Export of agro produce crucial: Kamal Nath

New Delhi, July 17: Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath has said that exports from agricultural sector have a crucial role to play in long term as it has the potential to provide a better remunarative price to the farmers for their produce.

Addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee members attached to his Ministry on 'Infrastructure for agro-exports' here last evening Mr Nath said, ''India has a huge potential for organic farming and exports of organic agro-products will be promoted in a big way by the government''.

He noted that infrastructure remains the major problem confronting Indian agriculture in general and agro-exports in particular. He stressed the need to strengthen the cold chain network, transportation, warehousing etc, to ensure that wastage is minimised and the agricultural produce meets high quality standards.

Mr Nath also informed the members that there was a need to further expand our agro-trade to overseas markets and highlighted the recent success in getting market access for mangoes in Japan and the USA. Australia and New Zealand are yet to open their markets on mangoes while Russia is not allowing import of egg and meat.

There are also other commodities like gherkins and floriculture products that face certain barriers in the EU. ''The Ministry is committed to engage with other countries and agencies to remove the current impediments to achieve higher agricultural exports to these markets'', he said.

The meeting was attended by the Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh, Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar, along with Commerce Secretary G K Pillai and Secretary Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion(DIPP) Ajay Dua.

UNI