Agri exports register an increase of 17.37% yoy in 2020-21

India’s agriculture exports during 2020-21 have registered an increase of 17.37% as compared to exports during 2019-20, said Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Piyush Goyal, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha. He has highlighted various developments taking place in the sector stating that to promote agricultural exports, the Government has introduced a comprehensive Agriculture Export Policy (AEP) to harness export potential of Indian agriculture and raise farmers’ income.

Department of Commerce has taken several steps to implement AEP at State/ District level. State Level Monitoring Committees (SLMCs), Nodal Agencies for agricultural exports and Cluster Level Committees have been formed in a number of States and State-specific Action Plans have been prepared. Country and product-specific action plans have also been formulated to promote exports, he added.

A Farmer Connect Portal has been set up for providing a platform for farmers, Farmer-Producer Organizations (FPOs) and cooperatives to interact with exporters. Buyer-Seller Meets (BSMs) have been organized in the clusters to provide export-market linkages.

Regular interactions, through video-conferences, have been held with the Indian Missions abroad, to assess and exploit export opportunities. Country specific BSMs, through Indian Missions, have also been organized, he said.

In addition, assistance to the exporters of agriculture products is also available under the export promotion schemes of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Tea Board, Coffee Board and Spices Board, Ministry of Commerce & Industry. The Government has also introduced a Central Sector Scheme – ‘Transport and Marketing Assistance for Specified Agriculture Products’ – for providing assistance for the international component of freight, to mitigate the freight disadvantage for the export of agriculture products.

Disclaimer: This information has been collected through secondary research and IBEF is not responsible for any errors in the same.