoothly, various businesses need to work together with the right resources in place.

Last spring, Manchester Airport faced particular criticism for long queues caused by shortages of security staff. By the summer, its managing director Chris Woodroofe could only promise a “reasonable” experience.

This time he promises a “great” experience, adding: “I can absolutely reassure passengers they won’t see the [security] queues they saw in summer 2022. We’re aiming to deliver at least 95% of our passengers in fifteen minutes”.

He said the airport had 350 more security officers than the same time last year, and there would be enough staff in place this April to cope with the busiest day in August.

A new 100 person-strong ‘resilience team’ has been set up, trained to help in any area where pressure builds up.

Last year, shortages of ground handlers also proved a particular challenge. These teams do tasks like unloading baggage and helping to prepare the plane for departure.

It is the responsibility of airlines, many of whom contract out the services to specialist providers. Swissport is the world’s biggest, operating at 292 airports including Manchester.

Karen Cox, Swissport UK & Ireland managing director, said returning to peak levels of operations in 2022 had been a “massive challenge”.

To prepare better this time, she said Swissport had kept on 5,000 workers over the winter and recruited 1,500 more.

Ms Cox described an “absolute war for labour”, caused by Covid and Brexit reducing the pool of available workers. But she said: “I sit here now at end of March ready for summer.”

As well as recruiting early, she said Swissport had done a number of things to recruit and retain workers.

“We did the single biggest pay deal in our history, and we’ve given all of our people advance roster notification so they can actually plan their lives,” she said.

Backlogs in security clearance for new workers were also an issue last year, but Swissport says this is not a problem now.

Airlines too are optimistic. EasyJet was just one carrier to make large numbers of cancellations last year. The carrier and British Airways offered bonuses as airlines battled to recruit and retain staff.

EasyJet’s David Morgan said the airline started hiring for this summer as early as July last year.

“We would not normally start recruiting until January, something like that,” he said. “So we wanted to get ahead of the game to make sure that if there were challenges getting people through, we had plenty of time to do that.”

He added: “I can say confidently that we are fully staffed for this summer. We have a good resilient number of crew in the system even to cope with the bumps if stuff that’s thrown at us.”

Mr Morgan acknowledged wages have gone up across the industry, and these costs and higher fuel prices are being reflected in fares.

But he insisted this was not hitting bookings. “We are seeing people prioritise travel. Easter is booking really well and we’re seeing good signs for the summer as well.”

The communication director of travel firm TUI, Aage Duenhaupt, said: “You can never come to the point where you can give a guarantee for everything. But what we can prepare, that’s what we’re doing.”

Mr Duenhaupt said ground handling partners had given assurances they now had the right resources in place, and the airline had made extra planes available.

Elsewhere, security staff at London Heathrow’s Terminal 5 are due to begin a 10-day strike on 31 March, which has already caused British Airways to remove flights from its schedules and could mean queues for security.

In a cost of living crisis, are people still keen to travel? Richard Slater of Henbury Travel in Macclesfield thinks so.

He said many customers – who include those looking for package holidays and cruises – are booking late. But his agency had “seen incredible demand, back to 2019 in fact probably higher”.

“We’re certainly seeing some people having to cut their cloth a little bit and potentially shorten their holiday, whereas others have been saving up through the pandemic,” he added.

Telecom Diary: Finally, Vodafone Idea readies 5G strategy

by telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com Leave a Comment

Telecom Diary: Finally, Vodafone Idea readies 5G strategy 5G has been the talk of the town with aggressive launches and campaigns by top two telecom players Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel .

The third private player Vodafone Idea may not have announced an official 5G launch date but is slowly getting its ecosystem ready with multiple partnerships.

It has tied up with smartphone makers like Motorola , Xiaomi to enable 5G connectivity across their range of smartphones in India. Also collaborated with Gamerji , an esports start-up, to enter into the esports segment which is expected to grow manifold once 5G becomes mainstream.

5G is more about enterprises and it goes beyond faster download and data speeds. Currently, there is no use case available for 5G which can’t be offered or accessed in 4G.

Experts feel till the time 5G reaches a certain level and use cases develop, Vodafone Idea will be ready to take off with its 5G. Vodafone Idea may be late to join the 5G bandwagon, but the party has just begun, a senior telco executive says. The main hindrance has been funding. The struggling telco has been trying to raise funds since long but is yet to make any headway. Due to this, the telco has been losing subscribers to its competitors.

Vodafone Idea is in continuous talks with network vendors to finalise its 5G rollout plans. It had earlier showcased multiple use cases including a smart agri solution, and a cloud-based Gurushala solution while 5G trials were underway. It claims it is fully prepared to launch 5G services with its future-ready network and has emerged as a clear leader in the Internet of Things (IoT) offerings.

The market is abuzz with 5G services but the use cases are still some time away. As Airtel CEO Gopal Vittal recently remarked “ 5G is a supercomputer without the relevant applications ”.

Experts say telcos need to work closely with enterprises, startups, and other stakeholders to come up with 5G use cases to properly leverage the potential of the high-speed technology. A need to form deep partnerships with various industries to come up with 5G use cases that are specific to the Indian requirements is critical.

Vodafone Idea recently got an approval from the government to convert telco’s interest dues into equity, which was a part of the telecom reforms package announced in September 2021. The company’s interest dues on deferred adjusted gross revenues (AGR) at over Rs 16,000 crore has been converted into equity with the government becoming the largest stakeholder with 33.44 % share . This came after the government received an assurance from Vi’s promoters for infusion of capital in the company. Subsequently, the company is in talks with lenders and banks to refinance its loans.

If there is an indefinite delay in launching 5G, it may hamper prospects of Vodafone Idea which is why it needs to quickly close its fundraising plan.

Jio and Airtel have launched 5G services in over 700 cities till date. 5G has become the most sought-after smartphone features in 2022, with 5G smartphones capturing a 32% market share in 2022. There are nearly 85 million 5G smartphone users in India but no killer use case as yet, which may give Vodafone Idea enough time to catch up with its rivals .