(a) whether the Government is contemplating to provide any assistance to grape farmers in the country, particularly in the Nashik district, in order to export their products to other countries directly;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) if not, the reasons therefor?
THE MINISTER OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)
(a & b) Promotion of exports of agricultural products like grapes is a continuous process. The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an autonomous organisation under the administrative control of Department of Commerce, has been mandated with the export promotion of grapes. APEDA has implemented GrapeNet, which is a web-based service offered to the stakeholders for facilitating testing and certification of Grapes for export from India in compliance with the standards identified by NRC Pune, on the basis of consultation with the exporters. GrapeNet collects, stores and reports – forward and backward traces and quality assurance data entered by the stakeholders within the Grapes supply chain in India. Moreover, APEDA has also been providing assistance to the Grape exporters under various components of its export promotion scheme. Under the Agriculture Export Policy, Pune, Nasik and Sangli districts of Maharashtra have been identified as a cluster for export-oriented production of grapes. The farmers, looking to directly export their grapes, can avail of all forms of assistance available to the exporters.
(c) Does not arise in view of (a) & (b) above.
****