India Has Small Share Of World's Vegetables Export: Sharma .

Despite accounting for 15 per cent of world's vegetables production, India has a relatively low, around 1.5 per cent, global share of export of veggies.

This is due to large domestic consumption, constrains of supply chain and marketing linkages, Commerce and Industry minister Anand Sharma said in a written reply.

Out of a global agricultural trade of USD 1802 billion in 2009, India's share was 1.55 per cent at USD 28 billion, he said quoting figures from United Nations Commodity Trade Statistics Database (UNCOMTRADE).

India is next only to China in production of vegetables.

The minister attributed the country's relatively small percentage of vegetables export to large domestic consumption, constrains of supply chain and marketing linkages.

Sharma also pointed to lack of warehousing facilities and post harvest technology for processing in this regard.

The minister said that essential commodities including foodgrains are allowed to be exported only after meeting the buffer stock and strategic reserve norms.

Quoting from APEDA (The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), under Commerce&Industry ministry, he said export of fresh onions went down by nearly 10 per cent to 16.64 million tonnes in 2009-10 as compared to 18.27 million tonnes a year ago.

Likewise, export of dried and preserved vegetables slided to 1.2 million tonnes in 2009-10 against 1.4 million tonnes in the previous year, Sharma said.

Source : indiareport.com