Lok Sabha Question No. 4802 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-29
Subject: Export of Agri and Processed Food Products
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: Khagen Murmu, Mahabali Singh

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

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4802 TO BE ANSWERED ON 29 th  MARCH,2023

## EXPORT OF AGRI AND PROCESSED FOOD PRODUCTS

## 4802.   SHRI KHAGEN MURMU: SHRI MAHABALI SINGH:

Will the Minister of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वाणिज्य एवं उद्योग मं त्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) the target fixed by the Government for agri and processed food products export during the current fiscal year and the coming year;
- (b) whether India's exports of agri and processed food products rose to a substantial limit during the current financial year till date and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) whether the target fixed by the Government for the current fiscal year 2021-22 has been achieved and if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the impact of significant rise in agri-export on the farmers income during the said period;
- (e) whether  the  Government  has  held  any  consultation  with  the  various  States  for  the implementation of Agriculture Export Policy; and
- (f) if so, the details of various initiatives taken and work done by APEDA for boosting agri and processed food products export during the last three years in the country?

## ANSWER

okf.kT; ,oa m|ksx ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h ¼Jherh vuqfiz;k iVsy½

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (SMT. ANUPRIYA PATEL)

(a) to (c) The  Government  has  been  monitoring  export  performance  including  that  of agricultural and processed food products in the current financial year i.e. 2022-23 vis a vis 202122. No targets have been fixed yet for export for the year 2023-24. During the current financial year (Apr.  2022  -  January  2023),  the  agricultural  exports  have  amounted  to  USD  43.37  billion, registering an increase of 6.04% over the exports of USD 40.90 billion during the corresponding period of the previous financial year i.e April 2021 to January 2022. During the financial year 202122, India's agricultural export touched the highest ever level of USD 50.21 billion.

(d) Rise in agricultural exports improves realisations for farmers and has a positive impact on their income. In order to ensure that the farmers benefit from exports, the Government has launched a Farmer Connect Portal for providing a platform for Farmer Producer Organisations/Companies (FPOs/FPCs) and cooperatives to directly interact with exporters.

(e) The Government has taken several steps at State and District level to promote agriculture 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. The Government is utilising the District as Export Hub (DEH) initiative to achieve the objectives of Agriculture  Export Policy  (AEP).  Under the DEH initiative, products including agricultural and processed food products with export potential have been identified in all 733 districts across the country. State Export Strategy has been prepared in 28 States/UTs.

(f) The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is constantly engaged in export promotion activities for agricultural & processed food products and has played an important role. APEDA implements the 'Agriculture & Processed Food Products Export  Promotion  Scheme'.  Various  developmental  activities  are  undertaken  and  assistance  to exporters is provided under different components of the scheme viz. Infrastructure Development, Market Development and Quality Development.  APEDA has also been collaborating with the Indian  Missions  abroad  for  participating  in  various  international  trade  fairs  and  exhibitions, organising virtual trade fairs, buyer-seller meets and export promotion of GI products. APEDA has also facilitated trial shipments for new products with export potential and for new destinations. To address the issue of stakeholders' participation in the decision-making process for export promotion activities,  the  Department  of  Commerce  has  established  Export  Promotion  Forums  (EPFs)  for individual  products  under  the  aegis  of  the  APEDA.  The  EPFs  have  representation  from trade/industry, line ministries/departments, regulatory agencies, research institutes, state governments etc. In all 9 EPFs have been formed for rice, banana, grapes, mango, onion, dairy products,  nutri-cereals,  pomegranate  and  floriculture  respectively.  APEDA  has  also  played  an important role in opening up of new markets for agricultural products in the recent past such as Canada, China, South Korea, Taiwan, Portugal, Indonesia, Iran etc. APEDA has been organising capacity building/training programs in the Agri-export  clusters and States in association with the State Departments, State Agriculture Universities, and Krishi Vikas Kendras for farmers, farmerproducer organizations (FPOs) and exporters in order to provide export-market linkage to the farmer groups and to facilitate entrepreneurs in becoming prospective exporters. APEDA has also made efforts to establish synergy with the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying and Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to ensure optimum utilization of resources for development of agriculture exports.

*****