Continuing the previous year's trend, agricultural and processed food exports increased by 14% in the first three months of the current Fiscal Year 2022-23 (April-June) compared to the same period in FY 2021-22.
Under APEDA, the government set an export target of USD 23.56 billion for the agricultural and processed food products basket for the fiscal year 2022-23. The Ministry of Commerce and Industry's initiatives have assisted the country in meeting 25% of its total annual export target in the first three months of the current fiscal year.
According to the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) Quick Estimates data, 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 in the previous fiscal period. The target for April-June 2022-23 exports was USD 5890 million. Tea, coffee, spices, cotton, and marine exports are not included in the APEDA basket.
Fresh fruit and vegetable exports increased by 8.6 percent, while processed food products such as cereals and miscellaneous processed items increased by 36.4 percent (April-June 2022-23) when compared to the same months the previous year.
Fresh fruits and vegetables were exported to the tune of USD 642 million in April-June 2021, increasing to USD 697 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal. Exports of other cereals increased from USD 237 million in April-June 2021 to USD 306 million in April-June 2022, while exports 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 increased by 13% in the first three months of fiscal year 2022-23, while meat, dairy, and poultry exports increased by 9.5 percent and other cereals exports increased by 29 percent. Rice exports increased from 2412 million USD in April-June 2021 to 2723 million USD in April-June 2022.
In the first three months of the current fiscal year, dairy products were exported to the tune of USD 1120 million, up 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 in order to increase exports of the country's unique products." We aim to sustain the growth in India's agricultural and processed food exports in the current fiscal year by creating a necessary export eco-system and collaborating with key stakeholders in the agri-exports value chains," M Angamuthu, Chairman of APEDA, said.
Agricultural product exports from India increased by 19.92% during 2021-22, reaching USD 50.21 billion. The growth rate is remarkable because it exceeds the 17.66% growth rate of USD 41.87 billion achieved in 2020-21, despite unprecedented logistical challenges such as high freight rates and container shortages, among other things.
The increase in agricultural and processed food product exports is the result of the government's various initiatives for agricultural and processed food product export promotion, such as organizing B2B exhibitions in different countries and exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns with the active participation of Indian embassies.
The government has also taken several initiatives to promote products with registered geographical indications (GI) in India, including virtual Buyer Seller Meets on agricultural and food products with the UAE and GI products, including handicrafts, with the United States. The government has recognized 220 labs across India to provide testing services to a wide range of products and exporters in order to ensure seamless quality certification of products to be exported.
