Agricultural product export potential was identified

New Delhi, 09 Dec 2022: Under the District as Export Hub (DEH) initiative, products including agricultural products with export potential have been identified in all 733 districts across the country, Smt. Anupriya Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry said today in reply to a parliamentary question.

The Minister of State for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Shri Bhanu Pratap Singh Verma addressing the “National Conclave on Accelerating Energy Efficiency in Micro, Small and Medium Sector Enterprises”, in New Delhi on December 09, 2022.

In order to boost farm exports, the Government introduced a comprehensive Agriculture Export Policy in 2018, with the following objectives:

To diversify our export basket, and destinations and boost high-value and value-added agricultural exports including a focus on perishables.

To promote novel, indigenous, organic, ethnic, traditional, and non-traditional Agri products exports.

To provide an institutional mechanism for pursuing market access, tackling barriers, and dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary issues.

To strive to double India’s share in world Agri exports by integrating with the global value chain at the earliest.

To enable farmers to get the benefit of export opportunities in overseas markets.

The promotion of exports of agricultural products is an ongoing exercise. The Government has taken several steps at State/ District levels to promote exports. State-specific Action Plans have been prepared and State Level Monitoring Committees (SLMCs), Nodal Agencies for agricultural exports, and Cluster Level Committees have been formed in a number of States.

Country and product-specific action plans have also been formulated to promote exports. The Government is also in the process to utilize the proposed District as Export Hub Initiative to achieve the objectives of the Agriculture Export Policy. Under the DEH initiative, products including agricultural products with export potential have been identified in all 733 districts across the country. State Export Strategy has been prepared in 28 States/UTs.

The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an autonomous organization under the administrative control of the Department of Commerce, has the mandate to promote exports of agricultural and processed food products. APEDA has been providing assistance to the exporters under various components of its Export Promotion Scheme.

The Department of Commerce provides financial assistance to promote exports, including exports of agricultural products through the Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme, Export Promotion Schemes of APEDA, and Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), etc.

Further, a Farmer Connect Portal has been developed 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 tap export opportunities. Country-specific BSMs, through Indian Missions, have also been organized.