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Hegde hints at cargo complexes for agri-business and sops for light engineering

Union Commerce Minister Ramakrishna Hegde has expressed concern over the low level of priority given to agriculture and the food processing industry and their export potential.

Addressing an agri-business seminar in Bangalore, Hegde said the major irritants in the exports sector were interest rates on export credit, and customs and excise duty related issues.

He said India had the capability and wherewithal to become a leader in agri-business. The need of the hour was focussed attention to the sector.

The main issue now bothering the country was the wide fluctuations in the prices of agricultural commodities. There was no stability or security in terms of product prices, he added.

He said his ministry was prepared to set up cargo complexes for perishable goods, on the lines of the one in Delhi, at all international airports in the country if the states provided necessary link-ups.

He said he would meet Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha early next week to discuss measures to remove the irritants that come in the way of increasing country's exports.

Hegde said the effort would be to provide the exporters a level playing field so that they could enjoy the same facilities as other exporting countries.

He said the government would also include light engineering industries in the export-import policy in the list of industries whose threshold investment limit had been reduced to Rs 10 million from Rs 200 million. These industries have been omitted when the policy was announced by him, he added.

Hegde stressed the need for declaring exports as number one national priority to achieve the targeted 20 per cent growth. Despite industrial recession and the sanctions, it would be possible to achieve the target if there was adequate commitment.

He said exports amounted to real earnings of the country as against the loan it raised from international agencies and the investments made by Non-Resident Indians and others.

Stating that exports were hit mainly due to bureaucratic delays and harassment, Hegde directed the officials to avoid repeated visits to exporters' offices.

UNI