Lok Sabha Question No. 1153 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-02-11
Subject: Agricultural Export Policy
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: POONAM  MAHAJAN

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1153 TO BE ANSWERED ON  11 th  FEBRUARY, 2019

## AGRICULTURAL EXPORT POLICY

## 1153.  SHRIMATI POONAM MAHAJAN

Will  the  Minister  of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वा ͨ णÏय  एवं  उɮयोग  मंğी ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has approved the Agricultural Export Policy, 2018 and if so, the salient features of the policy;
- (b) whether  the  Government  has  assessed  the  impact  of  the  Policy  on  the  State  of Maharashtra and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the Government has emphasised the need for diversifying export basket in the country through the policy and if so, the details thereof; and
- (d) the  amount  of  foodgrains  and  crops  exported  to  various  countries  from  the  State  of Maharashtra during each of the last five years, year-wise and crop/foodgrain-wise?

## ANSWER

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THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI C. R. CHAUDHARY)

- (a) Yes,  Madam.  The  Government  has  introduced  a  comprehensive  Agriculture  Export Policy with the following vision:

'Harness  export  potential  of  Indian  agriculture,  through  suitable  policy  instruments,  to make India a global power in agriculture, and raise farmers' income.'

Inter-alia, the objectives of the Agriculture Export policy are as under:

- (i) To  diversify  our  export  basket,  destinations  and  boost  high  value  and  value  added agricultural exports, including focus on perishables.
- (ii) To  promote  novel,  indigenous,  organic,  ethnic,  traditional  and  non-traditional  Agri products exports.
- (iii) To provide an institutional mechanism for pursuing market access, tackling barriers and dealing with sanitary and phytosanitary issues.
- (iv) To  strive  to  double  India's  share  in  world  agri  exports  by  integrating  with  global  value chains.
- (v) Enable farmers to get benefit of export opportunities in overseas market.

The  envisaged  initiatives  in  the  Agriculture  Export  Policy  have  been  organised  in  two categories - Strategic and Operational - as detailed below:

| Strategic   | Policy measures                                          |
|-------------|----------------------------------------------------------|
| Strategic   | Infrastructure and logistics support                     |
| Strategic   | Holistic approach to boost exports                       |
| Strategic   | Greater involvement of State Governments in agri exports |

-2-

| Operational   | Focus on Clusters                                          |
|---------------|------------------------------------------------------------|
| Operational   | Promoting value added exports                              |
| Operational   | Marketing and promotion of 'Brand India'                   |
| Operational   | Attract private investments into production and processing |
| Operational   | Establishment of strong quality regimen                    |
| Operational   | Research &Development                                      |
| Operational   | Miscellaneous                                              |

- (b) No assessment of impact of the Policy on the individual States has been made. However, a number of clusters have been identified in various States for export-oriented production of agricultural products. The clusters identified in the State of Maharashtra are as under:
- (c) Yes, Madam. One of the objectives of the Agriculture Export Policy is - 'to diversify our export  basket,  destinations  and  boost  high  value  and  value  added  agricultural  exports, including focus on perishables.'

| Product     | Districts                  |
|-------------|----------------------------|
| Banana      | Jalgaon, Kolhapur, Solapur |
| Pomegranate | Solapur, Ahmednagar, Pune  |
| Mango       | Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg      |
| Grapes      | Pune, Nasik, Sangli        |
| Onion       | Nasik                      |
| Orange      | Nagpur, Amravati, Wardha   |

India  has  remained  at  the  lower  end  of  the  global  agri  export  value  chain  given  that majority of its exports are low value, raw or semi-processed and marketed in bulk. India is  unable  to  export  its  vast  horticultural  produce  due  to  lack  of  uniformity  in  quality, standardization  and  its  inability  to  curtail  losses  across  the  value  chain.  Given  the globalization of value chains, it is imperative that the country make concerted efforts to boost  exports  of  high  margin,  value  added  and  branded  processed  products.  The Agriculture Export Policy envisages a paradigm shift from residual export after meeting domestic demand to targeted export according to preferences of overseas market.

- (d) The State-wise data on exports is not validated by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCI&S), as there is no scope for verifying the correctness of the state of origin code reported by the exporters.

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