Sources said that APEDA would keep 30 per cent of the funds as administrative charges whereas the remaining 70 per cent will be utilised for meat promotion
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SUSHIL KUMAR VERMA
The Commerce Ministry has created a commodity-specific fund for promoting buffalo meat (carabeef) exports from India. Exporters need to pay ₹250/tonne to the official agri export promotion body Apeda from October 29 at the time of applying online for the health certificate, which is mandatory before physical shipments are allowed by the Customs. This may help the government collect over ₹30 crore per year.
In a notification on October 14, the Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) said: “The export of chilled/frozen meat shall be permitted subject to submission of proof of submission of proof of remittance to the Meat Export Development Fund (MEDF), operated by Apeda.”
After the change in the relevant provision, the additional export policy condition has been inserted against some particular commodities such as fresh and chilled/frozen meat of bovine animals as well as offal (edible internal organs) from the bovine animals, where the fee is payable, it said. However, the new order shall come into effect from October 29 to provide a transition time for the exporters, it said.
70% for meat output
Sources said that APEDA would keep 30 per cent of the funds as administrative charges whereas the remaining 70 per cent will be utilised for meat promotion.
India’s buffalo meat export jumped 8.6 per cent to $4.06 billion (worth ₹34,392 crore) in 2024-25 from $3.74 billion in 2023-24 despite lower shipments in terms of volume that dropped to 1.25 million tonnes (mt) from 1.3 mt. In 2025-26 (April-August) buffalo meat export was 485,441 tonnes worth $1.7 billion (₹14,688 crore).
As the Budget allocation is not adequate, the government was deliberating to generate some resources for the benefit of each segment, and these commodity-specific fund creation may fill the gap, sources said. The MEDF is likely to help Apeda set up an exclusive Indian Meat Pavilion in major food events like Gulfood, ANUGA, SIAL, similar to what competing countries like Brazil, the US and Australia do, an official source said.
Funding trade team visits
Besides, funds can be channelised for ensuring trade delegation visits for gaining market access in new destinations and resolution of non-tariff measures (NTMs) which adversely impact meat exports. The MEDF can also help organise more number of buyer-seller meets as well as to promote research, development and extension services for preservation and distribution of quality meat and meat products.
Recently, the government created the Non-Basmati Rice Development Fund (NBDF) in which exporters are mandated to pay ₹8 per tonne as contract registration fee to APEDA. The Commerce Ministry has allowed APEDA to keep 30 per cent of the NBDF funds collected as “service and infrastructure charges”.
Published on October 15, 2025