Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), established in 1985, has been instrumental in identifying new markets and providing better support systems to exporters of agricultural and processed food products. In a tête-à-tête with The Dollar Business, Devendra Kumar Singh, Chairman of APEDA, throws light on the various initiatives that APEDA is taking up to give exports a boost.
TDB: How did Indian agricultural and processed food sector perform on the export front last fiscal and what was APEDA’s contribution to it?
Devendra Kumar Singh (DKS): According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCIS), in FY2017, exports of agricultural products contributed about 12% to India’s total exports ($33.38 billion out of India’s total of $276.28 billion). Out of this $33.38 billion, about $16.25 billion was under APEDA’s supervision.
A lot of positive developments took place in FY2017. For instance, grape exports went up by 37% y-o-y with grape exporters gaining market access to Canada. APEDA also undertook several initiatives to boost exports of mango by arranging visits of quarantine officials from US, Japan and South Korea to the irradiation and vapour heat treatment centres located in Lasalgaon and Vashi in Maharashtra, Bengaluru in Karnataka and Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh.
In addition, we received approvals from the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) of China for 25 of our Hot Water Treatment (HWT) facilities for the disinfestation of mangoes – this will boost exports to China. Vietnam too has lifted the ban on imports of peanuts from India. Additionally, exports to Russia are also expected to begin soon as they have agreed to accept health certificates issued by Indian authorities.
TDB: What are the other initiatives that the government has taken to promote agricultural exports from India?
This story is from the August 2017 edition of The Dollar Business.
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This story is from the August 2017 edition of The Dollar Business.
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