Floriculture Export Information
India. “India’s floriculture exports are likely to rise 20 percent in 2005-06 to over $68 million, said K S Money, chairman of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda),” stated a recent Siliconindia article.
According to the article, floriculture exports grew 16 percent to $59 million in the last fiscal year. However, compared to the $80 billion worldwide industry India’s portion is only about 0.06 percent of that total.
“Keeping in mind the opportunities in international market, Apeda is pursuing to reach an export target of $227 million by 2010,” he added. ” Towards this, we are planning to adopt new initiatives to facilitate exports,” Money said in the article.
Currently Apeda is planning to set up facilities to handle and store exportable perishable product at a number of airports in the country to work with the expansion of the industry.
As an addition, the article stated, “To facilitate exports Apeda has urged the government to exempt perishable products from sales tax.”
New Zealand. “New Zealand’s horticulture exporters are being subjected to more than $160 million of tariffs every year,” according an article in The New Zealand Herald.
The report was released recently by the Horticulture Export Authority (HEA), Fruitgrowers Federation and the Vegetable and Potato Growers Federation, and according to the article “all three organizations want the report used to raise the issue of tariffs during the next round of World Trade Organization negotiations at Doha, Qatar.”
“Janet Skilton, HEA chief executive, says tariffs cost the horticulture industry between $160 million and $200 million each year. ‘That is a huge cost for our exporters to bear on top of sales taxes, phytosanitary costs and other exporting charges,'” stated the article.
Skilton feels that the New Zealand Government needs to be aware of the costs of the exports “”so they can work to develop trade agreements with key trading partners that ease the burden on growers. Tariffs are one of the most significant barriers to our ability to trade with countries in the European Union and Asia. These punitive tariffs result in expensive produce at the other end,” said The Herald.
According to Agriculture Minister Jim Sutton in the article, “the report made for a sobering read. ‘It’s a timely reminder that the international trade system is not fair, in many important respects. The way things stand now, access for our products into other countries’ markets is a privilege, not a right.'””
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