BHUBANESWAR: Odisha has a huge scope for export of agricultural products with the capability to grow almost any form of crop. As the State has 10 agro-climatic zones, almost any agricultural venture can be taken up here including coffee, said Managing Director of Agricultural Promotion and Investment Corporation of Odisha Ltd (APICOL) Dr SS Dey here on Thursday.
Speaking at a management development programme on ‘Opportunities in Export Business’ organised at SOA University, Dey said the potential of agro products which could be exported from the State include groundnuts, cashew nuts, onion, sweet potato, chilli, okra, turmeric, tamarind, ginger and non-basmati rice.
The event was organised by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), Odisha chapter in association with SOA University. Exporters and those looking for opportunities to get into the export business attended the event.
Chapter head of FIEO RK Mohapatra said the State Government is encouraging exporters with incentives and the establishment of cargo terminal at Biju Patnaik International Airport is a huge boost for export. However, 80 per cent of the exporters are unaware about various schemes formulated by the Government to help them, he said.
Managing Director of Bharat Masala SN Panda narrated his experience as to how a family enterprise from a village in Odisha could export its products to eight countries including China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Bangladesh.
Director in-charge, Directorate of Industries SK Sahoo, EXIM expert CR Mishra, Export Credit Guarantee Corporation of India Ltd representative ULN Chinulu and Dean, IBCS Prof Anup Samantaray also spoke.