Agricultural and Processed Food Products Exports Up by 14% to $6 bn in the First Three Months of Current Fiscal

· Exports of fresh fruits & vegetables registered 8.6 percent growth

· Cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported an impressive growth of 36.4 percent (April-June 2022-23)

· April-June, 2021, fresh fruits and vegetables were exported to the tune of USD 642 million that increased to USD 697 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal.

· Export of meat, dairy and poultry products increased from USD 1023 million in April-June 2021 to USD 1120 million in April-June 2022.

· Rice exports witnessed a growth of 13 percent in the first three months of FY 2022-23

· Growth rate is remarkable as it is over and above the growth of 17.66 per cent at USD 41.87 billion achieved in 2020-21 and has been achieved in spite of unprecedented logistical challenges in the form of high freight rates and container shortages, etc.

Continuing with the trend from the previous year, the exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by 14 percent in the first three months of the current Financial Year 2022-23 (April-June) compared to the corresponding period of FY 2021-22.

For the year 2022-23, the government had set an export target of USD 23.56 billion for the agricultural and processed food products basket under APEDA. The initiatives taken by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry have helped the country in achieving 25 percent of the total annual export target in the first three months of the current fiscal.

According to the Quick Estimates data released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the overall export of products under APEDA ambit (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) increased to USD 5987 million in April-June 2022 from USD 5256 million over the same period of the last fiscal. The export target for April-June 2022-23 was USD 5890 million. The APEDA basket excludes Tea, coffee, spices, cotton and marine exports.

The exports of fresh fruits & vegetables registered 8.6 percent growth, while processed food products like cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported an impressive growth of 36.4 percent (April-June 2022-23) compared to corresponding months of the previous year. In April-June, 2021, fresh fruits and vegetables were exported to the tune of USD 642 million that increased to USD 697 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal. Other cereals’ export increased from USD 237 million in April-June 2021to USD 306 million in April-June 2022 and the export of meat, dairy and poultry products increased from USD 1023 million in April-June 2021 to USD 1120 million in April-June 2022.

Rice exports witnessed a growth of 13 percent in the first three months of FY 2022-23, while the export of meat, dairy & poultry products increased by 9.5 percent and export of other cereals increased by 29 percent. The export of rice increased from USD 2412 million in April-June 2021 to USD 2723 million in April-June 2022.The dairy products were exported to the tune of USD 1120 million in the first three months of the current fiscal from million in the same period last year.

“We continue to provide technical and financial assistance to various stakeholders in the agricultural goods value chains for boosting exports of unique products from the country. Through creating a necessary eco-system of exports along with collaboration with key stakeholders in the agri-exports value chains, we are aiming to sustain the growth in India’s agricultural and processed food exports in the current fiscal as well,” M Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA, said.

India’s agricultural products exports had grown by 19.92 per cent during 2021-22 to touch USD 50.21 billion. The growth rate is remarkable as it is over and above the growth of 17.66 per cent at USD 41.87 billion achieved in 2020-21 and has been achieved in spite of unprecedented logistical challenges in the form of high freight rates and container shortages, etc.

The rise in the export of agricultural and processed food products is the outcome government’s various initiatives taken for the export promotion of agricultural and processed food products such as organising B2B exhibitions in different countries, exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns by the active involvement of Indian Embassies. The government has also taken several initiatives to promote products having registered geographical indications (GI) in India by organizing virtual Buyer Seller Meets on agricultural and food products with the United Arab Emirates and on GI products, including handicrafts with the USA.

In order to ensure seamless quality certification of products to be exported, the government has recognised 220 labs across India to provide services of testing to a wide range of products and exporters.