APEDA’s Initiatives and Financial Assistance Programs Drive 47.3% Growth in Export Volumes

India's Fruit and Vegetable Exports Surge with Government Support, Reaching New Global Markets.

The Department of Commerce through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is actively supporting the growth of India's fruit and vegetable exports, offering substantial financial assistance to member exporters across the country under the Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme for the 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26). These initiatives focus on three broad areas that support exporters in enhancing infrastructure, quality standards, and market promotion for India's agricultural products. Key Areas of Financial Assistance:

1. Infrastructure Development Scheme: APEDA provides financial support for the establishment of essential facilities like packhouses, including packing and grading lines, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, and pre-shipment treatment facilities such as irradiation, vapor heat treatment, and hot water dip treatment. It also supports the creation of common infrastructure and the provision of reefer vans to bridge gaps in existing export infrastructure.

2. Quality Development Scheme: Assistance is provided for the purchase of laboratory testing equipment, the installation of quality management systems, and the provision of handheld devices for farm-level traceability and testing of water, soil, and pesticide residues.

3. Market Promotion Scheme: The financial assistance covers participation in international trade fairs, organizing buyer-seller meetings, and the development of packaging standards for both existing and new products.

The full details of these financial assistance programs can be found on the APEDA website under the "Scheme" tab.

Impressive Growth in Export Volumes:

As a result of these targeted initiatives, India's exports of fruits and vegetables have seen a remarkable growth of 47.3% between 2019-2020 and 2023-2024. This surge reflects the success of the schemes and the proactive steps taken by the government to bolster India's position in the global agricultural export market.

India's fresh fruits and vegetables now reach 123 countries globally. Over the past three years, India has gained access to 17 new markets, including Brazil, Georgia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, the Czech Republic, and Ghana. This achievement has been driven by the government's efforts to participate in international trade fairs, engage in market access negotiations, and organize buyer-seller meets.

Collaboration for Market Access:

The Department of Commerce is closely coordinating with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare (MoA&FW) to prioritize agricultural products for market access negotiations aimed at entering new global markets. As part of this effort, India has secured market access for key products in the following countries:

• Serbia: Indian potatoes and onions
• Canada: Indian baby corn and fresh bananas
• Australia, USA, Serbia, and New Zealand: Pomegranate arils
• Australia: Whole pomegranates via irradiation treatment

Challenges in Accessing New Markets:

Despite these successes, barriers to market access remain, particularly for fruits and vegetables. Some of the main challenges include:

• High logistical costs due to long geographic distances.
• Delays in granting market access by importing countries.
• Stringent phyto-sanitary requirements in some countries.
• Delays in the registration of enterprises by importing countries.

Government Measures to Address Market Access Barriers:

To overcome these challenges, the Department of Commerce has implemented several strategies:

1. Identifying key products and countries for intensifying market access negotiations with MoA&FW and APEDA.
2. Developing sea protocols for horticultural products to reduce logistics expenses and enable larger volumes of exports.
3. Regular follow-ups with counterpart authorities of importing countries, leveraging the support of India's missions abroad for the registration of facilities and market access negotiations.
4. Setting up traceability systems and farmer and facility registration to meet stringent phyto-sanitary requirements, ensuring smoother trade flows.

States Leading in Fruit and Vegetable Production:

India's major fruit and vegetable producing states include Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, and Karnataka. However, data on state-wise export figures for fruits and vegetables is not available due to the lack of validation by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S).

The ongoing efforts by APEDA, in conjunction with government ministries and industry stakeholders, are expected to continue driving the growth of India's agricultural exports, further enhancing the country's global presence in the market for fresh fruits and vegetables.