(a) the details of scheduled products which are facilitated for exports by the Agricultural and Processed food products Export Development Authority(APEDA);
(b) whether the Government has made any fresh endeavours to promote export of Agri products;
(c) if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the steps taken by the Government to explore virtual medium for Agri product export market promotion in collaboration with the Indian missions abroad?
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(SHRI HARDEEP SINGH PURI)
(a) The Agricultural and Processed food products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the following products included in the First Schedule of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985:
i. Fruits, Vegetables and their Products.
ii. Meat and Meat Products.
iii. Poultry and Poultry Products.
iv. Dairy Products.
v. Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products.
vi. Honey, Jaggery and Sugar Products.
vii. Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds.
viii. Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
ix. Cereal and Cereal Products.
x. Groundnuts, Peanuts and Walnuts.
xi. Pickles, Papads and Chutneys.
xii. Guar Gum.
xiii. Floriculture and Floriculture Products.
xiv. Herbal and Medicinal Plants.
(b & c) Promotion of agricultural exports is a continuous process. To promote the agricultural exports, The Government has introduced a comprehensive Agriculture Export Policy with the vision of harnessing export potential of Indian agriculture, through suitable policy instruments, to make India a global power in agriculture, and raise farmers’ income.
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, and marketing of agricultural products.
The Department of Commerce has several other schemes to promote exports, including exports of agricultural products, viz. Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme etc. In addition, assistance to the exporters of agricultural products is also available under the export promotion schemes of APEDA, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Tobacco Board, Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber Board and Spices Board.
(d) To promote India’s exports of agriculture products, a series of Virtual Buyer-Seller Meets (V-BSMs), have been conducted with various countries, in collaboration with the Indian Missions abroad. Importers, Indian exporters and trade associations join these V-BSMs to explore trade opportunities. V-BSMs have been organized with UAE, Kuwait, Indonesia, Switzerland, Belgium, Iran, Canada (Organic products), UAE & USA (GI products), Germany, South Africa, Australia, Thailand, Oman, Bhutan, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia.
APEDA has also developed its own Virtual Trade Fair (VTF) application to provide opportunities for our exporters of agriculture products to interact with importers of several countries over a virtual platform. The first Virtual Trade Fair for Cereals product was inaugurated on 10th March 2021.
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