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More allocation on account of sustaining higher export receipts

G. Srinivasan

New Delhi, July 10 The Commerce Ministry is pitching for higher allocation of funds to important commodity boards to undertake promotion and marketing efforts of these bodies during the 11th Plan (2007-12) at Rs 3,930 crore, against the 10th Plan allocation of Rs 1,715 crore.

Official sources told Business Line here that the higher allocation for important commodity boards such as tea, coffee, rubber, spices, marine products and vegetable and fruits and other agricultural exports was on account of susta ining the higher export receipts of these sectors in the last fiscal.

Moreover, with non-tariff barriers cropping up everywhere, the need for beefing up indigenous support infrastructure in terms of testing facilities and other amenities such as processing of the produce for value-addition also entails higher outlays in order to realise reasonably solid outcome, they said.

Out of Rs 1,715 crore set apart for commodity boards of tea, rubber, coffee, spices and APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products’ Export Development Authority) and MPEDA (Marine Products Export Development Authority) during the 10th Plan, the actual expenditure was slightly lower at Rs 1,623.32 crore.

This was mainly due to the under-utilisation of expenditure by the Coffee Board and to a certain extent by APEDA.

While APEDA was able to utilise Rs 258 crore during the 10th Plan against the allocation of Rs 310 crore, the Coffee Board was able to utilise Rs 205.50 crore against the allocation of Rs 300 crore for the quinquennium. Against the performance of these two boards, the Tea Board spent Rs 398.35 crore, against Rs 350 crore allocated, MPEDA spent Rs 227.75 crore (Rs 200 crore), Rubber Board spent Rs 402.23 crore (Rs 415 crore) and Spices Board spent Rs 140 crore (Rs 140.67 crore).

When contacted about the enhanced outlay being sought by the Department of Commerce for the 11th Plan, the Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, said he had held a preliminary round of discussion with the Planning Commission, Deputy Chairman, Mr Montek Singh Ahluawalia, on this issue on Monday. He said Mr Ahluwalia was “sympathetic” to the demand for enhanced allocation of funds as he felt that these are “crucial sectors” with employment and export potentials. Besides, these sectors were also in line with the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s priority for agriculture and allied activities.

Mr Ramesh conceded that the Coffee Board could not spend the allocated outlay during the 10th Plan and he would discuss the matter with the Coffee Board Chairman and said he was undertaking a three-day spot visit to Karnataka’s three districts of Chikmagalur, Hasan and Kodagu which accounts for 70 per cent of the country’s coffee production beginning on July 12 to assess the ground level situation at coffee states/curing works and also to interact with coffee growers.

For the 11th Plan, the Department of Commerce is seeking Rs 3,930 crore comprising Rs 1,000 crore for Tea Board, Rs 580 crore for Rubber Board, Rs 750 crore for Coffee Board, Rs 350 crore for Spices Board, Rs 750 crore for APEDA and Rs 500 crore for MPEDA.

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