22% jump in India’s agricultural exports

Exports of 37 agricultural and processed products from India rose 22% year-on-year to US$ 7.9 billion during the first five months of the current fiscal. This was on account of robust demand for rice and other cereals as well as meat, dairy, and poultry products according to data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) . In FY’21, the exports of these products grew 24% to $20 billion during FY21 on a low base; despite the pandemic and inflated global prices for most items. This year, APEDA is eyeing 10-15% rise in exports.

“This rise in exports (in April-August 2021) has been achieved notwithstanding Covid-19 restrictions. This is also a testimony to the government’s commitment to increase farmers’ income through giving thrust on boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products,” said M Angamuthu, Chairman of APEDA. He also spoke about various initiatives such as organising B2B exhibitions in different countries, and exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns by active involvement of Indian embassies for boosting export have been successful.

“Agri export will perform exceedingly well. There could be more surprising trends as new export products emerge in view of shifting comparative advantages among nations. We are navigating an important period, which could be utilized to recast export supporting schemes in order to create additional markets,” commented S Chandrasekaran, a trade policy analyst.