Annual Report 2009-2010 - Department of Agriculture & Co-operation

Annual Report 2009-2010
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11.5 Agricultural trade during 2008-09 shows
a healthy balance, which can be boosted further
if the export of traditional and new agricultural
products like marine products, rice (basmati),
other cereals, tea, coffee, cashew nuts, oil meals,
floriculture, cotton, niger seed, etc., can be
increased further.
11.6. The post Uruguay round experience has
been a mixed one for agricultural trade in India.
While exports in certain areas, have registered a
high growth, in certain other areas, the growth
rate has not been satisfactory. Exports of rice
(basmati and non-basmati), coffee, tobacco, dairy
and poultry products, spices, groundnut, guar
gum meal, oil meal, fresh fruits and vegetables,
meat and its preparations, raw cotton including
waste, and paper/wood products have shown
significant growth. Exports of pulses, castor oil,
and marine products have not shown significant
growth. At the global level, average bound tariffs
have been reduced in the Uruguay round.
However, measures like, tariff escalation, variable
tariffs, complex tariffs and also certain nontechnical
barriers still persist. Domestic support
and export subsidies continue to remain high in
a few developed countries. For most high-value
agricultural products, including fruits and
vegetables, fish, beef, poultry products, and
spices, many importing countries have
developed new standards, besides tightening
existing standards. These factors have acted as
inhibiting forces in actualising the export growth
potential of the country. Other factors that have
led to limited exports, include infrastructure
inadequacies, poor quality awareness, and poor
post-harvest management.
11.7 Globalisation has led to increased
competition from international markets and
pressure to dismantle protectionist instruments.
Since agriculture in India is more a matter of
livelihood than a commercial venture, it is
necessary to build capacities in the system so
that it is able to withstand the forces of
globalisation and compete wherever possible.
While there are a large number of issues to be
addressed at the micro and macro levels, the
Capacity Building to Enhance the
Competitiveness of Indian Agriculture and
Registration of Organic Products Abroad scheme
aims to address some of the limited micro-level
capacity creation issues. The capacity building
under this scheme may be in the form of
academic, relevant research, market surveys
(domestic and international), or in the form of
creation of physical assets critical to agriculture
in the international context.
11.8 The EC-India Joint Working Group on
Agriculture and Marine Products has been set
up in the Department of Agriculture and
Cooperation for facilitating and promoting
agricultural trade between India and the
European Union. The 3rd meeting of the Joint
Working Group was held in New Delhi on 14
October 2009 to discuss agricultural policies,
growth in bilateral trade, and issues of mutual
interest related to agricultural trade.
11.9 Negotiations on PTAs/FTAs are at various
stages of progress with MERCOSUR (Brazil,
Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay), BIMSTEC
(Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka
and Thailand), the Gulf Cooperation Council
(Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and
the United Arab Emirates), Thailand, and the
European Union. India has signed the Trade in
Goods Agreement with ASEAN countries and a
Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement with South Korea in 2009. Agricultural
commodities which are vulnerable to global
competition and which are crucial for food and
livelihood security have been kept out of the
purview of these agreements. Besides, stringent
rules of origin norms and built-in safeguards have
been put in place to protect the interest of
farmers.