The concept of Agri Export Zone (AEZ) was introduced in 2001, through EXIM Policy 1997-2001, to take a comprehensive look at a particular produce/product located in a contiguous area for the purpose of developing and sourcing the raw materials, their processing/packaging, leading to final exports. The concept hinged primarily on convergence of existing Central and State Government schemes to take care of financial interventions required at various stages of value chain; partnership among various stakeholders viz. Central Government, State Government, farmer, processor, exporter etc.; and focus on targeted products and areas to identify required policy interventions. All these activities did take place in certain respects in the notified Agri Export Zones. In December 2004, an internal peer review conducted by Department of Commerce concluded that the notified AEZs had not been able to achieve the intended objectives. It was decided that there will be no creation of new AEZs, unless there were strong and compelling reasons. No new AEZs have been set up after 2004. All the notified AEZs have completed their intended span of 5 years and have been discontinued.
In all 60 Agri Export Zones (AEZ) were notified by the Government till 2004 – 05. State-wise details are given below:
LIST OF NOTIFIED 60 AGRI EXPORT ZONES IN 20 STATES
| State | S. No. | AEZ Project | Districts |
| Assam (1) | 01 | Fresh & Processed Ginger | Kamrup, Nalbari, Barpeta, Darrang, Nagaon, Morigaon, KarbiAnglong and North Cachar districts. |
| Andhra Pradesh including Telangana (5) | 02 | Mango Pulp & Fresh Veg. | Chittoor District. |
| 03 | Mango and Grapes | Districts of Ranga Reddy, Medak & parts Mahabobnagar districts. | |
| 04 | Mango | Krisha District. | |
| 05 | Gherkins | Districts of Mahboobnagar, Rangareddy, Karimnagar, Warangal, Medak Ananthapur and Nalgonda. | |
| 06 | Chilli | Guntur | |
| Bihar (1) | 07 | Lychee, Vegetables & Honey | Muzaffar-pur, Samastipur, Hajipur, Vaishali, East and West Champaran, Bhagalpur, Begulsarai, Khagaria, Sitamarhi, Saran and Gopalganj. |
| Gujarat (3) | 08 | Mango and Vegetables | Districts of Ahmedabad, Khadia, Anand, Vadodra, Surat, Navsari, Valsad, Bharuch and Narmada. |
| 09 | Value Added Onion | Districts of Bhavnagar, Surendranagar, Amreli, Rajkot, Junagadh and Jamnagar. | |
| 10 | Sesame Seeds | Districts of Amerali, Bhav-nagar, Surendra-nagar, Rajkot, Jamnagar | |
| Himachal Pradesh(1) | 11 | Apples | Districts of Shimla, Sirmour, Kullu, Mandi, Chamba and Kinnaur. |
| Karnataka (4) | 12 | Gherkins | Districts of Tumkur, Bangalore Urban, Bangalore Rural, Hassan, Kolar, Chitradurga, Dharwad and Bagalkot. |
| 13 | Rose Onion | Bangalore UrbanBangalore (Rural), Kolar | |
| 14 | Flowers | Bangalore(Urban)Bangalore(Rural), Kolar, Tumkur, Kodagu and Belgaum | |
| 15 | Vanilla | Districts of Dakshin Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Shimoga, Kodagu, Chickamagalur. | |
| Jammu & Kashmir (2) | 16 | Apple | Districts of Srinagar, Baramula, Anantnag, Kupwara, Badgaum and Pulwama. |
| 17 | Walnuts | Baramulla, Anantnag, Pulwama, Budgam, Kupwara and Srinagar.,Jammu Region, Doda, Poonch, Udhampur, Rajouri and Kathua. | |
| Jharkhand (1) | 18 | Vegetables | Districts of Ranchi, Hazaribagh and Lohardaga. |
| Kerala (2) | 19 | Horticulture Products | Districts of Thrissur, Kollam, Ernakulam, Kottayaam, Alapp-uzha, Pathanum-thitta, Thiruvantha-puram, Idukki and Palakkod. |
| 20 | Medicinal Plant | Wayanad, Mallapuram, Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kollam, Pathana-mittha, Thiruva-nanthapuram | |
| Madhya Pradesh(5) | 21 | Potatoes, OnionGarlic | Malwa, Ujjain, Indore, Dewas, Dhar, Shajajpur, Ratlam, Neemuch and Mandsaur. |
