Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) celebrated its 36th Foundation Day today. APEDA actively supported the Government in taking the export of agricultural products to USD 20.67 billion in 2020-21 from USD 0.6 billion in 1986 when it was founded.  APEDA also helped expand the export basket to 205 countries.

 

The share of APEDA exports (USD 20.67 billion) constituted 49% of overall agri- product exports in 2020-21 out of which, Cereals and fresh horticulture comprised 59%, Cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed items 23% and animal products 18%.

 

The target given to APEDA in the current financial year (2021-22) is USD 23.7 billion, out of which more than 70% i.e. USD 17.20 billion has been achieved till January 2022, and the remaining target is expected to be completed within the stipulated time period.

 

Aiming to take export of agricultural products to a new level, APEDA promoted IT-enabled activities for ease of doing business in the promotion and development of exports from India. APEDA has undertaken initiatives like paperless office (re-engineering, digital signatures, electronic payment facility), APEDA Mobile App, phase-wise delivery of online services, monitoring and evaluation, uniform access, and virtual trade fair to make governance more efficient and effective.

 

Keeping in mind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘vocal for local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, APEDA has been focusing on promotion of exports of locally sourced Geographical Indications (GI) tagged as well as indigenous, ethnic agricultural products. New products and new export destinations have been identified and accordingly the trial shipments have been facilitated.

 

As on date, there are 417 registered GI products and of them around 150 GI tagged products are agricultural and food GI out of which more than 100 registered GI products fall under the category of APEDA scheduled products (Cereals, Fresh Fruits and vegetables, processed products, etc).

 

In 2020-21 and in the current fiscal, some of ethnic and GI tagged products exported by India include dragon fruit, patented village rice, jackfruit, jamun, Burmese grapes, dehydrated mahua flowers, puffed rice. GI varieties of mango, GI tagged Shahi litchi, Bhalia wheat, Madurai malli, Mihidana, Sitabhog, Dahanu Gholvad Sapota, Jalgaon banana, Vazhakulam pineapple and Marayoor jiggery, etc.

 

The implementation of revamped Agri Export Policy is also in the final stage as 21 states and two UTs (Ladakh A&N Islands) have already finalised the state specific action plan. Those states which have specific action plans are Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Nagaland, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Punjab, Karnataka, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Manipur, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.  The action plans of the remaining seven states are at different stages of finalisation.

 

Country specific agri-export strategy reports have been prepared for 60 countries in consultation with the Indian Embassies and High Commissions of the respective countries to tap the opportunities emerging during Covid-19 pandemic and the potential for agri exports to countries.

 

In coordination with the Government of India’s thrust on ensuring ‘ease of doing business’, APEDA is working with the state governments for ensuring traceability and market linkages for farmers for promoting exports. APEDA’s thrust has been on ensuring digitalization of land records and formalization of tenancy for the farmers, which helps in boosting exports.

 

A Market Intelligence Cell has been constituted in APEDA and the activity of dissemination of E-market intelligence reports comprising detailed market analysis has commenced.

 

A Farmer Connect Portal has also been set up by APEDA on its website for providing a platform for Farmer Producers Organisations (FPOs) or Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs), Cooperatives to interact with exporters. Around 3,295 FPOs/FPCs and 3,315 exporters have been registered in the portal so far.

 

For promoting use of hybrid technology, APEDA has integrated a Blockchain solution into its GrapeNet traceability platform. The GrapeNet is a web-based certification and traceability software system for monitoring fresh grapes exported from India to the European Union. The Blockchain solution, called APEDA Trust Chain, helps track all the details of the export consignment, right down to the location of the vineyards.

 

Working in collaboration with the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, the APEDA has taken a giant leap in making landlocked Purvanchal a new destination of agri export activities by developing Varanasi Agri – Export Hub in a record time. The Varanasi region, where almost negligible export activities because of lack of basic infrastructure, is now abuzz with agri export activities.

 

After the intervention of APEDA, Varanasi region has recorded exemplary changes in the export scenario and registered many first-of-its-kind achievements in a very short span of time as about 20,000 tonnes of agri produce have been exported from Purvanchal region in the last six months.

