The North News
New Delhi, December 20
The Centre government is closely monitoring the country’s import and export activity and is prepared to adjust trade policy to protect domestic interests, particularly in agriculture. An inter-ministerial committee, which includes the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, keeps regular track of essential agricultural commodities, assessing their availability, market conditions and any surge in imports that could affect domestic production or food security. Where necessary, the department recommends steps such as higher import duties or port restrictions to curb avoidable imports. The information was shared by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Ramnath Thakur in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.
The government said farmers are also being shielded from market volatility through a range of interventions, including procurement under the Minimum Support Price mechanism for notified crops, price stabilisation operations for essential items such as onions, buffer stocking by central agencies, and income support schemes to offset fluctuations in earnings.
At the same time, efforts are under way to strengthen farmers’ access to overseas markets. The Department of Commerce, through Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), provides financial assistance to exporters, including Farmer Producer Organisations and Farmer Producer Companies, under its Financial Assistance Scheme.
The APEDA also supports exporters in implementing and certifying Good Agricultural Practices, enabling Indian farm produce to meet quality standards set by importing countries. According to the government, more than 1,080 capacity-building and training programmes were conducted across India during 2025–26, in partnership with state agencies, to link farmer groups to export supply chains and encourage them to become exporters.
In addition, APEDA has facilitated the participation of farmer groups and exporters in major international food exhibitions and buyer-seller meets in India and abroad, including World Food India, Indus Food, AAHAR and Gulf Food.
