The Hindu Business Line : Govt to boost horticulture exports

Efforts are under way to make the Agri-Export Zones (AEZs) supportive of the National Horticulture Mission (NHM) with a view to increasing the share of horticulture exports from the extant level of 2 to 5 per cent in a five-year period, besides ensuring export receipts to go up from Rs 600 to 1,000 crore.

Sources in the Government told Business Line here that the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, chaired a review meeting with the Horticulture Commissioner and Director of the NHM, Dr M.L. Chaudhury, in a bid to map out strategies for improving export of horticultural produce and shoring up infrastructure facilities.

The sources said while the Agriculture Ministry looks after the NHM, the Department of Commerce is directly in touch with the Agriculture Ministry to set up export-related infrastructure for horticulture.

The sources said the NHM had a remit to double production for meeting the increasing demand for nutritional security and improving income of farmers which would contribute to more employment, value-addition through processing and faster GDP growth in agriculture.

he sources said horticulture now contributed 28.5 per cent of GDP in agriculture and 52 per cent of export share in agriculture from cultivated area of 10.0 per cent with India being the largest producer of banana, mango and cabbage and enjoying highest productivity in grapes, sapota and banana.

However, the sources said, problem areas are many. Large area under old/senile plantations, lack of irrigation and economy of scales, inadequate storage and cold chain, high wastages of the produce ranging from 8 to 37 per cent and only 0.8 per cent of produce is processed.

For reasons of poor export, the sources point out that low surplus was only available for export due to high domestic demand (current production levels of horticultural crops being below demand).

There was also poor quality of produce due to lack of awareness and infrastructure for post-harvest handling and inadequate marketing strategies in developed nations about Indian horticulture produce compounded by lack of awareness about global quality standards.

It is against this backdrop that the Department of Commerce is roping in the support of AEZs to lend weight to NHM by a focused strategy to plug the deficit in infrastructure facilities for exports, Mr Ramesh told Business Line when contacted here. He said that at the review meeting some important decisions were taken.

This also follows his meeting last week with the Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Sharad Pawar, as to how best to keep the NHM supportive of horticulture export. Accordingly, he said, Spices Board has been directed to prepare a comprehensive proposal on testing and standards facilities in view of ecological issues entailed in the export of horticulture produce.

He cited the case of chillies, which do not have proper testing facility in places such as Andhra Pradesh where it is grown and exported.

The Minister said the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) will also submit within a month standards and quality control facilities available within the country for mango, pineapple, guava and sapota. He said Tea Board had been asked to study inter-cropping between tea and horticulture produce so as to increase production of horticulture produce too.

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