The government expects exports from the country to hit another new high this fiscal with no signs of early resolution to the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine.

Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles told the media that exports worth a record $42 million were achieved in March this year. He said the Centre was yet to fix target for exports as it is consulting all stakeholders. “We have a bottoms up approach. Some are seeking a higher target. We will coordinate and fix the target,” he said.

The conflict between Russia and Ukraine has disrupted the global supply chain creating turbulence in shipping logistics and currency depreciation, he said.

India is coordinating with all the countries facing food supply shortage and inviting their envoys to coordinate on the ground to get things going at the earliest, said Goyal.

The Ministry is in close coordination with export promotion councils and industry to achieve export target. The supply of wheat to Egypt was approved after APEDA took a team of visiting delegation on tour to Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and various testing labs to assure quality shipments, he added.

Wheat exports

The approval for wheat exports which was pending for 10 years was done in 15 days after the Egyptian delegates had a field visit. The inventory at the Food Corporation of India godown will now feed the world and support Indian farmers realise better earnings, he said.

When the world is looking up on India to feed them, the country should be careful on quality and ensure the best products are exported to develop long term equity. With this opportunity, India should establish itself as the largest supplier of wheat to the world, he said.

Boosting entrepreneurship

The performance linked incentive (PLI) scheme announced by the government has encouraged industries across sector to set up fresh capacity targeting exports. The government is also planning to support start-ups in many areas. India has emerged as the third largest after the US and China with 92 unicorns and the government is ready to support entrepreneurship in the country, he said.

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