Mohanta Chatterjee (extreme left), Bengal minister for food processing, with Subodh Kant Sahai (extreme right), Union minister for food processing, in Calcutta on Wednesday. Picture by Kishor Roy Chowdhury

Calcutta, May 23: Farm export zones in Bengal have failed to meet their export and investment targets.

A study conducted by Assocham said against a target of Rs 1,217.90 crore from the six agriculture export zones, Bengal was able to manage only Rs 85.65 crore. Bengal had set a target of bringing in Rs 354.24 crore worth of investment into these zones, while the actual amount was Rs 59.28 crore.

“Our performance has not been satisfactory. This year we expect better results, especially in mangoes and lychees. We are also exploring new areas such as horticulture which should strengthen our revenues,” said Mohanta Chatterjee, Bengal minister for food processing and horticulture.

Pineapple exports were well below the mark at Rs 20 lakh against a projected figure of Rs 127 crore. The Darjeeling tea export zone which was supposed to bring in investments worth Rs 673.75 crore and exports of Rs 212 crore did not take off because of procedural delays.

Maharashtra had an export target of Rs 601.10 crore and achieved Rs 1,051.15 crore with investments of Rs 365.3 crore against a target of Rs 270.65 crore. Karnataka also topped its export target of Rs 619.38 crore at Rs 1,138.49 crore and investments of Rs 91.04 crore against a target of Rs 52.23 crore.

The states to do well include Punjab and Andhra Pradesh, while the laggards are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Jharkhand.

Spot market scheme

The national spot market scheme for commodities to be floated by the Multi Commodity Exchange of India is facing a roadblock in Bengal.

“Gujarat and Rajasthan have already agreed while Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh will follow suit. But Bengal has said that such a facility which could be used by multiple retailers and farmers will require that APMC licences are taken by all the retailers. Such provisions are a bottleneck to provide linkages with farmers,” said Anjani Sinha, director, MCX.