By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, MARCH 21, 2018: KEEN to integrate the Indian farmers and agricultural products to the global value chain, the government has released a draft agriculture export policy seeking inputs from the stake-holders. The policy is expected to bring another round of revolution like the green revolution. Elaborating on the stable trade policy regime, it notes that given the domestic price and production volatility of certain agricultural commodities, there has been a tendency to utilise the policy as an instrument to attain short-term goals of taming inflation, providing price support to farmers and protecting the domestic industry.

The government has also sought to provide policy assurance to producers that processed agricultural and organic products will not be put under export restrictions such as minimum export price (MEP), export duty even when the primary agricultural product or non-organic agricultural product is brought under some kind of export restrictions to stabilise domestic prices. However, the door has been kept open for restrictions on commodities considered essential for food security.

The policy asks for reforming the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) laws across states. The draft policy has also pitched for greater involvement of states, improvement in infrastructure and logistics and promotion of research and development activities for new product development for upcoming markets. The draft policy also said that monopoly of the Agricultural Produce Market Committee prevents private players from setting up markets and investing in market infrastructure.

The policy paper recalls that between 2012-13 and 2016-17, the country's agri trade dwindled from USD 36 billion to USD 31 billion, a 5% annual drop. India's export basket is led by marine products (USD 5.8 billion), meat (USD 4 billion) and rice (USD 6 billion), together 52% of the total in agri products. Despite India occupying a leading position in global trade of these products, its total agri export basket still accounts for only a little over 2% of world agri trade, estimated at a massive USD 1.37 trillion.