As demand rises, fruits and vegetables’ gross value tops that of cereals

Growing fruits and vegetables (F&V) yielded more value for growers than cereals in 2019-20 with the gross value output (GVO) of F&V topping that of cereals since 2014-15, data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation show.

A report published by the National Statistics Office on “State-wise and item-wise value of output from agriculture, forestry and fishing” showed that the GVO of F&V, including floriculture whose share increased by one percentage point during the period, was ₹38,300 crore compared to cereals’ GVO of ₹37,760 crore in 2019-20. 

At the start of the decade in 2011-12, the GVO of F&V was ₹28,740 crore, while that of cereals was ₹33,640 crore. The value of F&V topped that of cereal in 2014-15 (₹32,660 crore vs ₹32,590 crore) and since then has been on the upswing. 

Spices, condiments

The share of F&V in total GVO of different groups of crops increased to 27.7 per cent from 24.1 per cent during the period. Cereals GVO dropped to 27.3 per cent from 28.2 per cent. Among other groups, spices and condiments’ GVO increased to 5.5 per cent from 3.9 per cent and pulses to 5.1 per cent from 4.4 per cent. 

One reason for the value of F&V to rise, according to analysts, is that the Indian population is increasingly moving towards fresh fruits and vegetables, while demand for cereals has been constant.  

Among cereals, the value of paddy and other cereals was a tad lower in 2019-20 compared with 2011-12. But the value of wheat (35.5 per cent vs 35.1 per cent) and maize (8.1 per cent vs 7 per cent) increased, while jowar registered the sharpest fall (2.1 per cent vs 2.9 per cent).

Fishing, aquaculture

The study, released recently, revealed that crops as a percentage of agriculture, forestry and fishing GVO declined to 55 per cent in 2019-20 from 62.4 per cent in 2011-12.

Data showed that the output, at constant prices, of fishing and aquaculture registered an impressive 91 per cent growth during the period, while livestock recorded over 50 per cent growth. 

The GVO of agriculture, forestry and fishing increased to ₹24.92 lakh crore in 2019-20 compared with ₹19.08 lakh crore in 2011-12 with crop value increasing to ₹13.82 lakh crore from ₹11.91 lakh crore. 

The GVO of livestock increased to ₹7.6 lakh crore from ₹4.8 lakh crore and that of fisheries and aquaculture to 1.53 lakh crore from ₹80,000 crore. Forestry and logging fetched ₹1.96 lakh crore in 2019-20 against ₹1.49 lakh crore in 2011-12.

UP top contributor

The Ministry said since crops accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the output of agriculture and allied sectors, the GVO of crops was presented after dividing them into 12 similar groups. These groups are cereals; pulses; oilseeds; sugars;  fibres; indigo, dyes and tanning materials; drugs and narcotics; condiments and spices; fruits and vegetables; other crops; by-products; and kitchen garden.  

Among the States, Uttar Pradesh topped in the value contribution of cereals, making up 18.5 per cent, while Punjab’s contribution was 11.3 per cent followed by Madhya Pradesh’s contribution of 10 per cent. West Bengal (7 per cent) and Haryana (6.6 per cent) were fourth and fifth. 

Among fruits and vegetables, fruits’ share in the value increased to 41.3 per cent from 40.9 with GVO of banana (up at 9.2 per cent from 8.7 per cent) and orange (3.8 per cent from 3.1 per cent) increasing. 

In the vegetable segment, onion’s value increased to 6.4 per cent of the GVO from 4.7 per cent, while the rest including potato, tomato, brinjal, cauliflower and remaining vegetables showed a downtrend. 

West Bengal topped in the contribution to the F&V sector at  11.9 per cent share to the GVO, followed by Madhya Pradesh at 10.2 per cent. However, Bengal’s contribution has declined from 13.9 per cent, while that of Madhya Pradesh increased from 6.3 per cent. The contribution of Andhra Pradesh (9.3 per cent from 5.8 per cent) and Uttar Pradesh (9.4 per cent from 7.2 per cent) increased.