International Trade and Development at the Grassroot: A Case Study in the context of the

1. International Trade and Development at the Grassroot: A Case Study in the context of the Mango Economy of Malda Presentation by: Arnab Ganguly, CUTS International

2. International Trade and Development at the Grassroots • Trade can be a powerful source of economic growth • International trade • Expands Market • Facilitates Competition • Creates Opportunities for Growth • Facilitates Poverty Reduction • Fosters human development • International trade by itself does not necessarily lead to human development. It requires supporting domestic policies and important safety nets

3. National Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09: The Indian Context In the Indian context the National Foreign Trade Policy, 2004-09, envisages a programme that seeks to secure economic growth and national development. Formulated and effective from August 2004, major landmarks attained are:  Increase in exports from US $63 billion in 2004 to US $155 billion in 2007-08 i.e. 2.5 times increase in what it was 4 years ago  Total Trade in goods and services accounts for 50% of India’s GDP  In the last four years increased trade activity has created 136 lakh new jobs Source: Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09, Annual Supplement – 2008-09

4. National Foreign Trade Policy 2004-09: The Indian Context………(contd.) • The Question is • How much of the resultant benefits have accrued to the real producers? • How increase in exports of specific products have affected various stakeholders at the Grassroots?

5. Relevance of the Case Study CUTS-International with the support of Royal Norwegian Embassy, New Delhi and Oxfam (The Netherlands) conducted a case study on the mango economy of Malda. Objectives of the Case Study:  To understand whether NFTP has impacted (or not impacted) export of Specific Products To explore the various channels through which benefits of International Trade trickle down at the grassroot thereby affecting specific variables like employment generation, women empowerment etc.

6. Tools used for the Study •  Questionnaire Survey of the various stakeholders • Focused Group Discussion with Growers, Exporters and Mango Merchants and Processing Units (wherever applicable)

7. Stakeholders interviewed for the study • Government Officials • Mango Growers • Exporters • Mango Merchants • Aratdars • Processing Units • Daily Labourers working in the mango orchards • Wooden Box Manufacturing Units • Women Groups (wherever applicable)

10. Approach to the Survey Step-1 Interviewing the exporters and identify the major mango growing areas in the district, the major export destinations, change in livelihood pattern of the grassroots stakehodlers related to production of mango in the district and involvement of women in the entire mango economy Step-2 Interviewing the Mango Merchants and identify the major mango growing areas in the district, their nature of contract with the growers, the barials and the wage labourers, change in livelihood pattern of the grassroots stakeholders related to production of mango in the district etc Step-3 Interview the growers and the labourers to understand the nature of contract between the merchants and the exporters Step-4 Interview the processors and understand their role in the mango economy

11. Major Findings of the Field Survey

12. Interlinkage among various stakeholders in the Mango Economy of Malda

13. Growers Aratdars Rs10/Kg + 5% (Commission of the ARATDARS to be paid by the growers) = Rs10.50/Kg Rs10.50/Kg + 5% (Commission of the ARATDARS to be paid by the Exporters) = Rs11/Kg Indian Markets Middleman / Traders Indian Exporters Rs11 + 2.5% (Exporter’s Profit Percentage) + Rs18/Kg (Import Duty) ≈ Rs30/Kg Bangladesh Market Importers in Bangladesh

14. Aratdars Mango Merchants Bariyal Indian Exporters Indian Markets Middleman / Traders Bangladesh Market Importers in Bangladesh

17. Reasons why the growers, mango merchants, and the exporters prefer trading with Bangladesh • Perspective of Exporters • The exporters have long standing trade relationship with the importers in • Bangladesh • Cost of transporting consignments of mango to Bangladesh is much less • than any other country • Due to the proximity to Bangladesh the exporters can visit Bangladesh • frequently and can follow up with the importers. This helps in reducing the • default risk to a large extent • Quantum of orders received from importers in Bangladesh is much higher • when compared to any other country

18. Wooden Box Manufacturing Units Various Unskilled / Skilled jobs in the mango Orchards & packaging units Different Types of Employment Opportunities in a Mango-Economy Women Preparing Mango Products at home Men & Women* working in the Processing Units (Formal / Informal)

19. Beneficial Changes in the Mango-Economy • Increase in the area and production of mango •  Improvement in the quality of mango orchards • Increase in daily wage of the labourers • Increased employment in supporting sectors • Exporters are being able to access various government schemes better than before • Women are more involved in Mango-Economy than before

20. Some Roadblocks to a better Mango–Economy • Security of Payment • Growers were not sure whether exporting mango to other countries will be Profitable • Lack of necessary export infrastructure in Malda • Processing Units in the District suffer from infrastructural weaknesses

21. Key Recommendations • Promoting mangoes from Malda as a brand in International Markets • Orientation to the local growers and exporters in the district to export to countries apart from Bangladesh • Promoting formation of Growers’ cooperatives • Providing the necessary infrastructural support required for export • Strengthening the Processing Units in the District

22. THANK YOU