| 22 | Seed Spices | Districts of Guna, Mandsaur, Ujjain, Rajgarh, Ratlam, Shajapur and Neemuch. | |
| 23 | Wheat (Duram) | Three distinct and contiguous zones :-Ujjain Zone comprising of Neemach, Ratlam, Mandsaur and UjjainIndore Zone comprising of Indore, Dhar, Shajapur and DewasBhopal Division, comprising of Sehore, Vidisha, Raisen, Hoshangabad, Harda, Narsinghpur and Bhopal. | |
| 24 | Lentil and Grams | Shivpuri, Guna, Vidisha, Raisen, Narsinghpura, Chhindwara. | |
| 25 | Oranges | Chhindwara, Hoshangabad. Betul. | |
| Maharashtra (8) | 26 | Grape and Grape Wine | Districts of Nasik, Sanghli, Pune, Satara, Ahmednagar and Sholapur. |
| 27 | Mango(Alphonso) | Districts of Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg, Raigarh and Thane. | |
| 28 | Kesar Mango | Districts of Aurangabad, Beed, Jalna, Ahmednagar and Latur. | |
| 29 | Flowers | Pune, Nasik, Kolhapur and Sangli. | |
| 30 | Onions | Districts of Nasik, Ahmednagar, Pune Satara, Jalgaon and Solapur. | |
| 31 | Pomegranate | Districts of Solapur, Sangli, Ahmednagar, Pune Nasik, Latur, Osmanabad. | |
| 32 | Banana | Jalgaon, Dhule, Nandurbar, Buldhana, Wardha, Parbhani, Hindoli, Nanded. | |
| 33 | Oranges | Nagpur and Amraoti. | |
| Orissa (1) | 34 | Ginger and Turmeric | Kandhamal District. |
| Punjab (3) | 35 | Vegetables | Fatehgarh Sahib, Patiala, Sangrur, Ropar and Ludhiana. |
| 36 | Potatoes | SinghpuraZirakpur (Patiala) RampuraPhul, Muktsar, Ludhiana, Jullunder. | |
| 37 | Basmati Rice | Districts of Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Kapur-thala, Jalandhar, Hoshiarpur and Nawanshahar) | |
| Rajasthan (2) | 38 | Coriander | Kota, Bundi, Baran, Jhalawar& Chittoor |
| 39 | Cumin | Nagaur, Barmer, Jalore, Pali and Jodhpur | |
| Sikkim (2) | 40 | Flowers(Orchids) & Cherry Pepper | East Sikkim. |
| 41 | Ginger | North, East, South & West Sikkim. | |
| Tripura (1) | 42 | Organic Pineapple | Kumarghat, Manu, Melaghar, Matabari and Kakraban Blocks. |
| Tamil Nadu (4) | 43 | Flower | Dharmapuri. |
| 44 | Flowers | Nilgiri District. | |
| 45 | Mangoes | Districts of Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Virudhunagar and Tirunelveli. | |
| 46 | Cashewnut | Cuddalore, Thanjavur, Pudukottai and Sivaganga. | |
| Uttar Pradesh (4) | 47 | Potatoes | Agra, Hathras, Farrukhabad, Kannoj, Meerut, Baghpat and Aligarh. |
| 48 | Mangoes and Vegetables | Lucknow, Unnao, Hardo, Sitapur and barabanki. | |
| 49 | Mangoes | Saharanpur, Muzzfarnagar, Bijnaur, Meerut, Bhagpat and Bulandshahar. | |
| 50 | Basmati Rice | Districts of Bareilly, Shahajahanpur, Pilibhit, Rampur, Badaun, Bijnor, Moradabad, J B Phulenagar, Saharanpur, Mujjafarnagar, Meerut, Bulandshahar, Ghaziabad. | |
| Uttarakhand (4) | 51 | Lychee | Udhamsingh Nagar, Dehradun and Nainital . |
| 52 | Flowers | Districts of Dehradun and Pantnagar. | |
| 53 | Basmati Rice | Districts of Udham Singh Nagar, Nainital, Dehradun and Haridwar. | |
| 54 | Medicinal & Aromatic Plants | Districts of Uttarkashi, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Dehradun and Nainital. | |
| West Bengal (6) | 55 | Lychee | Districts of MurshidabadMalda, 24 Pargana (N) and 24 Pargana(s). |
| 56 | Potatoes | Districts of Hoogly, Burdwan, Midnapore (W) UdayNarayanpur and Howrah. | |
| 57 | Mango | Malda and Murshidabad | |
| 58 | Vegetables | Nadia, Murshidabad) and North 24 Parganas. | |
| 59 | Darjeeling Tea | Darjeeling. | |
| 60 | Pineapple | Darjeeling, Uttar Dinajpur, Cooch Behar and Jalpaiguri. |
This information was given by the Minister of State of Commerce and Industry, C. R. Chaudhary, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha yesterday.