 

'Notwithstanding several logistical challenges faced in the global trade of commodities, India’s agricultural and processed food exports have grown at a steady pace in the last decade,' Dr. M.Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA said on the occasion.

 

Exports of agricultural and processed food products under APEDA basket rose to USD 20.67 billion (Rs 1,53,049crores) during 2020-21, from USD 9.31 billion (Rs 42,437crores) in 2010-11, according to data by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S).

 

In 2018-19, the export of Agricultural and Processed Food Products recorded at USD 19406 million (Rs 1,35,112 crores). Export value stood at USD 20,674 million (Rs 1,53,049 crores) in 2020-21. In the current financial year 2021-22 (April-December), APEDA has exported agricultural and processed food products worth USD 17,465 million (Rs 1,29,782crores).

 

Even though India is the biggest producer of main agricultural crops, fruits and vegetables, the country’s contribution to the agri-exports in the global market is not significant due to lack of requisite infrastructure at farm gate, post production and logistics complied with other aspects such as awareness about the good agricultural practices, good manufacturing practices, hygienically producing and other latest international standards in the area of quality and packaging, etc, have been the key hindrances in harnessing export potential of the country.

 

Realising the importance of Agriculture and Processed Food Products export from the country, the Government in 1986 had set up APEDA through an Act of Parliament under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India. Then the newly created body replaced the then existing Processed Food Export Promotion Council. The APEDA had been undertaking most of the activities as per its mandate and scope of work allocated spanning its 14 product categories which mainly includes the sector of fruits and vegetables, processed fruits and vegetables, animal, dairy and poultry products and cereals.

 

Over the years, APEDA has been handling issues concerning product safety and global promotion for all its product categories, compromising more than 800 tariff lines. With the agriculture awareness about environmental and food safety issues in the importing countries and constantly additional food norms and consumer preferences, APEDA has been constantly sensitizing its trade exporters about export requirements and also providing assistance for setting up of infrastructure facilities for common uses and as well as by the concerned member exporters for having export-oriented production for exports from the country.

 

Considering the importance of food safety and traceability required by the importing countries of developed economies, APEDA took a number of initiatives in the area of quality development such as preparation of standards, procedures for identified potential products, development of residue monitoring protocol, recognition of laboratories and implementation of traceability systems, etc.

 

APEDA pioneered its first traceability system for export of grapes to EU countries in the year 2005-06.  First the system was made paper-based and then made IT enabled which gave birth to the first traceability system in the horticulture sector as GrapeNet. After the success of traceability implementation in the grapes sector, the same was replicated for other products such as peanut (Peanut.net); Organic products (Tracenet) and meat products (Meat.net). The traceability systems for more products are being developed for further implementation.

 

The APEDA website is providing online facilities for the issuance of Registration-cum-Membership Certificate (RCMC), Registration-cum-Allocation Certificate (RCAC) and submission of financial assistance schemes applications.

 

The Government of India through the Ministry of Commerce initiated development of National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), which was approved by the Government on May 2, 2001 and APEDA designated as Secretariat for NPOP.

 

The export growth in the last two years has been achieved despite disruption of supplies during Covid-19 pandemic. APEDA organised a host of activities such as organising VBSM, showcasing Indian agri-exports strength at the Virtual trade fair platform, synergy with ministries and convergence of various schemes run by line ministries and concerned organisations.

 

'The visionary approach, aggressive and consistent efforts of APEDA have enabled India to position itself as a consistent and quality supplier of agri products,' Dr.M.Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA said.

Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry (PLISFPI) has been formulated by the Ministry as part of 'AatmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan' for enhancing India's manufacturing capabilities and enhancing exports with an outlay of Rs 10,900 crore. The scheme has three broad components. The first component relates to incentivizing manufacturing of four major food product segments viz. Ready to Cook/ Ready to Eat (RTC/ RTE) including millet-based foods, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products and Mozzarella Cheese. The second component is intended for incentivizing Innovative/ Organic products of SMEs across all the above four food product segments including Free Range - Eggs, Poultry Meat and Egg Products.  The third component relates to support for branding and marketing abroad to incentivize the emergence of strong Indian brands.

