NEW DELHI: Data shows India’s overall agriculture exports have been consistently declining in the past three years. Experts say the trend has certainly hit farmers’ income.
In the meantime, India has expanded its supply of fresh fruits from 102 to 111 foreign countries in the last one year.
The latest data shows that India’s agri-export growth rate was 17% in 2020-21, which has declined to 6% in 2022-23. Even Agricultural Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) exports have sharply declined from 24% to 11%.
However, the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics stated that APEDA’s product exports have touched a new height of $26.7 billion in 2022-23 and expanded the export basket to over 200 countries. APEDA’s export basket is dominated by cereals (50%) followed by animals products (15%), processed fruits and vegetables (8%), and fresh fruits and vegetables (6%).
In terms of value, the total exports in APEDA’s product-value declined to $17.88 billion in April-December 2023 from $19.68 billion in April-December 2022. Total agri-export value reduced to $34.99 billion in FY2023 from $38.63 billion during the same period a year ago.
On a positive note, India’s banana farmers have found a new market. In January, India shipped its first batch of bananas to Russia, amid that country’s escalating tensions with Ecuador, traditionally its largest supplier of bananas.
As per APEDA data, banana exports grew 63%, followed by dried shelled lentils by 110%, fresh eggs by 160%, kesar by 12% and dasheri mango by 140%.
Moreover, exports to Iraq, Vietnam, Saudi Arabia and the UK grew by 110%, 46%, 18% and 47% respectively.
However, India’s agriculture exports are quite low in international markets such as Europe (0.35%), Latin America (0.35%) and Asia (4.3%). “There is considerable scope in increasing exports to many major markets, where India’s market share is very low,” said Abhishek Dev, chairman, APEDA.
SKM writes to PM on broken promises
Farmers’ unions’ collective Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM)has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the government’s breaking of promises made to farmers and the use of repressive measures against farmers protesting in the Punjab-Haryana border. The SKM has urged Modi to take sympathy on the plight of farmers in the face of corporate intervention in agriculture.