Piyush Goyal tells Plantation Boards to step up exports drive

New Delhi, Aug 22 Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal on Friday asked the top officials of the country’s Plantation Boards to expand export opportunities for spices, tea, rubber, coffee, and turmeric through market diversification, promotion of value-added products, maintenance of quality standards, and optimum utilisation of the benefits available to India under various Free Trade Agreements (FTAs).

At a review of the functioning of the Plantation Boards under the Department of Commerce – the Spices Board, the Tea Board, the Rubber Board, the Coffee Board, and the Turmeric Board, the minister emphasised on the promotion of brand ‘India’ by the boards in collaboration with the India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), with each contributing equally. Senior officers of the Department of Commerce and the respective Boards were present at the meeting.

He also suggested the establishment of a ‘Bharat Pavilion’ in all major international and domestic fairs to enable the Boards to collectively showcase their products. The minister also directed that all Boards should promote their Geographical Indication (GI) products with ‘India’ incorporated as part of their logo.

Goyal urged the Boards to ensure the welfare of growers, workers and their families through existing schemes. He underlined the need for skilling programmes for them and directed the Boards to coordinate with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in this regard. He expressed satisfaction that capacity building and training programmes were already being undertaken to promote good agricultural practices, quality, and organic production. He further emphasised that all stakeholders of the Boards should be supported through ease-of-doing-business measures, sensitisation, and outreach programmes.

The minister also called upon the Boards to explore the creation of a common incubation centre, on the lines of the Atal Innovation Mission, to encourage research, innovation and start-ups.

India's key plantation exports, including tea, coffee, spices, and tobacco, collectively reached a record $9.16 billion in FY25 (April 2024–March 2025). This strong growth was led by a 40.3 per cent jump in coffee exports and a 36.6 per cent increase in tobacco exports, with spices and tea also showing moderate growth. These plantation crops constitute a significant portion of India's total agricultural exports, highlighting their importance to the Indian economy.

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