A tussle is going on between the Ministry of Food Processing Industries and the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare to bring Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) under their respective jurisdiction. Currently, this export body is an independent one which comes under the Commerce Department.
Responsible for export promotion and development of 14 agricultural and processed foods, APEDA contributed to US$ 18.8 billion out of the total US$ 331 billion exports by India in 2018-19. It also monitors the import of sugar in India. In a related development, the Commerce Ministry has asked industry associations whether product specific EPCs are needed to promote processed food exports in India.
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