A new agricultural exports policy is required: Suresh Prabhu

The Dollar Business Bureau

Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu said on Monday that India needs a new agricultural exports policy focussing on enhancing the exports of agricultural products from the country and to increase the incomes of the farmers.

“A new agricultural exports policy is required that lays focus on increasing exports of value-added agricultural products so that farmers can access international markets and increase their income,” Prabhu said while speaking at the 3rd meeting of Council of Trade Development and Promotion in New Delhi.

Prabhu further emphasised on the participation of states to explore ways for tapping into global trade, which is pegged at around $5 trillion, by promoting exports of services, value addition to agricultural products, organic farming, utilisation of the benefits given to the special economic zones (SEZs) and generating employment.

In order to make the export policy of India more state-centric, the Minister has called upon all states to come up with their export policies and said the Government is considering to incentivize the states to increase goods and services exports from the country.

“We are thinking of ideas whereby we can incentivise the states which promote exports. I’ve mooted this idea before the states and asked them to give their ideas on this. States being well aware of their responsibility in this area, it has been decided that all states should have an export policy,” he said.

“The idea of incentivising states has just been mooted; we have not worked out any package. States are feeling responsibility because they will only be benefiting from increased exports,” he added.

The Minister also stressed on the significance of creating an enabling environment in order to promote exports. “There was a need to develop state and district level strategies. Districts should be the new units of growth and planning should be done around this,” he said. 

Till now, 14 states have drafted their export policy, including Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Tripura, Assam, Manipur, Jharkhand and Jammu & Kashmir.

Prabhu further said that three more states - Delhi, Goa and Sikkim - are about to begin preparing their export policy.