Shellac EPC asked to push other products

The commerce ministry is in the process of widening the scope of Shellac Export Promotion Council (Shellac EPC) by making it a multi-product council.

S Ramasundaram, joint secretary, commerce ministry said, the ministry through a recent notification has identified a whole host of minor forest products for special export focus and acceleration in export turnover during the current plan period.

Accordingly, Shellac EPC would be renamed Shellac and Forest Products Export Promotion Council (Shefexil).

Ramasundaram said the move comes out of the common minimum programme (CMP) of the government, which was aimed at generating employment and employment generation schemes.

He pointed out Shefexil had the expertise of working with the rural people and also knowledge of emerging markets and hence emerged as the natural choice.

Minor forest products, together with de-oiled cakes and meals command a fast growing market globally and the market size is now assessed at around $10 billion.

India accounted for four per cent, which suggests the existence of huge potential.

According to the newly announced "Vishesh Krishi Upaj Yojana" under the foreign trade policy for 2004-2009 announced on August 31, exporters of minor forest products and their value added products would be entitled for duty credit scrips equivalent to five per cent of the FOB value of exports for each licensing year.

Shefexil was now entrusted with the task of raising the export of minor forest products and de-oiled cakes and meals in a big way. Exports of these products were at around Rs 3,000 crore, Ramasundaram said.

Shellac exports through the Council was in the range of Rs 130-150 crore in an average year.

The major strategies in the way forward were investing in research and development, product development and aggressive market development.

In a bid to make it more focused, the product groups would be divided into three major group panels - shellac and lac-based products, other minor forest products, and de-oiled cakes and meals.

The rationale for such panel formation was that these product groups faced similar problems and challenges and would need concerted and concentrated effort to address each category and forge strategies.