India’s exports of cereals posted a sharp increase in 2020--21 with commodities such as non-basmati rice, wheat and other cereals including millets, maize and other coarse grains, posting record growths.
While export of non-basmati rice increased by by 136 per cent to $ 4.79 billion, wheat rose by by 774.17 per cent to $ 549.16 million and other cereals (millets, maize and other coarse grains) jumped 238.28 per cent to $ 694.14 million, according to an official release of the Commerce & Industry Ministry.
“We took several measures in terms of ensuring safety and hygiene because of the operational and health challenges posed by Covid-19, while ensuring that agricultural products exports continue uninterrupted,” said Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA.
In case of exports of other cereals excluding rice and wheat, India shipped substantial quantities to newer destinations or countries including Sudan, Poland, Bolivia, Colombia, Congo D. Rep. and Ghana in 2020-21, the release stated. India did not export cereals other than rice and wheat to these six countries in 2018-19.
Wheat was exported in substantial quantities to seven new countries including Yemen, Indonesia, Bhutan, Philippines, Iran, Cambodia and Myanmar during 2020-21. “In the previous financial years, only small quantities of wheat were exported to these countries. Wheat exports did not take place to these seven countries in 2018-19 and only 4 metric tonne of grain was exported in 2019-20. The volume of exports of wheat to these countries rose to 1.48 lakh tonne in 2020-21,” the release stated.