Export Of Processed Food & Agricultural Products Records A 9.32% Decline

New Delhi, Jan 1 (KNN) In the fiscal year 2023-24, India experienced a 9.32 per cent decrease in the export of agricultural and processed food products from April to October compared to the previous fiscal year.

As per the recent export data released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), traders faced a loss of approximately USD 1,438 million.

The overall export earnings dropped to USD 13,985 million on a year-on-year basis from April to October 2023, compared to USD 15,423 million in the corresponding period of the previous year.

During this period, the export of cereals experienced a nearly 24 per cent decrease, dropping from USD 8,258 million to USD 6,290 million. The worst-hit was wheat exports, plummeting by almost 98 per cent due to the government's imposition of a blanket ban on exports as a measure to address escalating prices in the domestic market.

On the flip side, basmati exports experienced a 16.27 per cent increase, surging to USD 2,959 million from USD 2,545 million in the previous year.

The country exported a total of 2,608 million tonnes (MT) of rice, compared to the previous year's 2,545 MT. This data indicates that the total exports of long-grained aromatic rice rose to 26.08 lakh MT this year, up from 24.10 lakh MT in the previous year.

The ban resulted in a setback for the country's non-basmati rice export, witnessing a decline of 20.16 percent.

Notably, there's been an 11.31 per cent rise in India's buffalo meat export during this period, with meat traders exporting 7.34 lakh MT, compared to last year's 6.70 lakh MT.

Despite the encouraging growth in basmati exports, the broader agricultural landscape remains challenging for the farm sector.

(KNN Bureau)