Agriculture Imports & Exports

agricultural exports fell 8.2% in the fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 on the back of shipment curbs on a host of commodities, from cereals and sugar to onions. WHAT WAS THE VALUE OF EXPORTS? The value of farm exports totaled $48.82 billion in 2023-24, down from the record $53.15 billion of 2022-23 and $50.24 billion for 2021-22. MAIN DRIVER OF FALLING EXPORTS The fall in exports to have been led primarily by sugar and non-basmati rice.

• The government hasn’t allowed any sugar to go out of the country during the current production year from October 2023. Not surprisingly, exports of the sweetener were valued at only $2.82 billion in 2023-24, after peaking at $5.77 billion and $4.60 billion in the preceding fiscals.
• Concerns over domestic availability and food inflation have similarly triggered a ban on exports of all white non-basmati rice since July 2023. Currently, only parboiled grain shipments are being permitted within the non-basmati segment, while also attracting a 20% duty. These restrictions have pulled down overall non-basmati exports from a record $6.36 billion in 2023-23 to $4.57 billion in 2023-24.

OTHER ITEMS OF EXPORT Most of the other major agri export items — barring marine products, castor oil and other cereals (mainly maize) — have posted growth.

• Basmati rice exports fetched $5.84 billion in 2023-24, surpassing the previous high of $4.86 billion achieved back in 2013-14.
• Spices exports, too, crossed the $4 billion mark for the first time.
• On the other hand, exports of buffalo meat, oil meals and raw cotton, even while up over 2022-23, were far from their corresponding records of $4.78 billion, $3.04 billion and $4.33 billion touched in 2014-15, 2012-13 and 2011-12 respectively.

INDIA’S AGRI EXPORTS

THE REDUCING IMPORTS The 7.9% dip in overall agri imports during 2023-24 was largely due to a single commodity: edible oils.

• India’s imports of vegetable fats topped $20 billion in 2022-23. That was the year immediately after the Russia-Ukraine war.
• Lower global prices, in turn, brought down the vegetable oil import bill to below $15 billion during last fiscal.

But even as the foreign exchange outflow on account of cooking oil has reduced, imports of pulses almost doubled to $3.75 billion in 2023-24, the highest since the $3.90 billion and $4.24 billion levels of 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively.

INDIA’S AGRI IMPORTS

WAY FORWARD Farmers and agri-traders, like all businessmen, want policy stability and predictability. The government taking over post the elections may have to come out with a more rational export-import policy, balancing the interests of producers and consumers as well as the short- and long-term goals for the farm sector.