 

The scheme guidelines were notified on 2nd May, 2021 and EoI was issued for inviting applications under the scheme on 2nd May, 2021 with closure date of application window as 24th June, 2021.  A total of 60 applicants under Category-I, 12 applicants under Category-II and 71 applicants under Category-III have been selected recently.

 

This information was given by Minister of State for M/o Food Processing Industries, Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today

As Indian agricultural product exports begin to make inroads in the global market, especially leading in non-basmati rice exports, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is playing a significant role, accounting for 49 per cent of the overall shipments of these products.

 

Founded on February 13, 1986, APEDA began with agricultural exports to the tune of $0.6 billion. Last fiscal, its shipments of agricultural products totalled $20.67 billion and expanded its footprints to 205 countries.

 

APEDA was set up under an Act by Parliament by the Government under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry once it realised the importance of agriculture and processed food products exports.

 

The progress made by APEDA in agricultural exports has not come easily. 'Notwithstanding several logistical challenges faced in the global trade of commodities, India’s agricultural and processed food exports have grown at a steady pace in the last decade,' says M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA. 

 

Break-up of export basket

Today, the authority has become a cornerstone of the Government’s success in promoting exports of agricultural products. Of APEDA’s share in agricultural product exports, cereals and fresh horticulture items comprise 59 per cent, cereal preparations and miscellaneous processed items 23 per cent and animal products 18 per cent. 

 

For the current fiscal, APEDA has been set an export target of $23.7 billion and by January-end it has met over 70 per cent of it at $17.2 billion. The rest of the target will be met within the stipulated time, says the APEDA Chairman. 

 

In furthering the cause of agricultural exports, APEDA has promoted IT-enabled activities for ease of doing business in the promotion and development of exports from India. It has undertaken initiatives such as paperless office (re-engineering, digital signatures, electronic payment facility), APEDA mobile app, phase-wise delivery of online services, monitoring and evaluation, uniform access, and virtual trade fair to make governance more efficient and effective.

 

GI-tagged, ethnic products

The authority has been focussing on the promotion of exports of locally-sourced Geographical Indication (GI) products besides indigenous, ethnic agricultural products to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for 'vocal for local' and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.

 

APEDA says it has identified new products and export destinations and the trial shipments have been facilitated accordingly. Of the 150 GI tagged agricultural products till now, over 100 registered ones fall under the category of APEDA scheduled products (cereals, fresh fruits and vegetables, processed products, etc).

 

Last and this fiscal, dragon fruit, patented village rice, jackfruit, jamun, Burmese grapes, dehydrated mahua flowers and puffed rice are some of the ethnic and GI tagged products shipped out of the country. GI varieties of mango, GI tagged Shahi litchi, Bhalia wheat, Madurai malli, Mihidana, Sitabhog, Dahanu Gholvad Sapota, Jalgaon banana, Vazhakulam pineapple and Marayoor jaggery are among these, says Angamuthu.

 

Strategy reports

In order to give further fillip to exports, country specific agri-export strategy reports have been prepared for 60 countries to tap the potential. A Market Intelligence Cell has been set up in APEDA and it has begun putting out E-market intelligence reports comprising detailed market analysis. 

 

Till now, 27 reports have been prepared for mango, basmati rice, non-basmati rice, groundnut, grapes, gherkins, dehydrated onion, pomegranate, banana, potato, buffalo meat, swine meat, fresh cut flowers, wine, egg, dairy products (SMP & cheese), biscuits, jaggery, millets, fruits and vegetable seeds, moringa, fox nut, fruit juices, mango pulp, potato flakes and cereal preparations.

 

APEDA has set up a farmer connect portal on its website for providing a platform for farmer producers organisations (FPOs) or farmer producer companies (FPCs), Cooperatives to interact with exporters. Around 3,295 FPO/FPCs and 3,315 exporters have been registered in the portal so far, he said.

 

APEDA has also integrated a Blockchain solution in its GrapeNet traceability platform, which is a web-based certification and traceability software system for monitoring fresh grapes exports to the European Union. The Blockchain solution, called APEDA Trust Chain, helps track all the details of the export consignment, right down to the location of the vineyards.

