Introduction
The agriculture sector is the largest source of livelihood in India. The country is one of the largest producers of agriculture and food products in the world. In FY23, India’s agriculture sector growth rate was estimated to be at 3.5% and it was 3.0% in FY22. The gross value added (GVA) in agriculture and allied activities grew a targeted 4% for FY23. Gross value added (GVA) at constant prices in agriculture and allied activities is projected to grow 3.8% as against 1.4% in FY24, the First Advance Estimates (FAE) of gross domestic product (GDP) for FY25. The country produces many crops and food grains such as rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, coffee, jute, sugarcane, tea, tobacco, groundnuts, dairy products, fruits, etc.
In FY24, India’s tea production stood at 1,382.03 million kgs. Coffee production during the same period was 352.0 million tonnes. While other products such as rice, wheat, maize, pulses, mustard, and sugarcane reached a record high production.
The top crop-producing states in India are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Most of the wheat produced in the country comes from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of sugarcane in India contributing about 48%, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka at 23% and 9% of the total production respectively.
Export Trend
India is one of the largest agricultural product exporters in the world. In FY25 (April-December), the overall value of export of agricultural products stood at Rs. 3,18,509 crore (US$ 36.95 billion). In FY24 the agricultural exports from India stood at US$ 48.15 billion whereas in FY23, the agricultural exports from India stood at US$ 52.50 billion. India’s agriculture sector primarily exports Agri & allied products, marine products, plantation, and textile & allied products. Rice exports during the first eight months of FY25 (April to November 2024) saw a sharp spike of over 13% to Rs. 63,012 crore (US$ 7.31 billion) compared to Rs. 55,512 crore (US$ 6.44 billion) reported during the same period in FY24.
In FY23, rice exports from India were valued at US$ 11.14 billion, as against US$ 9.67 billion in FY22, registering a growth of 15.22%.
Rice is the largest exported agricultural product from India and contributes more than 20% of the total agriculture exports.
Coffee exports in FY25 (April to December 2024) stood at Rs. 10,688 crore (US$ 1.24 billion). Coffee exports from India jumped by 12.3% to 1146.2 million tonnes in 2023, on the rise in instant coffee exports and re-exports. Higher exports of marine products, at US$ 8.07 billion in FY23, are benefitting farmers in the coastal states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
The government’s commitment to increasing farmers income can be seen through the significant rise witnessed in Agri-exports by giving thrust on boosting exports. Various initiatives taken by the government through APEDA such as organizing B2B exhibitions in different countries and exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns have worked as catalysts for the growth of exports. The government of India has created a product matrix for 50 agricultural products with strong export potential and recognized 220 labs to provide services of testing a wide range of products to enable exporters across India.
Export Destinations
The largest importers of India’s agricultural products, as of FY25 (until December 2024), were the USA, UAE, China, Bangladesh. During this period, the USA was the largest importer of Indian agricultural products at Rs. 36,117 crore (US$ 4.19 billion) with a share of 11.36% of the total exports. The USA and China were the major importers of India’s marine products.
The government of India is keen to organize virtual buyer-seller meets (V-BSM) on agricultural and food products with the major importing countries across the world to promote geographical indications (GI) registered with agricultural and processed food products in India. So far 17 V-BSMs have been organized with Kuwait, Indonesia, Switzerland, Belgium, and Iran. Similar programs have been organized for Canada (Organic products), UAE & USA (GI products), Germany, South Africa, Australia, Thailand, Oman, Bhutan, Azerbaijan, and Qatar.
The government has set up thirteen Agri-Cells in Indian embassies in Vietnam, USA, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Japan, and Argentina to provide inputs on a real-time basis to improve Indian exports at these destinations by promoting trade, tourism, technology, and investment goals.
Government Initiatives
Agriculture Export Policy 2018 (AEP)
The Government of India has introduced a comprehensive Agriculture Export Policy (AEP) to promote exports of agricultural products. The key objectives of the AEP are to diversify export basket and destinations, to boost high value-added agricultural exports, to promote indigenous, organic, traditional, and non-traditional Agri products exports, to provide an institutional mechanism for pursuing market access and to enable farmers to get the benefit of export opportunities in overseas market.
Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)
FAS is the export promotion scheme by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). It is part of the Finance Commission Cycle for the years FY22 to FY26. The primary aim of this scheme is to assist businesses in export infrastructure development, quality development and market development. The financial assistance under the scheme will range from Rs. 5 lakh (US$ 6,500) to Rs. 5 crore (US$ 650,000).
Ministry of Commerce & Industry scheme
The Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has also initiated several schemes to promote exports, including the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), the Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme, etc.
In addition, assistance to the exporters of agricultural products is also available under the Export Promotion Schemes of APEDA, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Tobacco Board, Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber Board and Spices Board. Further, to boost honey exports, India has made NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) testing mandatory for honey exported to the USA.
Government Body
Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
APEDA was formed in 1986 for the development of the exports of the agriculture industry in India. The main functions of the authority are the registration of people as exporters, fixing standards and specifications for the scheduled products, carrying out inspections, collecting statistics and providing information, training and advisory services to the exporters. APEDA is entrusted with the responsibility of the export and promotion of 14 agriculture and processed food product groups.
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NCUI Building 3,
Siri Institutional Area,
August Kranti Marg,
New Delhi - 110016,
India
Tel.: +91-11-26513204
Fax: +91-11-26526187
Email: headq@apeda.gov.in
Website: www.apeda.gov.in
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