India Steps Up AGRI-EXPORT Resilience

India's agricultural exports touched $48.9 billion in 2023-24, registering an 8 per cent decline from $53.2 billion in 2022-23. The drop in agricultural exports was mainly due to the export ban on wheat, rice, sugar and onions. Meanwhile, out of 24 principal commodities of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) 17 have recorded positive growth during the period, which included fresh fruit, buffalo meat, processed vegetables, basmati rice and banana.

- Dipti Barve

APEDA contributes a significant 51 per cent of agri-exports. From its modest beginnings with annual exports of $0.6 billion in 1987-88, proactive interventions by the APEDA have taken agricultural exports to a remarkable figure of $26.7 billion in 2022-23. This journey of exponential growth is underscored by expanding the export basket to over 200 countries, showcasing a commendable Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 12 per cent. To further increase India's share in agri export in the global market, the government has identified 20 farm products whose global imports are over $405 billion for a focussed push in the coming years. The strategy entails an action plan for the next five years to capture 10 per cent of the world trade in the 20 shortlisted products. India can achieve this provided the government addresses the issues of the agriculture industry.

On September 14, 2024, in a significant step to boost the export of basmati rice, a premier GI variety of rice of India, the Government of India decided to remove the floor price on the export of basmati rice. This decision was taken in response to ongoing trade concerns and adequate domestic availability of rice. The APEDA will closely monitor export contracts to prevent any non-realistic pricing of basmati rice and ensure transparency in export practices.

It may be noted that, in August 2023, a floor price of $1,200 per metric tonne (MT) was introduced as a temporary measure in response to rising domestic rice prices in the wake of tight domestic supply situation of rice and to curb any possible misclassification of non-basmati rice as basmati rice during exports, given the export prohibition on nonbasmati white rice. Following representations from trade bodies and stakeholders, the government then rationalised the floor price to $950 per MT in October 2023.