CUTS to aid government in farm products' trade issues

The ministries of agriculture and food processing industries have selected the Consumer Unity and Trust Society (CUTS International) in assisting them in all trade negotiations as also for conducting detailed studies on issues of agricultural products trade, the NGO said Sunday.

"CUTS will now build a database of India's trade flows - export and import (in value and quantity terms) for all agricultural products alongwith bound and applied rates at global level as also for trading blocs such as European Union, EFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR, SACU and for major countries, including the USA, China, Australia, among others," it said in a release here.

"It will further analyse the database to capture broad export/import trends, non-trade measures, conduct competitiveness analysis of India's agriculture products for exports, and identify the tariff lines with high export growth, and other products having export potential," CUTS added.

It was selected through a competitive bidding process involving organisations of repute, the NGO said.

"Overall, this is a unique opportunity for formulation of a better and coherent Agricultural Trade Policy (World Trade Organisation) that would add domestic certainty and also aid in further enhancing the rules-based multilateral trading system," the statement added.