INDIA’S export of agricultural and allied products grew 17.34 per cent in 2020-21 to $41.25 billion (£29.17bn) a top government official said on Thursday (10).
Increased overseas shipments of cereals, non-basmati rice, wheat, millets, maize and other coarse grains boosted overall exports this year, said commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan.
Exports of only agricultural products (excluding marine and plantation products) surged 28.36 per cent on year to $29.81bn (£21bn) in 2020-21.
"Agriculture exports have performed well during 2020-21... after remaining stagnant for the past three years," Wadhwan said.
The largest markets for India's agricultural products are the US, China, Bangladesh, UAE, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Nepal, Iran and Malaysia.
To increase India’s share in the global market, 18 states in the country have finalised their action plan to implement an agri export policy, under which 46 unique product-district clusters have been identified for export promotion.
India recently gained market access for pomegranate in Australia; mango and basmati rice in Argentina; carrot seeds in Iran; wheat flour, basmati rice, mango, banana and soybean oilcake in Uzbekistan; tomato, okra and onion in Bhutan; and oranges in Serbia.
Meanwhile, India’s basmati exports to the European Union were hit because of stringent pesticide residue norms for chemicals like tricyclazole and buprofezin.
The two chemicals are extensively used in rice cultivation in India.
To counter this problem, the government has made Export Inspection Council (EIC) testing mandatory for exports to the EU.
Punjab imposed a ban on the sale of nine chemicals, including tricyclazole and buprofezin, during the 2020 sowing season.
Bobby Bawa