India scripts turnaround in pulses, becoming exporter from importer

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By Our Special Correspondent

New Delhi, November 2: With the world battling wheat shortage, India appears to have pitched in as the staple grain in several countries recorded 136 per cent jump in exports, followed by the dairy products at 58 per cent. India’s agricultural and processed food exports jumped by over 25 per cent in the first six months of the current fiscal, which also included strong shipments of vegetables and fruits.

The export of pulses has witnessed an increase of 144 per cent in Q2 of the current fiscal in comparison to the corresponding months of the last fiscal as the export of lentils increased from $135 million (April-September 2021-22) to $330 million (April-September 2022-23). The government has significantly hiked the minimum support prices of pulses to encourage the farmers to grow more lentils. India had previously been importing pulses from African countries and Myanmar to meet the domestic demands.

Wheat export registered an increase of 136 per cent in Q2 of the current fiscal. Wheat export rose to $1487 million in April-September 2022 from $630 million in April-September 2021. Other cereals’ export increased from $467 million in April-September 2021 to $525 million in April-September 2022 and the export of livestock products increased from $1903 million in April-September 2021 to $2099 million in April-September 2022.

Exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by 25 per cent within six months of the current Financial Year 2022-23 (April-September) in comparison to the corresponding period of FY 2021-22. The overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) products increased to $13771 million in April-September 2022 from $11056 million over the same period of the last fiscal year.

For the year 2022-23, an export target of $23.56 billion has been fixed by APEDA for the agricultural and processed food products basket and an export of $13.77 billion has already been achieved in these six months of the current fiscal, said the government in an official statement.

As per the DGCI&S provisional data, processed fruits and vegetables recorded a significant growth of 42.42 per cent (April-September 2022). Also, processed food products like cereals and miscellaneous processed items reported a growth of 29.36 per cent compared to the first six months of the previous year.

In April-September, 2021, fresh fruits were exported to the tune of $301 million which increased to $313 million in the corresponding months of the current fiscal. Basmati Rice exports witnessed a growth of 37.36 per cent in six months of FY 2022-23 as its export increased from $1660 million (April-September 2021) to $2280 million (April-September 2022). The poultry products alone registered a growth of 83 per cent as its export rose to $57 million within the half-year bracket of the current fiscal from $31 million recorded for the corresponding months of the previous year.

Similarly, dairy products recorded a growth of 58 per cent as its export rose to $342 million in Q2 of the current fiscal from $216 million in Q2 of the previous year.

As per the DGCI&S data, the country’s agricultural products exports had grown by 19.92 per cent in the latest FY of 2022 to touch $50.21 billion.