 

In the past decade, exports of agricultural and processed food products under the APEDA basket rose to ?1,53,049 crore in 2020-21, from ?42,437 crore in 2010-11, as per the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics data. 

 

Non-basmati rice contribution

During the April-December period of the current fiscal, APEDA exported agricultural and processed food products worth $17,465 million (?1,29,782 crore).

 

Non-basmati rice, India’s top export item among the many agricultural and processed food product exports in the APEDA basket, contributed close to one-fourth of the total exports in 2020-21. The top three products in the APEDA export basket in 2020-21 were non-basmati rice (23.22%), basmati rice (19.44%) and buffalo meat (15.34%). These products together account for 58 per cent of total shipments.

 

Over the years, APEDA has been handling issues concerning product safety and global promotion for all its product categories, compromising over 800 tariff lines. With the agriculture awareness about environmental and food safety issues in the importing countries rising and food norms and consumer preferences changing constantly, APEDA has been sensitizing its trade exporters on export requirements. I 

 

Considering the importance of food safety and traceability required by the importing countries of developed economies, APEDA has taken a number of initiatives in the area of quality development such as preparation of standards, procedures for identified potential products, development of residue monitoring protocol, recognition of laboratories and implementation of traceability systems.

 

Other initiatives

In fact, APEDA pioneered its first traceability system for the export of grapes to EU countries in the year 2005-06, says Angamuthu. It has now been extended to peanut (Peanut.net); organic products (Tracenet) and meat products (Meat.net). Traceability systems for more products are under development, the APEDA chairman said. 

 

 APEDA, which has been designated as secretariat for National Programme for Organic Production, has been able to achieve export growth over the past two years despite disruption of supplies during Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

APEDA organised a host of activities such as organising a virtual buyer-seller meet, showcasing Indian agri-exports strength at the Virtual trade fair platform, synergy with ministries and convergence of various schemes run by line ministries and concerned organisations.

 

'The visionary approach, aggressive and consistent efforts of APEDA have enabled India to position itself as a consistent and quality supplier of agri products,' said Angamuthu.

Shri Piyush Goyal, India’s Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and Textiles and The Hon Dan Tehan MP, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment, Government of Australia have announced reaching an understanding on the Interim agreement and finalizing it in the next 30 days.  The India-Australia Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) is expected to be concluded in 12 months thereafter. Shri Goyal and Mr. Tehan were addressing a joint press conference after conclusion of the 3-day talks in New Delhi today. 

 

Speaking on the occasion Shri Goyal recalled watching the classic movie ‘Dil Chahta Hai’, which was partially shot in Australia, and portrayed a strong bond of friendship among friends. He said expanding  India-Australia relationship also exhibits a similar strong bond.

CECA FTA is like a ‘Dil Chahta Hai FTA’, which represents the hope, aspiration & ambition of the people of our two great nations.

 

The two nations are expected to sign the Interim Agreement in March 2022.The areas covered under the interim agreement should include goods, services, rules of origin, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, Customs procedure, and Legal and Institutional issues. 

 

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Piyush Goyal said that he had very fruitful discussions with his Australian counterpart and significant progress has been made in advancing the FTA between the two nations. Shri Goyal said that India and Australia were natural partners and complemented each other in a variety of ways. The Minister said that discussions between the two nations happened with openness and concern and sensitivity for the issues on both sides.

 

Terming the negotiations as a watershed moment in India-Australia bilateral relationship, Shri Goyal expressed his gratitude to the Prime Ministers of both nations, Shri Narendra Modi and The Hon Scott Morrison for their leadership, guidance and support. He also complimented officers from both sides who worked proactively to build a comprehensive economic partnership which will be a win-win for both, opening up huge opportunities for people of India and Australia.

 

The Minister exhorted that India and Australia are linked by the great Indian Ocean; connected by history, shared inheritances and deeply interlinked destinies.

 

The CECA would be a substantial opportunity for both of economies and a significant moment in the India-Australia bilateral relationship.

