Action plans for 20 agri products to boost exports likely in 3-4 months

The government is formulating action plans for as many as 20 agricultural products including banana, mangoes, potato and baby corn with a view to further boost export of these commodities, a senior official said on Tuesday.

The action for each of these products is likely to be ready in the next 3-4 months, Additional Secretary in the department of commerce Rajesh Agarwal said.

He said that the action plan will be discussed with all the stakeholders including states for further action.

These commodities hold huge potential to further increase exports as there is a good production of these items with high quality standards and they are completive in the global markets.

"We have identified 20 products. At present, India's share is low in global exports. We are working on a detailed action for all these products," Agarwal added.

India's share is about 2.5 per cent in the global exports and the aim is to increase it to about 4-5 per cent in the coming years.

These commodities include fresh grapes, guava, pomegranate, watermelon, onion, green chilly, capsicum, okra, garlic, groundnut, alcoholic beverages, cashew nut, buffalo meat, jaggery, natural honey, and ghee.

The worldwide imports of these commodities stood at USD 405.24 billion in 2022. India's exports of these items was USD 9.03 billion in 2022.

The main countries which hold huge export potential for these items include the US, Malaysia, Canada, Russia, Germany, France, Korea, China, Indonesia, Japan, Italy, Belgium, and the UK.

Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an arm of the commerce ministry, is working on the action plans.

The official also said that APEDA is working with different institutes for developing sea protocols for bantam ginger, pineapple, mangoes and oranges to promote shipments through sea routes.

At present, they are mainly shipped through air routes.

Logistics cost plays a crucial role in export of any product to far away markets. Shipping the product via air increases the cost of the product, which makes it uncompetitive in the international market.

Developing sea protocol reduces the logistics cost for export of horticulture produce to long distance markets and enables a quantum increase in exports of items like bananas, mangoes, pomegranates and other fresh fruits and vegetables, APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev said.