Government launches 3 portals for ease of agri-exports

New Delhi, April 3 (IANS) In a digital initiative to promote ease of exports, particularly for Indian agricultural products, the Commerce Ministry on Tuesday launched three portals - for Safe Food Export Traceability, Single Laboratory for Accreditation and Approvals, and the third for Monitoring Export Alerts from importing regulators.

While the Safe Food Export portal offers comprehensive linkages to primary producers, suppliers, establishments, laboratories and export certification, the "One Lab One Assessment" portal simplifies procedures by eliminating multiple asessments by multiple authorities for testing, which is an essential for food exports

The portal dedicated to monitoring export alerts is designed to improve efficiency of the system of corrective action on non-compliance alerts in food exports given by importing regulators, officials said here. 

Lauding the Export Inspection Council's digital initiative, Commerce Minister Suresh Prabhu said at the launch that India's vast potential for food and agri-exports is "truly underestimated". To realise this potential requires putting in place certain processes like these digital ones for easing exports and quality control, he said. 

"Food is a regulated item and so it is important to ensure that what consumers eat is what is promised to them. There is the need in India to process according to world taste..it is a quality issue," he said.

Noting that India has 7,600 km of coastline along 13 states, Prabhu said the country has enormous potential in marine and fish exports.

"We have 35 agro-climatic zones in the country and can produce everything the world eats," he added. 

He also said that substantial vegetable produce is lost due to lack of proper storage , while India has the unenviable tag of being the "second largest waster in the world" in this regard.

"Almost 30 per cent of our vegetable produce is wasted," he said.

The Minister also said that that the government has drafted an Agricultural Export Policy that has been put in the public domain inviting suggestions and comments.