Notwithstanding a depressed monsoon and projected lower kharif agriculture output, the country is likely to witness 25 per cent growth in the export of agri and processed food products, according to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), an arm of the Union commerce ministry.
Even though export of items like pulses, wheat and non-basmati rice continues to remain banned, the increase is expected to come from segments like basmati rice, fresh fruit and vegetables, processed foods and meat. These were the segments that contributed to a higher export growth last year.
Export of fresh fruit and vegetables, for instance, grew by over 128 per cent in 2008-09 to Rs 5,569 crore, whereas exports of processed foods increased by over 25 per cent to Rs 9,919 crore. Meat exports also went up by 44.5 per cent to Rs 5,388 crore. Export of basmati rice touched an all-time high of Rs 11,162 crore, up sharply from Rs 4,345 crore in 2007-08. This was mainly on account of inclusion of the Pusa 1121 variety in basmati rice.
“I consider this as a difficult year. Realisations are lower and the global economy is still not doing well. But our exports should grow by at least 25 per cent even though the kharif crop outlook is weak,” said Apeda Chairman Asit Tripathy.
Agri exports account for about 10 per cent of the country’s total merchandise exports. The export of products, monitored by Apeda, constitutes roughly half of the country’s total agri exports.
“Considering the economic meltdown in major markets like Europe and the US, our export last year has not been impacted. At Rs 39,461 crore of estimated export for the year ended March, we clocked 25 per cent growth in rupee terms and 10 per cent in dollar terms,” he said.
Tripathy added the organisation was bracing to at least double its export turnover in the next five years. “India has an advantage over the developed world where agriculture is an expensive operation. While such countries heavily subsidise their faming activities, this cannot go on forever,” he said.
Despite being the third largest producer of food, India ranks 12th in food exports. Apeda would work towards taking the country to 10th position in a span of five years, Tripathy said.
