The Hindu Business Line : FIEO panel seeks long-term strategies for agro exports

Mangalore, April 12 The FIEO (Federation of Indian Export Organisations) Committee on Agro Exports and AEZ has stressed on the need for long-term strategies for the growth of agro exports.

Reacting to the annual supplement to the Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09 — which was released by the Union Commerce Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, Mr Walter D’Souza, Convenor of the committee, said that the annual supplement has continued with a few of the short-term measures required to boost agro exports, without addressing the all-important long-term strategies that will lead to India getting its due place among the comity of nations of the world.

Achieving 5% share

If the dream of achieving 5 per cent share in global trade has to be a reality, it is imperative that the Ministry adopts long-term strategies.

“On the agro exports front, it is necessary to arrest the colossal waste of agricultural produce, by addressing infrastructural and logistic issues such as cold chains, railway connections and air cargo complexes with fastest connectivity,” Mr D’Souza said.

Future planning

It is also important to incentivise the packaging of the Indian agro merchandise to raise the bar to international levels.

The policy has not addressed these issues enough. It is time the Ministry looked at the need-based financial allocations on these areas as an investment in the future rather than expenditure for the present, he said.

“We request the Commerce Minister to interact with the agro exporters and chalk out a road map that will give a paradigm shift for the growth of the Indian agro exports,” he said.

The short-term policies include general incentives such as duty entitlement passbook and streamlining of procedures.

The incentive in the form of interest subvention is welcome to tide over the problem in the wake of currency appreciation, he added.

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