Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme

Subject – Agriculture

Context – Govt enhances scope of MTA scheme for agri exports

Concept –

Department of Commerce of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has notified a scheme for Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) for Specified Agriculture Products.
In 2019, the government announced the scheme for providing financial assistance for transport and marketing of agricultural products to boost exports of such commodities to certain countries in Europe and North America.
Under the TMA plan, it reimburses a certain portion of freight charges and provides assistance for marketing of agricultural produce.
Scheme would be suitably included in the Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20).
The scheme will help in increasing farm export from India.
The scheme shall be admissible for exports made through EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) ports only.
The scheme covers freight and marketing assistance for export by air as well as by sea.
The scheme was introduced to provide assistance for the international component of freight, to mitigate disadvantage of higher freight costs faced by the Indian exporters of agriculture products.

Coverage –

All exporters, duly registered with relevant Export Promotion Council as per Foreign Trade Policy, of eligible agriculture products shall be covered under this scheme.
The Scheme would be applicable for a period as specified from time to time. Presently the Scheme would be available for exports from 1.3.2019 to 31.03.2020.
The assistance, at notified rates, will be available for export of eligible agriculture products to the permissible countries, as specified from time to time.

Enhanced Scope –

The government on Friday enhanced the scope of Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for specified agriculture products by including dairy products under its purview and increasing the rates of assistance.
The scheme has been extended till March 31, 2022.
Enhanced assistance under the revised scheme is expected to help Indian exporters of agricultural products to meet rising freight and logistics costs.
Dairy products, which were not covered under the earlier scheme, will now be eligible for assistance, it said adding that rates of assistance have been increased, by 50 per cent for exports by sea and 100 per cent through air.