Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

Recently, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the flagging off of the first-ever sea shipment of botanical-infused ready-to-cook millet functional foods from Karnataka to New Zealand.

About APEDA

• APEDA is a statutory body established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act, 1985.
• It functions under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Its main objective is to develop and promote the export of scheduled agricultural and processed food products.
• APEDA is headed by a Chairman, who is appointed by the Central Government.
• Its headquarters is located in New Delhi.
• APEDA has established 15 Regional Offices across India, including Mumbai, Bengaluru, Telangana, Kolkata, Guwahati, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Chandigarh, Bhopal, Chennai, Kochi, Tripura, Srinagar, Jammu and Ladakh.

Functions of APEDA

• It sets standards and specifications for scheduled products.
• It registers exporters of scheduled products after payment of the required fees.
• It conducts inspection of products to ensure their quality.
• It provides training related to industries connected with scheduled products.
• It supports the development of industries related to scheduled products through surveys, feasibility studies and other measures.
• It provides financial assistance, information and guidelines for the development and promotion of scheduled products.
• It also acts as the Secretariat to the National Accreditation Board (NAB) for implementing accreditation of certification bodies under the National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP) for organic exports.