Lok Sabha Question No. 64 (STARRED), answered on 2019-06-26
Subject: Transport Subsidy to Agricultural Exports
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Y. S. Avinash Reddy

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

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 64 TO BE ANSWERED ON  26 th  JUNE, 2019

## TRANSPORT SUBSIDY TO AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS

- *64.   SHRI Y.S. AVINASH REDDY:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वािणǛ एवं उȨोग मंũी ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  increase  the  agricultural  exports  by  providing transport subsidies to the exporters/States;
- (b) if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the  details  of  the  other  subsidies  being  given  by  the  Government  to  export  agencies  to encourage exports?

## ANWSER

## okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=h ( Jh ih;w'k xks;y )

## THE MINISTER OF  COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- a) to  c):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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## STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) to (c) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 64   FOR ANSWER ON 26 th  JUNE, 2019 REGARDING  ' TRANSPORT SUBSIDY TO AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS '.

(a)  &  (b)  Yes,  Sir.  The  Government  has  brought  out  a  new  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,  and  marketing  of  agricultural  products.  The  assistance under  the  Scheme  is  likely  to  result  in  higher  exports  of  branded  agriculture  products  in overseas  markets,  through  enhanced  competitiveness.  The  Scheme  was  notified  on  27 th February 2019.

The assistance under the Scheme is available to exporters of specified agricultural products. The Scheme covers all the agricultural products, falling under Chapters 1 to 24 of ITC (HS) Code List, with the exceptions as listed at Annexure-I.

For export of products by sea, the assistance is based on the freight paid for full Twenty-feet Equivalent Unit (TEU) containers. Assistance for products exported by air is based on per tonne  freight  charges  on  net  weight  of  the  export  cargo,  calculated  on  the  full  ton  basis, ignoring any fraction thereof.

The  Tea  Board  also  has  a  'Scheme  for  assisting  tea  exporters  towards  meeting  additional transport & handling charges being incurred for teas exported through ICD Amingaon'. The Scheme  is  for  compensating  exporters  who  are  shipping  teas  from  the  I.C.D.  Amingaon, Assam, taking into account the fact that the additional charges being levied by the shipping companies  towards  transportation  and  terminal  handling  charges,  arising  out  of  the  empty haulage of the containers during the return journey from the port of shipment to Amingaon, affects export competitiveness. Financial assistance by way of incentive towards export of tea through ICD, Amingaon is at Rs.2.00 per kg of tea.

The Coffee Board, under its Integrated Coffee Development  Project, also provides transit/freight assistance for the following:

- i) Rs.  2/-  perkg.fortheexportofHighValueGreen Coffeestofaroff high-value markets viz.,  USA,  Canada,  Japan,  Australia,  New  Zealand,  South  Korea,Finland  and Norway.
2. ii) Rs.3/-  perKg.forexportof Value AddedCoffeesinretailconsumerpacks exported as 'India Brand".

(c) Promoting exports of agricultural products from the country is a continuous process. Various measures to increase agricultural exports, both strategic and operational, have been included in the newly introduced Agriculture Export Policy. The Department of Commerce also has several schemes to promote exports, including exports of agricultural products, viz. Trade  Infrastructure  for  Export  Scheme  (TIES),  Market  Access  Initiatives  (MAI)  Scheme, Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) etc. In addition, assistance to the exporters of agricultural products is also available under the Export Promotion Schemes of Agricultural &  Processed  Food  Products  Export  Development  Authority  (APEDA),  Marine  Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Tobacco Board, Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber Board  and  Spices  Board.  These  organisations  also  seek  to  promote  exports  through participation in international fairs & exhibitions, taking initiatives to gain market access for different products in different markets, dissemination of market intelligence, taking steps to ensure quality of exported products etc.

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## Annexure-I

| Chapter            | HS Codes     | Description                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       |
|--------------------|--------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| Chapters 1, 2&5    | All HS Codes | - Live animals - Meat and Edible Meat Offal - Products of Animal Origin, not elsewhere specified or included                                                                                                                                      |
| Chapter 3          | 030617       | - Other shrimps and prawns :                                                                                                                                                                                                                      |
| Chapter 4          | 0401         | -Milk and cream, not concentrated nor containing added sugar or other sweetening matter                                                                                                                                                           |
|                    | 0402         | - Milk and cream, concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter                                                                                                                                                               |
|                    | 0403         | - Buttermilk, curdled milk and cream, yogurt, kephir and other fermented or acidified milk and cream, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter or flavoured or containing added fruit, nuts or cocoa      |
|                    | 0404         | - Whey, whether or not concentrated or containing added sugar or other sweetening matter; products consisting of natural milk constituents, whether or not containing added sugar or other sweetening matter, not elsewhere specified or included |
|                    | 0405         | - Butter and other fats and oils derived from milk; dairy spreads                                                                                                                                                                                 |
|                    | 0406         | - Cheese and curd                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 |
| Chapter 7          | 0703         | - Onions, shallots, garlic, leeks and other alliaceous vegetables, fresh or chilled                                                                                                                                                               |
| Chapter 10         | 1001, 1006   | -Wheat And Meslin -Rice                                                                                                                                                                                                                           |
| Chapters 13 &14    | All HS Codes | - Lac; Gums, Resins and other Vegetable Saps and Extracts - Vegetable Plaiting Materials; Vegetable Products not elsewhere specified or included                                                                                                  |
| Chapter 17         | 1701, 1703   | -Cane Or Beet Sugar And Chemically Pure Sucrose, In Solid Form - Raw Sugar Not Containing Added Flavouring Or Colouring Matter ; -Molasses resulting from the extraction or refining of sugar                                                     |
| Chapters 22 and 24 | All HS Codes | - Beverages, Spirits and Vinegar - Tobacco and Manufactured Tobacco Substitutes                                                                                                                                                                   |