While the share of Basmati rice in India’s agri-export basket is likely to fall this fiscal, beef exports will continue to post healthy returns, according to statistics provided by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

The authority, under the Ministry of Commerce with 22 scheduled products under its purview, undertook trade worth $22 billion in 2013-14 and expects a slight decline this fiscal. India exported about Rs 87,553 crore worth of agri-goods between April-November 2014 and had seen exports hit Rs 1.37 lakh crore overall last fiscal.

Basmati rice, among the key drivers for export earnings, has been hit as Iran is not allowing imports due to sufficient stocks. India exported 3.7-3.8 million tonnes (mt) of Basmati rice worth Rs 29,291 crore last fiscal, with Iran importing about 1.4 mt.

“Overall, we’re looking at lesser export volumes this fiscal, about 3.5 mt. The ban in Iran and downturn in the global economy, particularly in the European Union, has resulted in lower demand for Basmati rice,” said Santosh Sarangi, Director, APEDA.

Beef exports

Buffalo meat exports, which posted significant growth over the last few years touching 1.5 mt worth Rs 26,458 crore in 2013-14, have continued an upward trajectory. India exported 817,844 tonnes of buffalo meat worth Rs 16,083 crore between April-October.

Sarangi, however, did state that growth was flattening and competition from Brazilian beef exports, which were costlier by about $400-500/tonne prior to their currency, real, depreciating about 18 per cent against the US dollar over the last two months, would post challenges for Indian exporters in the Gulf countries and China, which imports 45 per cent of Indian buffalo meat that is routed through Vietnam.

“Growth this year in beef has been about 15 per cent, it was 30 per cent last year. This is expected after continuous high growth over the last few years. Our market penetration and new destinations, such as Russia were added this year,” he said.

Growth potential

Grapes, processed foods and biscuits and confectionaries hold considerable potential for growth and APEDA would be undertaking efforts to promote these categories in 2015-16. “Our grapes have the advantage of being harvested in a window when others do not, it’s an advantage and our penetration in key markets like China, Taiwan and the US has been low. Processed foods, particularly mango pulp, juices and juice concentrates, are another area holding promise,” said Sarangi.

Biscuits and confectionaries’ exports, particularly to African countries, have grown from a base of $100 million in 2011-12 to about $170 million last fiscal. Sarangi believes this could hit $350-400 million soon.

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