AEZ and Export Marketing of Agri Products in India

Today India is the leading producer of fruits, vegetables, milk, marine products etc. Due to inadequate facilities for storage, transportation and processing, the post-harvest losses amount to 25-30 percent causing a monetary loss to the tune of several thousand crores. Food preservation and processing help in the proper utilization of the horticulture produce during glut and make it available during off-season. It plays an important role in enhancing the shelf life of the predominantly perishable commodities and in producing a diversified range of value-added products. With the primary objective of boosting the exports of fresh and processed agricultural produce from the country, the Government of India (GoI) announced a policy of setting up of Agri Export Zones (AEZs) across the country. These zones would be a part of the effort to provide improved access for India's agricultural and allied products in the International market. with a view to provide remunerative returns to thefarming community in a sustained manner and also for the purpose of developing and sourcing raw materials and their processing/packaging leading to final exports.