Agri exports grow by 23% to ₹25,553 cr in Q1 of current fiscal

A substantial increase in exports of non-basmati rice, sugar and onion has helped India push up exports of agricultural commodities during the first three months of the current fiscal by 23 per cent to ₹25,553 crore as against the export earning of ₹20,735 crore in the corresponding period in the last financial year, according to data released by the Agriculture Ministry.

While the export of non-basmati rice went up by 70 per cent to ₹5,800 crore in the first quarter of 2020-21, that of onions was up by 48 per cent to ₹1,197 crore. However, growth in basmati export remained flat at ₹8,591 crore while that of tea dipped by nearly 28 per cent to ₹1013 crore.

Exports of refined sugar, on the other hand, shot up by 80 per cent in FY21Q1 to ₹3,863 crore as compared to ₹2,144 crore in the corresponding quarter last year. Similarly, there is a decent 38 per cent increase in the export of raw sugar, raking in a sum of ₹1,616 crore, up from ₹1,168 crore in the same quarter in the last fiscal.

Soyameal exports fell to ₹751 crore from ₹880 crore in the same period last year, mustard and rapeseed meal registered a marginal 1 per cent growth to ₹432 crore.

Among other agri commodities that registered handsome increase are kabuli chana (94 per cent to ₹205 crore), Bengal gram (408 per cent to ₹140 crore) and tur (by 440 per cent to ₹81 crore). There was a slight 5 per cent decline in potato exports, which fetched ₹140 crore this first quarter of the current fiscal. Soyabean exports too dipped by 8 per cent to ₹84 crore, the data showed.