Beefing up exports

With beef - whether to eat it or not - at the centre of most debates these days, exporters have listed bovine cuts - boneless and frozen - as among the top 36 items that can ensure a jump for India's outbound shipments. Exports of meat items, including buffalo meat, rose almost 10 per cent to $4.90 billion in 2014-15 from $4.49 billion in 2013-14, according to figures released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority. It should be noted that beef exports from India do not include cow meat and comprise only buffalo meat. The list of 36 items was presented by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations at a meeting with Commerce Secretary Rita Teotia. The meeting was held in the context of the continued decline in merchandise exports for the ninth month in a row in August.