Agriculture Export Policy 2018: Objectives, Strategy, Clusters & Current Status

What is the Agriculture Export Policy, 2018?

The Union Cabinet approved the Agriculture Export Policy on 6 December 2018. It was designed as a comprehensive policy for agricultural export-oriented production, export promotion, improved farmer realization and better coordination among Central and State Government policies and programmes.

The policy recognised that India has a large and diverse agricultural base but also faces challenges such as low productivity in some segments, inadequate infrastructure, global price volatility, fragmented supply chains, sanitary and phytosanitary barriers and unpredictable market access.

Its broader approach is farmer-centric: improve value addition at source, reduce losses across the supply chain, create export-oriented production systems and connect farmers to international markets.

Vision and Objectives of Agriculture Export Policy

Vision

The policy's stated vision is to harness the export potential of Indian agriculture through suitable policy instruments, make India a global power in agriculture and raise farmers' income.

Main Objectives

• Diversify India's agricultural export basket and export destinations.
• Promote high-value and value-added agricultural exports, including perishables.
• Encourage exports of novel, indigenous, organic, ethnic, traditional and non-traditional agricultural products.
• Create institutional mechanisms for market access and for addressing sanitary and phytosanitary barriers.
• Integrate Indian agriculture more closely with global value chains.
• Enable farmers to benefit from export opportunities in overseas markets.

Elements of the Agriculture Export Policy Framework

The policy recommendations are divided into two broad categories: Strategic and Operational.

Stable and Predictable Agricultural Trade Policy

A central concern of the policy is the impact of frequent export restrictions on India's reliability as a long-term supplier. Sudden export bans, minimum export prices, quotas or similar restrictions can disrupt supply chains and affect price realization for farmers and exporters.

The Agriculture Export Policy therefore sought a more stable and predictable trade-policy environment, while recognising that food security, domestic availability and exceptional price situations may still require government intervention.

Policy Approach to Export Restrictions

• Processed agricultural products and organic products were intended, as a policy principle, to be protected from routine export restrictions even where the corresponding primary or non-organic product may face restrictions.
• Commodities critical to food security may be separately identified in consultation with relevant Ministries and stakeholders.
• Exceptional restrictions on identified essential commodities are to be considered in a manner compatible with India's international obligations.
• The policy also contemplated liberalised import of agricultural products for value addition and re-export.

Cluster-Based Agricultural Export Development

The policy adopted a cluster approach so that product-specific agricultural regions could receive focused attention in production, aggregation, processing, certification, logistics and export-market linkages.

Government implementation updates subsequently reported identification of product-district clusters across States and the formation of monitoring and cluster-level mechanisms. APEDA has played a key role in connecting Farmer Producer Organisations, farmers and exporters and in supporting export-oriented cluster development.

Products covered through cluster-oriented implementation have included horticulture, plantation crops, spices, marine products and other high-potential agricultural commodities.

Promotion of Value-Added and Processed Agricultural Exports

The policy emphasises moving beyond bulk primary-commodity exports towards higher-value processed and branded products. Greater value addition can improve farmer realization, reduce post-harvest losses, create processing-sector employment and strengthen India's position in international food markets.

The policy particularly encourages high-value, organic, indigenous, ethnic, traditional and non-traditional agricultural products and supports a stronger role for food processing, packaging and export-oriented manufacturing.

Market Access, Sanitary Standards and Quality

Agricultural exporters frequently face sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, residue limits, traceability rules, certification requirements and product-specific import conditions in destination markets. The policy therefore calls for an institutional mechanism to address market-access barriers and strengthen India's quality-control framework.

Implementation measures have included export certification, traceability, cluster support, testing infrastructure, capacity building and cooperation between APEDA, Farmer Producer Organisations, cooperatives and other stakeholders.

Role of State Governments

The Agriculture Export Policy envisages significant participation by State Governments because agriculture, infrastructure, local logistics and production systems require State-level coordination. States have been encouraged to prepare their own agriculture-export action plans, nominate nodal agencies and establish monitoring arrangements.

Implementation and Current Relevance

Implementation of the Agriculture Export Policy has included State-specific action plans, cluster development, exporter-FPO linkages, quality and certification support, export-promotion measures and efforts to improve logistics and market connectivity.

The policy also works alongside broader export-promotion instruments and programmes administered by the Department of Commerce, APEDA and DGFT. These may include market-access support, export infrastructure, duty-remission mechanisms and district-level export promotion, depending on the current scheme and notification.

For present-day export decisions, businesses and farmers should verify the latest commodity-specific export policy, DGFT notifications, APEDA requirements, importing-country standards and applicable incentive schemes.

Key Takeaways

• Agriculture Export Policy 2018 remains the core policy framework for promoting agricultural exports.
• The original US$60 billion by 2022 target is historical.
• The continuing policy emphasis is on diversification, value addition, quality, logistics, market access and farmer benefit.
• Clusters and stronger FPO/exporter linkages are central implementation tools.
• Current export restrictions must always be checked from the latest DGFT notifications.