Agriculture has always been India’s backbone and foundation: 17% of India’s GDP comes from the agriculture sector, and 60% of all employment generated in India is due to this sector.
However, what lags is agriculture’s role in exports of food products from India to other nations.
Only 13% of India’s exports are due to agriculture, and only 6% of India’s industrial investments happen in the agriculture sector.
To improve these numbers and make India’s agriculture produce one of the best globally, Govt established The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority or APEDA, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Government of India.
The purpose of establishing APEDA is to promote India’s agricultural produce and processed food and maintain the quality of food exports.
This article will inform What is APEDA and what is APEDA certificate, besides documents required for APEDA registration and APEDA registration process.
But first, let’s understand what is APEDA?
What Is APEDA?
APEDA is an apex Govt body created under the APED Act, 1985, and replaced the erstwhile Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC) by adding several new responsibilities and tasks.
APEDA controls and regulates exports of scheduled agricultural products and promotes these products’ export from India to other nations.
Objectives Of APEDA:
5 main goals of APEDA are:
- Development of scheduled products which comes under APEDA, and encourage exports of all agricultural and processed foods from India to abroad.
- Improve and optimize packaging and marketing of scheduled agricultural products from India in foreign locations
- Create and implement standards for scheduled products, which comes under APEDA
- Providing financial support, subsidy, and reliefs to those who are engaged in the production and export of scheduled products under APEDA
- To provide the required training and skill development for those who are engaged in the export and production of these scheduled products
Scheduled Products Under APEDA
APEDA has these scheduled agricultural products under its ambit:
- Meat and meat-related products
- Dairy products
- Fruits, Vegetables and their products
- Jaggery, Sugar, and Honey related products
- Floriculture and related products
- Alcoholic and non-Alcoholic beverages
- Poultry and Poultry related products
- Cereal and related products
- Biscuits, bakery, and confectionery related products
- Chutneys, pickles, and papad related products
- Herbal and medicinal plants
- Guar Gum
- Cocoa and all associated products like Chocolate
What is APEDA Certificate?
APEDA Certificate is mandatory for anyone who wants to export these scheduled products from India to other nations.
Hence, the APEDA certificate is a vital approval required by food exporters, farmers, and food entrepreneurs to export food items from India.
APEDA certificate is obtained after registering for APEDA. We will soon share the APED registration process, but before that, let’s find out some benefits of getting an APEDA certificate:
Market Research and Development
By getting registered with APEDA and obtaining APEDA certificate, food exporters can access updated databases, market research data, feasibility studies, and surveys. This means access to information about the market which they wish to target.
Promotions
APEDA helps promote and sell these scheduled agricultural products across the world, which means more business for food entrepreneurs.
Quality Assurance and Control
APEDA helps in getting quality tests and control, which is essential for selling in foreign locations and creating a brand of your products. Financial support provided by APEDA can help food businesses to get quality certifications like ISO/HACCP/BRC/GAP and more, thereby strengthening their brand value.
Transport Assistance
Food businesses can utilize the exhaustive and robust network of APEDA to help transport these scheduled food items safely and swiftly. Food entrepreneurs can avail subsidize freight components for time-sensitive food items such as poultry, meat, dried flowers, herbs, processed fruits, and more.
APEDA Registration Process
Food businesses who will export any food items from the above-scheduled list, are mandated to get a Registration cum Membership Certificate (RCMC) from APEDA within 30 days of starting their business.
APEDA registration process is as follows:
- Visit the APEDA website, and click on ‘Register as a member.’ This will be visible on the right-hand side under the Members section.
- You need to enter the Import-Export code of your business, company name, email id, and phone number in the new pop-up, which opens.
- After clicking Submit, an OTP will be received. Enter that.
- After that, the applicant will receive the application form, which will require several documents to be uploaded in JPG format or PDF.
- A fee of Rs 5000 plus 18% GST needs to be paid via debit card, credit card, or a demand draft in favor of ‘APEDA’, payable across the cities where APEDA has an office.
- GST # of APEDA is: 07AAAJA1150H1ZU
- Once the registration is approved, the applicant will receive the APEDA certificate (RCMC), and login credentials will be shared.
- Under Track Application, the applicant can track the current status of the registration process.
Documents Required for APEDA Registration
Some of the essential Documents required for APEDA registration are
- Import Export Code, which is issued by DGFT and self-certified by the applicant
- Digital Signature Certificate
- A bank certificate that shows the company name, details of the owners, nature of the business, etc.
- Bank statement scanned copy of a canceled cheque.
- In case any applicant wants to get certified for ‘Manufacturer-Exporter’, then a certificate is needed, which is issued by
Visit here, If you want to know What is a Digital Signature Certificate
You can download the Bank certificate format for APEDA registration here.
If you are into the food business and wish to expand your footprint, then APEDA certificate and registration is a mandatory requirement.
We at MSMEx can provide you with all the assistance you need regarding APEDA right here, instantly.
We are a micro-advisory platform that connects business experts and entrepreneurs, and MSMEs and helps them achieve their business goals.
You can instantly connect with experts of export and import business, funding experts, taxation experts, sales coaches, marketing ninjas, finance experts and more, and clear all your doubts, queries live.
Book an appointment right now at MSMEx, and consult with the business experts to help you grow your business, right here!