Agricultural exports remain low in FY 2024 due to decline in rice shipments

New Delhi: India's exports of agricultural and processed food products declined marginally by 0.55 per cent to $24.02 billion during 2023-24 as various restrictions adversely impacted rice shipments. However, in a year when the country's total merchandise exports declined 3.1% year-on-year, shipments of dairy products and fruits and vegetables saw double-digit growth.

According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, rice exports fell 6.5 percent to $10.4 billion last fiscal year due to a ban on exports of white and broken rice, shipment duties on some rice and a ban on wheat exports. came in may

Sources said a number of restrictions, such as the ban on rice shipments imposed last year and 20 per cent export duty on exports of partially parboiled rice, have led to a decline in shipments of non-Basmati rice, leading to a decline in the value of rice exports. .

Exports of fresh fruits and vegetables increased by 14 percent to $3.65 billion in FY24. Shipments of grain prepared and processed goods rose 9 percent to $2.8 billion last fiscal year. Shipment of oil miles in the current financial year stood at Rs 1.7 billion, up 7 percent compared to the previous financial year.

Rice exports grew by more than 15 percent year-on-year in FY2014 to a record $11.1 billion from $9.6 billion in FY2012. In volume terms, rice shipments rose 5 per cent to a record 22.34 million tonnes last fiscal. The shipment of rice in the current financial year is likely to be around 17 MT.

However, to promote exports of geographical indication (GI) tagged rice varieties like red rice, black rice and black salt rice, the government is discussing with stakeholders to allot different numbers for Harmonized System codes, Which uses numerical classification.

Exports of products under the APEDA basket are expected to grow by 9 per cent to $24.1 billion in 2022-23 compared to FY2012, led by increased shipments of rice, fruits and vegetables, livestock and dairy products.

Export of products under APEDA basket accounts for about 51% of the total shipment of agricultural produce. Other agricultural exports include seafood, tobacco, coffee and tea.