Role of Export Promotion Council in Food Industry

India is one of the largest producers and exporters of food and agricultural products in the world. But getting food products from Indian farms and factories to dinner tables across the globe isn’t just about growing or processing them – it requires a robust institutional framework. That’s where Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and related bodies step in. These organisations, operating under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, are specifically designed to help Indian food products meet international standards, find new markets, and compete globally. Let’s break down how these councils work and why they matter for India’s food industry.

What are export promotion councils? 🔗

Export Promotion Councils are industry-specific bodies set up by the Government of India to promote and develop exports from the country. In the food sector, these councils and authorities handle everything from registering exporters and setting quality standards to organising international trade fairs and providing financial support. They act as a bridge between Indian exporters and global buyers, offering market intelligence, trade data, and policy guidance.

For the food industry specifically, the key bodies include the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), and several Commodity Boards that deal with specific products like tea, coffee, and spices. Each of these organisations plays a distinct role in ensuring that Indian food exports grow both in volume and value.

APEDA: the backbone of agri-food exports 🔗

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is arguably the most important body when it comes to food exports from India. APEDA was established in 1986 under the APEDA Act of 1985, replacing the earlier Processed Food Export Promotion Council. It operates under the Department of Commerce with its headquarters in New Delhi and has regional offices across the country.

Products covered by APEDA 🔗

APEDA is responsible for promoting the export of a wide range of scheduled agricultural and processed food products. These include fruits, vegetables and their products, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, dairy products, confectionery, biscuits, cocoa products, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages, cereals including basmati rice, groundnuts, peanuts, and oil seeds, guar gum, floriculture and seed products, herbal and medicinal plants, and organic products. The authority also monitors sugar imports into India.

Key functions of APEDA 🔗

APEDA’s functions go well beyond simple promotion. The authority is tasked with developing export-oriented industries by providing financial assistance for surveys, feasibility studies, and joint ventures. It registers exporters of scheduled products, fixes quality standards and specifications for export products, and carries out inspection of meat and meat products at slaughterhouses, processing plants, and storage facilities.

One of APEDA’s important contributions is in market development. The authority organises participation in major international trade fairs such as BIOFACH in Germany, Gulfood in Dubai, and Natural Products Expo West in the USA. It also arranges buyer-seller meets both within India and abroad, connecting Indian exporters directly with international buyers. Regular interactions with Indian Missions overseas help identify and tap new export opportunities in different countries.

APEDA also runs a Financial Assistance Scheme with three key components – Market Development, Infrastructure Development, and Quality Development. Under these, registered exporters can receive financial support for participating in trade events, upgrading their processing facilities, and improving the quality of their products to meet international requirements.

APEDA and organic exports 🔗

An increasingly important role for APEDA is managing organic food exports. The authority serves as the secretariat for the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), which handles the accreditation of certification bodies for organic products meant for export. India’s diverse agro-climatic conditions give it significant potential in organic production, and APEDA has been actively working to tap this potential through dedicated portals, exporter directories, and promotional campaigns.

Traceability systems 🔗

To ensure the quality and safety of exported food products, APEDA has developed several digital traceability systems. These include Hortinet for fruits and vegetables, Peanut.Net for groundnuts, Meat.Net for meat products, TraceNet for organic products, and Basmati.Net for basmati rice. These platforms allow tracking of products from farm to export point, which helps meet the stringent traceability requirements of importing countries, especially in the European Union and North America.

MPEDA: driving India’s seafood exports 🔗

While APEDA handles agricultural and processed foods, the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) takes care of India’s seafood and marine product exports. MPEDA was established in 1972 under the MPEDA Act and is headquartered in Kochi, Kerala. It replaced the earlier Marine Products Export Promotion Council that had been functioning since 1961.

Scope and mandate 🔗

MPEDA’s mandate covers the promotion of exports of all varieties of fishery products – shrimp, prawn, lobster, crab, fish, shellfish, and other aquatic animals or plants. The authority focuses on several key areas: market promotion, capture fisheries, culture fisheries, processing infrastructure and value addition, quality control, and research and development.

India’s marine products exports have grown significantly over the years. According to the Department of Commerce, marine product exports reached an all-time high in volume during the financial year 2023-24, with over 17.81 lakh metric tonnes of seafood exported.

Key functions of MPEDA 🔗

MPEDA performs several critical functions for the seafood export industry. It registers exporters, fishing vessels, processing plants, and storage premises, categorising exporters into manufacturer exporters, merchant exporters, route-through merchant exporters, and ornamental fish exporters. The authority sets standards and specifications for marine products destined for export and carries out inspections to ensure compliance.

On the development side, MPEDA actively promotes aquaculture to boost export production. It supports hatchery development, new farm development, diversification of species, and technology upgradation. The authority also runs the National Residue Control Plan (NRCP) in line with EU requirements, testing aquaculture and fishery products for antibiotics, pesticides, and other banned substances. This is critical because many importing countries, especially in the EU, have very strict residue limits.

MPEDA operates through three key societies – NaCSA (National Centre for Sustainable Aquaculture), NETFISH (Network for Fish Quality Management and Sustainable Fishing), and RGCA (Rajiv Gandhi Centre for Aquaculture). It also maintains trade promotion offices in New Delhi, Tokyo, and New York to facilitate international marketing efforts.

