As international and domestic transport costs are soaring owing to the Russia-Ukraine war, exporters of agricultural commodities have asked the Indian government to reinstate the Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme which had an allocation for ₹2 bln (€24 mln).
The scheme was beneficial for low-value agri products, especially vegetables. Exporters said that often, air freight rates are higher than the cost of vegetables, and a 200-600% jump in freight rates in the last two years has worsened the situation.
Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) has said that withdrawal of TMA scheme has come as a “setback" for agri exporters and that small businesses have had to bear the brunt of the same.
