India is diversifying its food exports as domestic staples come under pressure

April 24, 2024

2 minutes reading

India’s agricultural food exports in the 2023/24 financial year lagged slightly behind those of the previous year, reaching about $50 billion, as efforts to diversify shipments to the United States, Europe and other markets helped ease restrictions on exports of rice, wheat and sugar, the report states. Reuters.

The export curbs were imposed last year by the world’s second-largest producer of wheat, rice and sugar to rein in rising domestic prices.

The restrictions have hit food exports by between $5 billion and $6 billion, said Commerce Ministry official Rajesh Agrawal, adding that total agricultural exports for the year to March 31 could reach around $50 billion. That compared to a total of about $53 billion the year before. .

“The government aims to reduce dependence on a few products… and promote a wide range of agricultural products such as oilseeds, fruits, vegetables and processed foods,” he said.

Indian goods exports fell in 2023/24 for the first time since 2020/21, due to geopolitical tensions and export restrictions.

Exports have also been hit by a slowdown in global demand, the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine and the shipping crisis in the Red Sea due to conflict in the Middle East, Agrawal said.

Basmati rice exports reached $5.2 billion at the end of February, up 22% year-on-year, helped by a rise in global prices, he said. Official figures for the full twelve-month period are expected to be announced in the coming days.

To boost exports, the government has identified 20 agricultural products with high export potential in developed countries. These include products such as bananas, mangoes, cashews, buffalo meat and alcoholic beverages.

Abhishek Dev, chairman of the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), a state agency that aims to boost agricultural exports, said India’s share of the $400 billion global market was just 2.23% in 2022 . up to $9 billion.

“The goal is to gain a market share of 4% to 5% in the coming years,” he said, adding that shipments of bananas and pomegranates have been sent to Russia and the United States.

Dev said India’s fruit and vegetable exports rose 14% to $3.7 billion in 2023/24, followed by a 12.4% increase in meat, dairy and poultry products exports to $2.8 billion dollars.