Commodity boards: specialised export promotion 🔗

Beyond APEDA and MPEDA, India has five statutory Commodity Boards under the Department of Commerce that handle the production, development, and export of specific agricultural commodities. These are the Coffee Board, Tea Board, Rubber Board, Spices Board, and Tobacco Board. Each board is a specialised body with deep expertise in its respective commodity.

Tea Board 🔗

The Tea Board of India was established in 1954 under the Tea Act, 1953, and is headquartered in Kolkata. It promotes Indian tea in both domestic and international markets through branding and marketing initiatives. The Board also provides financial and technical assistance to tea growers and factories, supports R&D to improve tea varieties, and acts as a regulatory body controlling producers, manufacturers, exporters, and auction organisers.

Coffee Board 🔗

The Coffee Board, set up under the Coffee Act of 1942, is headquartered in Bangalore. It focuses on research, extension, development, quality upgradation, market intelligence, and both external and internal promotion of Indian coffee. The Board operates the Central Coffee Research Institute at Balehonnur in Karnataka and has regional research stations across coffee-growing states.

Spices Board 🔗

The Spices Board was constituted in 1987 under the Spices Board Act, 1986, by merging the erstwhile Cardamom Board and the Spices Export Promotion Council. Based in Kochi, it is responsible for the export promotion of 52 spices listed in its schedule and the development of cardamom (both small and large). The Board’s activities include setting up spices parks, supporting infrastructure improvement in spice processing, conducting research on medicinal properties of spices, developing new products, and running quality evaluation laboratories across the country.

Tobacco Board and Rubber Board 🔗

The Tobacco Board, established in 1976, is headquartered in Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, and handles export promotion of all tobacco varieties and their products. The Rubber Board, established under the Rubber Act of 1947, is based in Kottayam, Kerala, and promotes the development, research, and export of natural rubber and rubber-based products.

How these bodies ensure international quality standards 🔗

One of the most important roles of all these export promotion bodies is ensuring that Indian food products meet the quality and safety requirements of importing countries. This is not optional – without meeting these standards, products simply cannot enter foreign markets.

APEDA does this through its inspection systems for meat and processed food, its traceability platforms, and its role in the NPOP for organic certification. MPEDA implements the National Residue Control Plan and works closely with the Export Inspection Council to get processing units approved for exports to the EU and other markets. The Commodity Boards set quality standards specific to their commodities – for instance, the Spices Board runs quality evaluation labs and issues export registration certificates to spice exporters.

All of these bodies also help exporters understand and comply with the food safety regulations of specific countries. These regulations can vary significantly – what the EU requires is different from the standards in the USA, Japan, or the Gulf countries. By providing this guidance, the councils reduce the risk of consignment rejections and trade disputes.

Financial assistance and market development 🔗

A common thread across all these bodies is their commitment to supporting exporters with money and market access. APEDA’s Financial Assistance Scheme covers costs related to trade fair participation, infrastructure upgradation, and quality improvement. MPEDA operates similar schemes for the seafood sector, providing assistance for infrastructure development, modernisation of processing equipment, and market promotion activities.

The Government of India also runs the Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for specified agricultural products, which reimburses a portion of freight charges and marketing costs to help Indian exporters stay competitive in international markets. All exporters registered with the relevant Export Promotion Council for eligible products can benefit from this scheme.

Trade fairs and buyer-seller meets are a particularly effective tool. APEDA organises India Pavilions at major international food exhibitions worldwide. MPEDA promotes Indian seafood at global seafood fairs and maintains trade offices abroad. These events give Indian exporters direct access to international buyers, distributors, and retail chains, helping them build lasting business relationships.

The bigger picture: Agriculture Export Policy 2018 🔗

All of these export promotion bodies operate within the broader framework of the Agriculture Export Policy, 2018. This policy aims to double agricultural exports and integrate Indian farmers and agricultural products with global value chains. It calls for a coordinated approach between the Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Agriculture, with the goal of boosting both production and trade.

APEDA, MPEDA, the Commodity Boards, and other organisations like the Export Inspection Council and the Indian Institute of Packaging all work together under this policy framework. The focus is on removing bottlenecks in the export supply chain, improving cold chain infrastructure, simplifying regulatory processes, and building the “Brand India” image in global food markets.

India’s agricultural exports have crossed $50 billion in recent years, and these export promotion bodies have played a significant facilitative role in achieving this milestone. With growing global demand for Indian food products – from basmati rice and spices to seafood and organic produce – the work of these councils is more relevant than ever.

What do you think? With so many bodies working on food export promotion, do you think India needs better coordination among them to avoid overlap? And how can smaller food processors and farmer-producer organisations be better connected to export opportunities through these councils?

References

1. https://www.commerce.gov.in/about-us/department-of-commerce/department-setup-and-function/
2. https://apeda.gov.in/about-us
3. https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2003546
4. https://mpeda.gov.in/
5. https://www.commerce.gov.in/about-us/divisions/export-products-division/export-promotion-marine-products/
6. https://spsnellore.ap.gov.in/marine-products-export-development-authority-mpeda/
7. https://www.commerce.gov.in/useful-links/commodity-boards/
8. https://www.indianspices.com
9. https://www.pmfias.com/agri-export-apeda-mpeda/