Prabhu mulls new policy to promote farm exports

New Delhi : Outlining his priority, new Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said the ministry will work on promoting agri exports and will ensure global market for farmers. Prabhu said that farmers have all the right to access global markets and get better prices and “for that we will put in place a good policy framework very soon”.

Prabhu, who took charge as Commerce and Industry Minister on Monday, said that his ministry will work on developing a global supply chain for the agriculture sector. Addressing the 10th Agriculture Leadership Summit 2017 here, the minister said at the multi-lateral platforms also, there is a need to work on removing trade restrictions with an aim to boost the country’s agri shipments.

“We have right to have access to global markets for our farm produce by removing all trade restrictive practices,” he said, adding that all these measures would help increase farmers’ income.

The Narendra Modi government aims to double farmers’ income by 2022. Crop diversification, focus on allied sectors and food processing and tapping global markets are among the steps the government is taking to meet the target. In 2016-17, export of agri products, such as cereals, processed fruit and vegetables, processed foods, and animal products, was around INR 1,041.64 billion, according to the data by Apeda.

Prabhu said the ministry will work on developing global supply chains for the sector. “We have to develop global supply chains and we are going to actually work on that,” he added. The Commerce Ministry, Prabhu said, will make sure that “we will achieve this goal to ensure that India’s agri sector will also be able to feed hundreds of others”.

“As a commerce minister,” he said, “My job is to ensure that we will develop this global supply chain and ensure farmer get better prices.” Domestically, the ministry will work with its agri counterparts to develop agriculture parks in India. “If here are clusters for industry, why should we not think about clusters for different kinds of agriculture,” he said.

Further Prabhu informed that soon, he would be meeting trade ministers in Manila (the Philippines) and Seoul (South Korea).