 

Both Ministers agreed on the need for a balanced trade agreement that encourages expanded trade and investment flows to the benefit of both of the economies, and reflects a shared commitment to the rules-based international trading system. Ministers also agreed to expeditiously resolve tax-related issues faced by Indian software firms in Australia. 

 

Responding to a question, Shri Goyal said that Quad has brought the four countries, viz. USA, India, Australia and Japan closer and this had also enabled India and Australia to come closer to each other in economic relations as well. 

 

Mr. Dan Tehan also announced that on 21st February, Australia would be open to travelers from all over the world and extended his invitation to Indians to visit Australia. The Minister opined that as a result of MoU, the tourism flows between the two countries will continue to grow and that the education relationship between the two nations would also flourish.  We are looking at mutual recognition of qualifications in Australia so that students can now study in both nations, he said. 

 

Mr. Tehan expressed confidence that the interim agreement would be a significant milestone in relationship between our two countries. He said that the warmth of the relationship between the two nations and the honesty and transparency with which the negotiations happened would certainly help build a very strong and robust economic ties.

The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today informed that that augmentation of capacity is a continuous process.  Food Corporation of India (FCI) continuously assesses and monitors the storage capacity and based on the storage gap assessment, storage capacities are created/hired. FCI augments its storage capacity through following schemes:-

 

1. Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme

2. Central Sector Scheme (CSS)

3. Construction of Silo's under Public Private Partnership (PPP)          mode

4. Hiring of godown from Central Warehousing Corporation                (CWC)/ State Warehousing Corporations    (SWCs)/State                 Agencies

5. Hiring of godown through Private Warehousing Scheme (PWS).

During 2019-20, the value of India’s agri-exports of principal agri commodities group was Rs.2,52,297 crore which was 1.2% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at current prices. Despite covid-19 pandemic, there has been 22.8% growth in agri exports at Rs. 3, 09,939 crore with a share of 1.6% to GDP during 2020-21.

 

Ministry of Food Processing industries (MoFPI) is implementing a Central Sector umbrella scheme Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) since 2016-17 to support creation of modern infrastructure projects, setting/upgrading the food manufacturing units, value chain development in perishables, backward and forward linkages etc. Also, MoFPI is implementing centrally sponsored "PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme" for providing financial, technical and business support for upgradation/setting up of 2 lakh micro food processing units in a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore. The Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODOP) approach to reap the benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products. Besides, under the aegis of DA&FW, Rs. one lakh crore ‘Agri infrastructure fund’ has been provided for post-harvest infrastructure for farmers. Also, Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) is being implemented to ensure forward and backward linkage through a cluster approach with the active participation of all stakeholders.

 

As per the study report conducted under ICAR-CIPHET, Ludhiana, the harvest and post-harvest losses of major cereals ranged from 4.65 - 5.99 %, pulses ranged from 6.36 - 8.41 %, oilseeds ranged from 3.24 - 9.96% ,fruits ranged from 6.70 % to 15.88%; vegetables ranged from 4.58% to 12.44% fish, meat and milk the losses were 10.52%, 2.71% and 0.92% respectively.

 

This information was given by the Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar in a written reply in Rajya Sabha Today.

In another sign of the deepening economic relationship between India and the United States, bilateral trade in goods between the two countries crossed the $100 billion mark in 2021, making it the largest volume of goods trade in a calendar year in India-US economic history. This also represents an almost 45% jump from 2020, and while US trade with its top 15 partners increased over the past year, the single biggest jump was with India.

 

\According to figures released by the US Census Bureau, India-US bilateral goods trade was worth $113.391 billion from January to December 2021. India exported goods worth over $73 billion, and imported goods worth a little over $40 billion dollars.

 

In 2020 – an unusual year because of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic and subsequent economic restrictions – trade fell to a little over $78.2 billion, from the high of $92.1 billion in 2019. India had then exported goods worth $57.8 billion and imported goods worth $34.2 billion.

 

Placing the figures in perspective, Richard M Rossow, the Wadhwani chair in US-India Policy Studies at the Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and the foremost expert of the bilateral economic relationship in Washington DC, said that bilateral trade has been on an upward trajectory for 20 years, and shrunk year-on-year only three times since 2002.

