An upcoming agri-export strategy will prioritize uncontrolled items

India is reworking its agricultural export strategy, putting more of an emphasis on unregulated items.

According to official sources, the government has selected 20 agricultural goods with worldwide import values over $405 billion for concentrated promotion in the next years. India contributes barely 2.23 percent, or $9.03 billion, to the global exports of these 20 items, the majority of which being fruits, alcoholic drinks, meat, and products made from milk and grains.

The Agriculture Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) estimates that these items have an unrealized $56.7 billion in export potential. “We are developing a thorough plan for every one of these goods. We could have a plan in the next three to four months, according to Rajesh Agarwal, the assistant secretary at the department of commerce.

In order to achieve 10% of global commerce in the 20 items that were nominated, the strategy will provide an action plan for the next five years. Each product will have a comprehensive plan that outlines what APEDA must accomplish. The ministry of agriculture and state governments will also be involved in identifying production clusters that need government attention.

“In order to be able to work in a focused manner, we are trying to understand the constraints and build a strategy over the next few months through sectoral meetings with the exporters and producers,” he said. The emphasis on unregulated agricultural items has become necessary as a result of periodic export limitations on agricultural commodities that are vital for domestic food security. In some years, these limits cause a dramatic fall in the sector’s foreign revenues. Only the excess from controlled industries, such as wheat, rice, sugar, and onions, will be exported.

“We’ll be examining export promotion strategies outside of the regulatory sphere.” In the regulatory sphere, we will be more concerned with making sure that whatever excess we may export is linked to international markets. We won’t export until there is an excess, according to Agarwal.

“There is a chance, and this will allow agriculture exports to grow more steadily; otherwise, we will see more peaks and valleys in agriculture exports.”

Agriculture exports fell 8.8% to $43.7 billion in April–February 2023–as a result of the export embargo on wheat, rice, sugar, and onions. We’ve dropped by three billion. Our primary effect has been felt in regulated commodities, where we have lost five to six billion dollars,” he said.

India decreased its exports of non-basmati rice and onions while ceasing to export wheat, broken rice, or sugar.

Additionally, the statistics showed that during the course of the 11-month period, exports of the 719 scheduled agricultural items included in the APEDA basket decreased by 6.85% to $22.4 billion. Seventeen of the twenty-four major items in the APEDA basket—including fresh fruit, processed vegetables, bananas, buffalo meat, and basmati rice—have shown positive development during the period.

Over this time, basmati rice exports have climbed by 22% annually to $5.2 billion.

Agarwal said, “Prima facie we have not seen much on the ground that is impacting the trade,” in response to a question on whether the recent escalation of the war between Iran and Israel in the Middle East had affected agricultural exports. Not much has been communicated by shipping companies. We presume that things are still going on.

If there are significant setbacks, we will also be notified. Most likely, there aren’t many oppositions. That will depend on how it changes over time. We are keeping an eye on this externality, which we cannot forecast.