Winners
take all
Compliance
with international quality standards and an assault on irrational
trade barriers is urgently required if India is to supercede its current
position in global environs, says VK Kaul
The
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
(Apeda) came into existence in 1986 with the mandate to promote and
develop exports of agricultural and processed food products in the
country. The real take-off year for Apeda was 1990, which interestingly
coincided with the advent of the liberalisation process initiated
by the Government of India. From a meager 450 members in 1990, and
with a turnover of Rs 1,066 crore, it grew to a current standing of
a whopping 18,000 members and a turnover of Rs 13,831 crore. The export
performance of various product segments serviced by Apeda can be summarised
in Table 1.
Current
performance
It
thus emerges that while there has been an overall cumulative growth
of 592 per cent in value terms during 1995-96 over 1990-91, the growth
between 2002-03 and 1995-96 has been 74 per cent. India’s export of
agricultural and allied products have increased by about $40 million
from 1998 to 2001. The share of agricultural exports in total exports
was 30 per cent in 1990-91 but has dropped to 22 per cent in 2001-02.
Floriculture
emerged as a thrust sector immediately after liberalisation and from
a turnover of Rs 18 crore in 1990-91 it has shown a phenomenal growth
to Rs 269 crore in 2002-03 – a growth of 1,394 per cent. All other
product segments have likewise shown substantial growth during the
same period, such as 497 per cent in the fresh fruits and vegetables
sector, 1,072 per cent in the processed fruits and vegetables sector,
1,085 per cent in the animal products sector, 764 per cent in other
processed foods sector and 1,471 per cent in
cereals.
This
phenomenal achievement was possible as a result of concerted and focused
steps taken towards the development of international trade for various
products over the years. In the horticulture sector various initiatives
undertaken include integrated training programmes, development of
infrastructure and pre and post-harvest protocols for specific varieties
of fresh produce possessing export potential. Similarly in the animal
products sector steps have been taken to institutionalise a plant
registration system for slaughter-houses and efforts to open up new
markets. In the vegetables sector, gherkins have attracted a lot of
domestic as well as international attention. Apeda has overseen the
building of a number of packhouses for horticulture and also state-of-the-art
slaughtering units. Most processing units have acquired the latest
versions of quality management systems like ISO (International Organisation
for Standardisation), HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)
and SQF (Safety, Quality, Food).
The
obstacles to trade
All
these efforts have, however, been interspersed with bottlenecks posed
by non-tariff barriers (NTB) created by the developed world, especially
those present in the EU and the US. The Common Agriculture Policy
(CAP) reforms implemented in the EU, which are targeted broadly to
provide protection and compensation to their farmers and frequent
changes adopted by them predominantly those pertaining to SPS (sanitary
and phyto-sanitary) measures have led to some difficulties.
The
WTO and India
In
the context of the WTO, the nature of the linkages between trade and
environmental measures in promoting sustainable development has become
a major concern for developing countries like India. The environmental
standards often resorted to by developed countries are seen as NTBs
by developing countries. The distinction between environmental standards
and health and quality standards is gradually blurring, thus creating
difficulties in compliance with SPS measures in place in import markets
resulting in diminished exports by some developing countries.
contd...
TO
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