Incidentally, the commerce ministry has raised the target for overall exports of agro produce set by APEDA. APEDA had earlier projected a total export of worth Rs 7,81,400 lakh or $1,977.23 million. The commerce ministry has raised it to Rs 7,99,900 lakh or $2,024.04 million. The ministry has raised target set for exports of floriculture and seeds, processed fruits and vegetables and livestock products.

Though the targets have been fixed neither the commerce ministry nor the APEDA is in a position to explain how these targets could be achieved as no action plan has so far been developed for specific items regarding exploration of new markets and other necessary strategies for sustaining the existing markets.However, APEDA is busy contacting private consultancy agencies for drawing up action plan for specific items.

One of the major hope for achieving export target for the year hinges on rice, whose production in 1997-98 is likely to marginally exceed the target and stand at 83.5 million tonne. The target set for rice production in 1997-98 was 83 million tonne. The exports of non-basmati rice declined to 1.4 million tonne in 1997-98 from 1.9 million tonne in 1996-97.

Brigadier Anil Adlekha, executive director, All India Rice Exporters Association, told The Financial Express that exporters intend to export two million tonnes of non-basmati rice and half-a-million tonne of basmati rice this year. In the previous year, the exporters exported 1.4 million tonnes of non-basmati rice and 0.5 million tonnes of basmati rice. With a good rice production in the country, Adlekha is optimistic of achieving his target.

Unlike APEDA or the commerce ministry, he has already drawn up an action plan to tap the Indonesianmarket. In Indonesia, due to low production, there is a shortfall of about 3 million tonnes of rice for meeting domestic requirements this year. He expects that Indonesia can be persuaded to buy at least 4 lakh tonnes of rice from India.

Adlekha further stated that another new market being explored is Philippines, where there is a shortfall of one million tonnes of rice to meet domestic requirements. He said besides these two new markets, India will be exporting rice to middle east countries, African countries, European Union, North America and Russia who are traditional importers of Indian rice. He said that Thailand will be a major competitor for India as far as rice exports were concerned. The other prospective agro items for exports this year will be coffee, tea, soyabean, milk and marine products whose production in 1997-98 has shown an upward trend.

The production figures for fruits and vegetables, spices, cashew, arecanut, coconut in 1997-98 are so far not available with the government and hence itis difficult to discuss export potentials for them in the current year.