Blitz Bureau
The Government is committed to reducing logistical barriers and enhancing market access for Indian agri and processed food products. This was stated by Sunil Barthwal, Secretary Department of Commerce, in his address at a high-level strategy meeting organised by Agricultural & Processed Food Products Authority (Apeda) in New Delhi.
Barthwal pointed out that “Academia and research institutions must be a part of multi-sectoral consultations so that research and development can be a major focus for innovation and sustainability in agri exports.” He emphasised that, agricultural production and productivity both are the need of the hour. He reaffirmed the Ministry’s commitment to further deliberate on the ideas and strategies discussed during the sessions.
The consultative dialogue brought together senior officials from the Union Government, Central Ministries, representatives from State Governments, policy experts, industry leaders from Agri trade and Processed Foods sector to deliberate on strategies for enhancing the export of Agricultural And Processed Food Products from India.
The inaugural session of the chintan shivir was co-chaired by Barthwal and Subrata Gupta, Secretary of Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI). The session was also attended by Special Secretary, Department of Commerce, Rajesh Agrawal; Additional Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Varsha Joshi, and other senior officers of the Union and State governments, policymakers and industry leaders.
Agri body mulls export growth strategy
In his opening remarks, Gupta highlighted the importance of infrastructure development and value addition to ensure sustainable export growth. He emphasised that there is a need to develop infrastructure, sanitary and phytosanitary standards at par with international norms, tariff plans and more synergy between Union Government, State Government, various departments and Industry stakeholders. He identified key potential products and sectors for processed foods exports like alcoholic beverages, nutraceuticals and Value-Added Products.
Agrawal emphasized the critical role of synergistic efforts among Union government, State Government, industry stakeholders and farming communities in realizing India’s agri-export potential. He emphasised on the need to have a more synergetic approach amongst various stakeholders to take new agriculture, processed food and Value Added Products to new geographies.
This chintan shivir was a first, one of its kind collaborative dialogue facilitated by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and Apeda with over 70 stakeholders from the Union Government, State Governments, Industry Leaders and Line Ministries at Vanijya Bhawan. 14 States from across the country namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal participated in the inaugural session. Industry leaders of agri and processed food sectors were represented by LT Foods, KRBL, Amul, Organic India, ITC, Meatzza, Suguna Foods, Kaybee, TPCI, Organic India, Allanasons, Fair exports, HMA exports, amongst others participated in the dialogue.
The meeting was divided into five parallel technical breakout sessions focusing on specific agri-trade commodities and processed food sector, as under:
Basmati and non-basmati rice: Engaged states such as Punjab, Haryana and Telangana as well as industry giants like LT Foods and KRBL. The discussion addressed export barriers, financial and policy support and branding strategies for Indian rice.
Animal products: Brought together key exporters and state representatives to identify value chain improvements and international compliance strategies.
Horticulture with participation from states like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh as well as companies such as Kaybee, explored ways to enhance quality, improve logistics, and strengthen industry-academia linkages.
Processed foods: Involved stakeholders like Britannia and Haldiram’s focusing on value addition, regulatory streamlining and branding of Indian products globally.
Organic products: Discussed opportunities in expanding India’s footprint in global organic markets with contributions from Organic India, Amul, ITC, and regulatory bodies like FSSAI.
A stakeholder consultation under the Co-Chairmanship of Secretary, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Secretary, Ministry of Ayush was held at Krishi Bhawan, New Delhi, to promote the cultivation and use of medicinal plants across the country. The meeting also saw participation from Ministry of Food Processing Industries, National Plant Medicinal Board (NPMB), State Horticulture Missions (SHMs), ICAR, State Medicinal Plant Boards, progressive farmers and leading private players from medicinal plant industry.