Trade body urges PM for 50 new agro-processing clusters in Rajasthan

A Rajasthan-based trade body has urged Prime Mini­ster Narendra Modi to provide 50 new agro-processing clusters to the state. 

Agric­ulture & allied sectors contribute around 25 per cent to the state’s gross domestic product. 

Prem Biyani, the executive president of Akhil Rajya Trade & Industry Association (Rajasthan), said the setting up of these food processing clusters would help the state export quality products along with consumption in the local markets. 

Biyani said this would ensure that farmers get better prices for their produce because agriculture products purchased at support prices by the government would flow to these units, and this awould also reduce the economic burden on the government. 

The state has in place an agro-processing, agri-business, and agri-export promotion policy, which offers sops and concessions such as capital subsidies, subsidies on the freight for export of ordinary and organic produce, and interest subsidies for agro-processing units and for agro-processing infrastructure projects. 

Besides, a package of general financial incentives (exemptions and subsidies) is available for agro-processing, agri-business, and agri-export units. 

Rajasthan contributes 42 per cent of the country's total bajra production, according to statistics. Similarly, it contributes 45 per to mustard, 22 per cent to oilseeds, 17 per to sesame, 19 per cent to groundnut, 20 per to chana, 13 per to jawar, and 85 per to guar. 

In the fiscal year 2021–22, the total production of fruits was 956,000  tonnes, while that of vegetables stood at 2.37 million tonnes, spices (1.04 mt), food grains and pulses (25.4 mt) and oilseeds (10 mt).