Share of agri in Indias total exports 13.53% & share in imports 3.

8 %
-A Amarender Reddy The significantly large share of Indian agricultural exports revealed the competitive advantage of its commodities in the international markets. Their share in the countrys total exports has remained above 10 per cent since 1990-91. However, the share of its agricultural imports in its total imports is less. For the past three years, the performance of agricultural exports has been spectacular, with its share in the countrys total exports up from 10.5 per cent in 2010 -11 to 13.53 per cent in 2012-13 (as shown in Table 1). In 2012-13, the total export value was Rs 2,21,130 crore. Indias export basket is highly diverse, with guar gum meal, basmati rice, marine products, meat and products, oil meal, spices and nonbasmati rice contributing a significantly higher share. In the coming years, the share of foodgrain exports may reduce due to the implementation of the National Food Security Act, but there is the possibility of a rise in the export of commercial crops like guar gum meal, basmati rice, meat, oil meals and spices. In the international markets, the demand for processed agricultural products like meat and dairy products, processed fruit and juices and vegetables is rising, but from a lower base. The rising demand for processed products could be addressed by investing in the state-of-the-art postharvest processing facilities. For guar gum meal from India, the major importers were the United States, China, Germany Canada, Russia and Australia. For basmati rice, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Kuwait were the major importers. For marine products, the major import destinations were the United States, Vietnam, Japan, China and Spain. Within the category, frozen shrimp and fish were the major export items. For meat products, Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and Saudi Arabia were the major import destinations. Within the category, buffalo meat was the major contributor to the exports. For oil meal, the major import destinations were Iran, Vietnam, Japan and Thailand, and for spices, China, the United States, Vietnam, Singapore were the major import destinations. There is a possibility of growing demand from within Asia (especially from China), from the United States (with the revival of the economy), and from the Middle-Eastern nations for commodities like basmati rice.

Table 1: Indias agricultural exports 2012-2013 Commodity Guar gum meal Basmati rice Marine products Meat and preparations Oil meals Spices Non-basmati rice Wheat Sugar Other cereals Coffee Tea Castor oil Cashew Groundnut Tobacco (unmanufactured) Fresh fruit Fresh vegetables Sesame seeds Processed fruit and juices Dairy products Pulses Tobacco (manufactured) Processed vegetables Jute hessian Poultry products Fruits / Vegetable seeds Jute yarn Niger seeds Cashew nut shell liquid Other agricultural commodities Total agricultural and allied Indias total exports Share of agriculture and allied in total exports Quantity in thousand tonne 405 3,457 964 6,343 994 6,664 6,472 2,794 5,463 254 267 566 104 536 230 Value in Rs crore 21,190 19,391 18,833 17,902 15,822 15,319 14,417 10,488 8,576 8,217 4,713 4,677 4,315 4,067 4,066 3,815 3,291 3,097 2,882 1,972 1,764 1,280 1,221 1,120 868 460 349 221 90 30 6,864 2,21,130 16,34,673 13.53 Share (%) 9.58 8.77 8.52 8.1 7.15 6.93 6.52 4.74 3.88 3.72 2.13 2.12 1.95 1.84 1.84 1.73 1.49 1.4 1.3 0.89 0.8 0.58 0.55 0.51 0.39 0.21 0.16 0.1 0.04 0.01 3.1 100

300

202

17 44 18 9

[Source: Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT)

Imports The share of agricultural imports in Indias total imports was much smaller at 3.8 per cent. Indias agricultural imports were worth Rs 1,01,286 crore in 2013, of which only edible oils contributed about 60 per cent and pulses contributed another 13 per cent. Fruit, cashew nuts and natural rubber also have significant share in imports. There are a number of government initiatives for export promotion, including agriculture export promotion zones, the Basmati Export Development Foundation, the Technology Mission on Cotton, etc. The higher share of edible oils and pulses in imports needed to be addressed through both policy and technological interventions. Table 2: Indias agricultural imports 2012-2013 Quantity in thousand Commodity tonne Vegetable oils fixed (edible) 11,013 Pulses 3,838 Fruit and nuts, excluding cashew nuts Raw cashew nuts 892 Natural rubber 263 Sugar 1,114 Spices 154 Cotton raw 231 Silk, raw 5 Raw hides & Skins Oil seeds Jute, raw 149 Cereal preparation 50 Tea 22 Other cereal 45 Milk and cream 5 Cashew shelled 6 Vegetables and animal fats 1 Wheat 3 Rice 1 Other agricultural commodities Total agricultural and allied Indias total imports Share of agriculture and allied in total imports [Source: DGFT]
[The writer is principal scientist (agricultural economics), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) New Delhi He can be contacted at amarender@iari.res.in]

Value in Rs crore 61,106 12,739 5,972 5,331 4,590 3,072 2,590 2,465 1,237 435 406 371 332 274 111 107 102 37 6 4 1,01,286 26,69,840 3.8

Share (%) 60.33 12.58 5.9 5.26 4.53 3.03 2.56 2.43 1.22 0.43 0.4 0.37 0.33 0.27 0.11 0.11 0.1 0.04 0.01 0 0 100