APEDA Promotes Export of Millets

The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has the mandate to promote export of millets. APEDA provides assistance to registered exporters of millets under Agriculture & Processed Food Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA. 

The assistance is provided under various components of the schemes viz. Infrastructure Development, Quality Development and Market Development.

An Export Promotion Forum (EPF) dedicated to promoting millets in the international market has been established.

APEDA is also actively engaged in capacity building, awareness creation and knowledge sharing amongst international stakeholders by organizing virtual Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs), capacity building programs, collaborating with state millet mission programs, conducting FPO meets etc.

About APEDA

The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December, 1985. The Act (2 of 1986) 

Initiatives to promote Millets

• Indian millets are a group of nutritiously rich, drought tolerant and mostly grown in the arid and semi-arid regions of India. They are small-seeded grasses belonging to the botanical family Poaceae. 
• They constitute an important source of food and fodder for millions of resource-poor farmers and play a vital role in ecological and economic security of India. These millets are also known as "coarse cereals" or "cereals of the poor".
• India is among the top 5 exporters of millets in the world. The main millet-growing states in India are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Madhya Pradesh.
• The Government of India is implementing a multi-stakeholder approach towards celebration of the International Year of Millets (IYM) -2023. 
• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets.
• The Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference was organised on 18th to 22nd March 2023 at New Delhi to stimulate the exports of millets from India, to provide market linkage to the producers and to create awareness, especially among youth and children, about the benefits of consumption of millets. 
• A Virtual trade fair (VTF) for millets has been developed and made available for exporters and importers from across the globe providing a single platform to interact and negotiate business deals.