 

'While we should certainly pause to celebrate the milestone of crossing the $100 billion in bilateral trade, it is not far off the overall trajectory of the trade relationship in this period.' The 45% jump, he said, was due to the 'deep trough' in 2020, as both India and the US dealt with the initial onslaught of the coronavirus.

 

Mukesh Aghi, president and chief executive officer of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF), said that a key reason for the spike in Indian exports to the US was the concerted increase in demand in the US market.

 

'The US has seen consumption-driven growth in the past year. There was pent-up demand for items such as jewellery and electronics which has got channelled in the last six months. The fact that US companies have also sought to diversify their supply chains has played a role too. Electronic component markets have moved production to India. For instance, Apple now exports a million smart phones from India to the United States every month.' The challenge, he added, was to sustain the momentum.

 

When asked what had driven the spike, Rossow said that while the details of which products drove the record-breaking year was not clear yet, the push by the Donald Trump administration to sell American hydrocarbons to India had been a key factor in enabling greater trade.

 

'A decade ago, the US had nearly zero exports of natural gas, coal, or crude oil to India. Today these three are all among the 10 biggest export categories. US imports from India are more balanced, with good increases in trade among a range of categories. But a few stand out as over-performers such as furniture, aluminium, and food products.'

 

India’s principal goods exports to the US are precious and semi-precious stones, drugs and pharmaceuticals, petroleum products, cotton fabrics, garments, marine products, iron and steel products, electrical equipment and auto components. And its primary import was crude oil (the biggest import head in 2021, some $10.39 billion worth). India also imports pearls, coal, chemicals, gold, paper, and precious stones from the US.

 

Recently, the US approved imports of mangoes and pomegranate from India, and secured New Delhi’s approval to supply of cherries, alfalfa hay, pork and pork products into India, according to an Indian government official who asked not to be named.

 

'This is as per a recent agreement between the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) for implementing the ‘2 Vs 2’ agri-market access,' he added.

 

Another official familiar with the bilateral relationship said that the spike in trade was also a product of the concerted Indian attempts to deepen economic ties with a range of American economic stakeholders – be it through extensive commercial engagement or facilitating business-to-business exchanges or working to get commitments by major American corporates to source material from India or proactively leveraging the sentiment in the US to diversify from China.

 

A third official pointed out that the trade figures also firmly rebut the impression of India turning inwards and protectionist, and in fact, show that its outwards economic engagement, on its own terms, will only increase.

 

While India is working with Australia, the UK, the European Union, Canada and the US to push through larger trade arrangements, any major free trade agreement is unlikely, especially with the US, given the domestic political mood in Washington against trade pacts.

 

When asked if the increase in India-US trade showed that both countries have found ways to deepen ties while circumventing established formats, Rossow said, 'Trade deals are helpful to boost trade ties, but far from essential. In recent decades, nations such as Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China managed to become major global trade players without vast networks of trade deals. It does, however, feel like our nations continue to defy gravity. Both governments have taken protectionist steps in recent years, both globally and towards each other. Whether this continued growth in trade can be sustained in light of anti-trade policies remains to be seen.'

As India loses over Rs 1 lakh crore annually due to post harvest losses, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has suggested creation of separate directorate of agriculture engineering at least at block level in every State as it could help substantially reduce the losses and boost farmers’ income.

 

'Agriculture engineers are not available even at district levels in most of the States. Even if they are available their services have been utilised in other areas like seeds distribution in those States where there is no separate directorate,' said S N Jha, Deputy Director General (engineering) at ICAR. He has suggested the agriculture ministry to impress upon States to create separate directorate of agriculture engineering.

 

He said every State should appoint an agriculture engineer at block level and if that is not possible at least at district level to help farmers running the agriculture machinery at farm level smoothly, not only at production even for processing and value-addition of crops.

 

Expressing concern that the talent of agriculture engineers are not tapped to their potential, Jha said there will be triple benefits - employment generation, reduction in post-harvest losses and increase in farmers’ income.

