The Center has significantly increased the allocation for the plantation sector and believes that commodities such as tea, coffee, spices and rubber can contribute to achieving the targeted exports of $400 billion for 2021-22.
“The Expenditure Finance Committee has approved ₹ 4,112.29 crore for the period 2021-22 to 2025-26 against the budgetary allocation of ₹ 2,486.04 crore during the MTEF period (2017-2020) for the plantation sector, an increase of 65.42 per cent, Anupriya Singh Patel, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry gave this information on Monday.
Addressing the 128th Annual Meeting of the United Planters Association of India (UPASI), Patel said the government has approved the continuation of the tea development and promotion scheme from 2021-22 to 2025-26 with a total aggregate of ₹ 967.78 crore has a financial outlay. Development of tea sector.
While the incentive for traditional tea has been discontinued, the focus has been on meeting the subsidy claims. Patel said a provision of Rs 298.76 crore has been made to approve subsidy in the tea sector. The tea industry provides direct employment to over one million workers, of whom about 55 per cent are women. He said that the small tea growing sector is emerging as a major player in the tea industry by producing 50.23 per cent share during 2020.
boost nr output
Regarding rubber, Patel said that the productivity of rubber plantations has increased from 284 kg per hectare in 1950-51 to 1,442 kg per hectare. The total production of NR is estimated to be 7.80 lakh tonnes during 2021-22 and the government has taken steps for expansion of rubber plantations in non-traditional areas including North-East.
With a view to ensure that the country is able to produce at least 75 per cent of its requirement of NR from domestic sources by 2025, support the development of new rubber plantations in the North-East and improve the quality of processed forms of rubber. a project for. A contribution of ₹ 1,100 crore has been agreed from leading tire companies represented by the Automotive Tire Manufacturers Association and a MoU has been signed. He said that there is a plan to develop 2 lakh hectares under rubber plantation in five years.
Patel said the export of spices touched an all-time high of $4 billion during 2020-21 and the exports of ginger, black pepper, cinnamon, cardamom, turmeric and saffron have increased significantly.
UPASI President Prashant Bhansali said that the value of plantation items during 2020-21 is estimated to be ₹54,840 crore and export realization at ₹12,470 crore. The share of South India in the value of plantation items is about 50 per cent, while its share in exports is 70 per cent.
challenges faced
Bhansali said plantation in the south is facing challenging times, given the high cost of production and price realizations. The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated turbulent times in the plantation sector resulting in severe cash flow problems.
Stating that restructuring all crop loans and development loans into single-term loans would help the sector and have a positive impact on its long-term viability, Bhansali said the industry would need low interest rates to increase domestic production and enhance global competitiveness. rate needs to be funded. . He said that the interest rate on all crops should be reduced to three per cent and development loans should be disbursed to all gardens as per the applicable scale of finance.
Bhansali further said that the RoDTEP rates need to be revised, which is much lower than the recommendations made by the Commodity Board. Subsidized fertilizer for plantation should be linked to the actual hectare under cultivation and allocation should be made on an annual basis. In addition, the Antiquities Acts enacted in the 1940-50s are outdated and need to be restructured to suit market realities considering higher allocations to commodity boards.
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