What is APEDA - Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority

APEDA – Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority with the objective of ensuring double exports and doubling farmers income ensure greater involvement of the State governments for effective implementation of Agri Export Policy.

APEDA is an important topic with regards to different competitive exams. Questions based on APEDA may be framed under the general awareness section of various Government exams. 

Facts like what is APEDA, its functions, mandates, etc are given in the article which will be beneficial for candidates preparing for the IAS Exam as well. They might encounter a question on APEDA under the Prelims and UPSC General Studies paper.

All government exam aspirants can visit the linked article and read about the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF), approved under the Atmanirbhar Bharat stimulus package for the establishment of infrastructure for dairy and meat processing and value addition infrastructure and establishment of animal feed plant in the private sector.

What is APEDA?

APEDA is an apex body authorised under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India established to promote the export of agricultural commodities and processed food products. APEDA full form is Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

APEDA – Overview

1. APEDA was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December 1985. 
2. The Authority replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC)
3. It has its headquarters at New Delhi and has set up five Regional Offices at Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Guwahati along with 13 virtual offices.
4. APEDA provides comprehensive export service and links Indian exporter to the global market. Additionally, it provides referral services and suggests suitable partners for a joint venture.
5. It has marked its presence in almost all Agro potential states in India to provide services to the Agri export community.
6. USA, UAE, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Iran and Nepal are the major importers of food products from India.
7. APEDA has undertaken a number of initiatives to enhance the existing e-Governance system (Read about E-governance in detail here) and introduced new online facilities for the benefit of stakeholders. Such as-
   • Developed paperless system for application filing, processing and certificate issuance for Organic Certification bodies including renewal of accreditation
   • Online processing of Electronic Annual Performance Appraisal Report(e-APAR) for the officials of APEDA was developed and implemented, etc.
   • A Farmer Connect Portal has also been set up by APEDA on its website for providing a platform for Farmer Producer Organisations and Farmer Producer Companies to interact with exporters. Over 800 FPOs have been registered on the portal. Read more on Farmers Producer Organization – FPO on the linked page.
   • Department of Commerce (DoC) approved the restructuring plan of APEDA. In addition to existing five Regional Offices, five new Regional Offices to be set up at Chandigarh, Chennai, Kochi, Ahmedabad and Lucknow.

Also, read about APMC-Agricultural Produce Market Committee on the link given here.

APEDA – Functions

1. Promotion of export-oriented production and development of the Scheduled products. In addition, APEDA has been entrusted with the responsibility to monitor the import of sugar.
2. Development of industries relating to the scheduled products for export by way of providing financial assistance or otherwise for undertaking surveys and feasibility studies, participating through subsidy schemes;
3. Registration of persons as exporters of the scheduled products and fixing of standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of export
4. Carrying out inspection of meat and meat products in places where such products are kept such as slaughterhouses, processing plants, storage premises, etc. for the purpose of ensuring the quality of the products
5. Improving packaging and marketing of the Scheduled products outside India;
6. Training in various aspects of the industries connected with the scheduled products

APEDA – Scheduled Products 

The export promotion and development of the following scheduled products is the responsibility of APEDA-

1. Fruits, Vegetables and their Products.
2. Meat and Meat Products.
3. Poultry and Poultry Products.
4. Dairy Products.
5. Confectionery, Biscuits and Bakery Products.
6. Honey, Jaggery and Sugar Products.
7. Cocoa and its products, chocolates of all kinds.
8. Alcoholic and Non-Alcoholic Beverages.
9. Cereal and Cereal Products.
10. Groundnuts, Peanuts and Walnuts.
11. Pickles, Papads and Chutneys.
12. Guar Gum.
13. Floriculture and Floriculture Products.
14. Herbal and Medicinal Plants.

Also, read about Major Crops in India on the given link.

Candidates preparing for government exams can check related schemes for the development of agriculture and farmers benefit-

APEDA- Composition of Authority

The APEDA authority consists of the following members:

1. A Chairman, appointed by the Central Government
2. The Agricultural Marketing Advisor to the Government of India, ex-official. 
3. One member appointed by the Central Government representing the Planning Commission
4. Three members of Parliament of whom two are elected by the House of People and one by the Council of States.
5. Eight members appointed by the Central Government representing respectively; the Ministries of the Central Govt.
   • Agriculture and Rural Development
   • Commerce
   • Finance
   • Industry
   • Food
   • Civil Supplies
   • Civil Aviation
   • Shipping and transport
6. Five members appointed by the Central Government by rotation in the alphabetical order to represent the States and the Union Territories
7. Seven members appointed by the Central Govt. representing
   • Indian Council of Agricultural Research
   • National Horticultural Board
   • National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation
   • Central Food Technological Research Institute
   • Indian Institute of Packaging
   • Spices Export Promotion Council and
   • Cashew Export Promotion Council.
8. Twelve members appointed by the Central Government representing
   • Fruit and Vegetable Products Industries
   • Meat, Poultry and Dairy Products Industries
   • Other Scheduled Products Industries
   • Packaging Industry
9. Two members appointed by the Central Government from amongst specialists and scientists in the fields of agriculture, economics and marketing of the scheduled products.

Other Related Links –

To know more about other Government Schemes visit the linked article.

Aspirants preparing for the UPSC exam can check the links given below –

1. IAS 2023
2. UPSC Calendar 2023
3. UPSC Syllabus
4. Analysis of the Press Information Bureau
5. Agriculture Questions for UPSC Mains GS 3

You can also check out the preparation strategies for competitive exams to fine-tune your exam prep.