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NEW DELHI, May 7

THE Union Agriculture Minister, Mr Ajit Singh, has said that co-operatives should take advantage of the package announced for Agri Export Zones (AEZ) in the 2002-03 Exim Policy and avail of funding from the National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).

Presiding over the 54th General Council Meeting of NCDC here on Tuesday, Mr Singh noted that the Centre had so far notified 20 AEZs in various regions identified as having the potential for export of specific agricultural and horticultural produce in fresh or value-added form.

"NCDC has already promoted co-operatives such as Mahagrapes and Mahamango to set up export-oriented units. With the active support of NCDC, co-operatives should be able to take advantage of the AEZ scheme'', he pointed out.

During 2001-02, NCDC, which is the only financial institution to exclusively support co-operatives in the country, disbursed an all-time amount of Rs 720 crore, as against a sanctioned sum of Rs 1,001 crore. For 2002-03, the Corporation's outlay has been pegged at Rs 735 crore, of which Rs 331.5 crore has been earmarked for agro-processing activities involving setting up of new units as well as modernisation, upgradation and rehabilitation of exisiting processing facilities.

The Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr Hukumdeo Narayan Yadav, commended NCDC for making its highest ever releases of funds and recording an estimated pre-tax profit of Rs 80 crore. He also referred to the Corporation's consistent high level of loan recovery of 90 per cent and more.

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