(FE)
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) will review on Monday the farm export policy floated by the commerce ministry, a source told FE. The draft export policy, which has been circulated for inter-ministerial consultations, has proposed to keep the outbound shipment of processed and organic items free of any restriction.
Senior commerce ministry officials will brief the PMO about various aspects of the export policy and its intent on which the ministry has moved the cabinet note, said the source.Delivering his Independence Day speech, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced that the new agriculture export policy will be unveiled soon to boost farm income. The policy is aimed at doubling the country’s farm exports to over $60 billion by 2022.
Once the Cabinet endorses this proposal, the commerce ministry is expected to start consultations with the ministries of agriculture, food and consumer affairs to gather consensus on a policy to limit export curbs to only a very few farm items, such as rice and wheat, that are crucial to the country’s food security, and not all the dozen-odd items that are considered essential commodities. This means the scope for periodic curbs on exports of politically-sensitive onion or pulses, cotton and sugar that the government has resorted to in the past will be ended if there is a consensus. These curbs include the imposition of minimum export price, export duty and an outright ban on exports.
