Indian government’s flagship scheme to export vegetables from agriculture produce-rich regions of India kicked off today and the first trial shipment was sent to Dubai via sea on Thursday. “Considering the potential of production of fruits and vegetables in Varanasi region comprising of five districts namely, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Chandauli, Mirzapur and Sant Ravidas Nagar, APEDA is in the process of setting up Agri export hubs,” Ministry of Commerce & Industry said in a statement on Thursday. The first shipment has 14 million tonnes of fresh produce which is sourced from Ghazipur and Varanasi. The region is famous for vegetables such as cauliflower, tomatoes, chillies, brinjals, cabbage, peas, beans, among others.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) had earlier organised an export promotion programme and Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) in order to provide a platform to link farmers to exporters. The platform provided a chance to the exporters to understand the potential of the region, quality of vegetables and fruits produced so that they could facilitate the right infrastructure. The government has also set up a committee to ensure “fast-track” development of infrastructure, strengthening backward linkage and supply chain for international markets.
Meanwhile, the prices of vegetables in the country are on an upward swing and according to RBI, the same is likely to continue in the coming months as well. Hike in prices of food items such as milk, pulses, and sugar will continue to stay at the elevated levels. Onion prices, especially have been on fire for a month now and have not come down from Rs 100 per kg. The same has forced the central bank to revise the CPI inflation projection upwards to 4.7-5.1% for H2 FY20 and 3.8-4% in H1 FY21. RBI has also said that with the arrival of the produce of late Kharif season coupled with government’s measures, the same is likely to soften vegetable prices by early February 2020.
Source: Financial Express