 

Post-harvest losses

 

The range of average post-harvest losses for foodgrains, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables have been estimated at 4.65-15.88 per cent valued at ?92,651 crore at 2014 prices, according to a study by Ludhiana-based Central Institute of Post Harvest Engineering & Technology (CIPHET).

 

It had found that overall losses have gone down by two per cent between 2005-06 and 2013-14 mainly due to improvement in infrastructure and transport facilities.

 

Paddy, wheat, chana, soyabean, tomato, onion, potato, banana, mango, coconut, sugarcane, fish, poultry meat and milk together have 78 per cent share in the total post-harvest losses, the study found. Out of this, horticulture produce has highest 34 per cent share due to perishable nature of these crops.

 

Citing the examples of Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh, where separate directorate of agriculture engineering has been created, Jha said such step will aid in the growth of agriculture sector.

 

As mechanisation is the way forward in farming, he said it is an agriculture engineer who understands both engineering and agriculture can do justice even in case of application of pesticides through drone.

 

He has urged the Karnataka government, which is the first State in the country to set up a separate directorate of secondary agriculture, to include agricultural engineering also within the new set up.

Exports of non-Basmati rice are poised to cross 17 million tonne (mt) for the current financial year. Exports have already crossed 12.53 mt for the current season against 13 mt for the entire 2020-21 season, BV Rao, president, Rice Exporters Association (REA), told FE. According to data released by the association, non-Basmati rice exports have recorded a 51.8% rise between April and December last year, over the previous year’s corresponding period, due to high purchases made by China and Bangladesh.

 

Non-basmati rice shipments crossed 12.53 mt over April-December 2021, compared to 8.25 mt in the same period last year. In value terms, the non-basmati rice shipments were up by 46% at $4.48 billion compared to $3.07 billion same time last year. In the April to December 2021 period, Bangladesh imported 1.58 mt in the current year, as against 13,811 tonne for the same period the previous year. In value terms, this translates to $596 million for the April-December 2021 period as against $13.47 million for the April to December 2020 period.

 

Rao said that although Bangladesh has been the largest purchaser of non-Basmati rice from India in the 2021 period, the country has not been buying from India for the last four months since their purchases are largely determined by government decisions.

 

China has imported 0.9 mt from India in the April to December 2021 period valued at $275 million, while the imports from the April to December 2020 period were 33,705 tonne and the shipments were worth $ 10,29 million for this period. Rao stated that China may continue to purchase rice from India and the shipments from India are likely to cross 1.5 mt for the entire year.

 

Other major buyers of Indian rice include Nepal, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Senegal, Somalia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Togo, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Russia, among others. Recently, the agriculture ministry said that the country’s exports of Basmati and non-Basmati rice are likely to touch 21-22 mt for the current fiscal.

A 21-day winter school on 'Commercial apiculture for livelihood security of farmers and unemployed rural youth' kicked off at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) today under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

 

In all, 30 participants from 12 states are attending the programme, which is being organised by the Department of Entomology, PAU.

 

Dr Balraj Singh, project coordinator, ICAR-All India Coordinated Research Project (AICRP) honey bees and pollinators, in his remarks said, 'Sixty per cent of honey is being exported. This helps in earning Rs760 crore through foreign exchange.'

 

Expressing concern over adulteration in honey, he stressed upon finding solutions to this problem. Dr Singh also informed that several projects were being sanctioned by the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission. Therefore, participants could avail this opportunity, he added.

 

Dr Sandeep Bains, nodal officer, winter school and Dean, postgraduate studies, PAU, who was the guest of honour on the occasion, revealed that the annual apiary production in Punjab was 17,000 metric tonnes.

 

'Punjab has emerged as a hub of beekeeping and PAU is a pioneer in apiculture diversification,' she added. Dr Bains further said that PAU was imparting trainings in beekeeping to supplement the income of farmers as well as unemployed youths.

 

Dr PPS Pannu, Additional Director, Research (Natural resources and plant health management), PAU, said, 'Honey is not only a sweetener, but an immunity booster and energy product as well.' Stating that the aim was to enhance its demand, he suggested that sweet shop owners and bakery item manufacturers should prefer honey over sugar. 'Rural youths can start commercial production of honey for good returns,' he advised.