{"id":40859,"date":"2025-11-08T10:28:48","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T04:58:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=40859"},"modified":"2025-11-10T16:35:22","modified_gmt":"2025-11-10T11:05:22","slug":"need-for-a-new-agricultural-export-import-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/need-for-a-new-agricultural-export-import-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Need for a new agricultural export-import policy"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>What\u2019s in today\u2019s article?<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li>Why in News?<\/li>\n<li>Overall agricultural scenario in India<\/li>\n<li>Analysis of Agricultural export<\/li>\n<li>Agri exports: key trends<\/li>\n<li>Agri imports \u2013 key trends<\/li>\n<li>Key takeaways<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Why in News?<\/h2>\n<p>India&#8217;s agricultural exports decreased by 8.2% in the fiscal year ending March 31, 2024, due to restrictions on shipments of various commodities (from cereals and sugar to onions).<\/p>\n<h2>Overall agricultural scenario in India<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Growth rate and contribution<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>According to the second advance estimates, agriculture and allied sector is projected to grow 0.7% in FY24.<\/li>\n<li>The agricultural sector is estimated to constitute 18 percent of India&#8217;s GVA in FY24.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Production<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The total food grains production for FY23 was 329.7 million tonnes, marking a rise of 14.1 million tonnes compared to the previous year.\n<ul>\n<li>The horticulture production was 355.25 million tonnes which is the highest ever for Indian Horticulture (as per third advance estimates).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>India&#8217;s global dominance extends across agricultural commodities, making it the largest producer of milk, pulses, and spices worldwide.<\/li>\n<li>Additionally, India ranks second-largest producer of fruits, vegetables, tea, farmed fish, sugarcane, wheat, rice, cotton, and sugar.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Analysis of Agricultural export<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Statistics<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The total value of farm exports was $48.82 billion in 2023-24, according to Department of Commerce data.<\/li>\n<li>It has shown a decline from the record $53.15 billion in 2022-23 and $50.24 billion in the previous fiscal year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trends Over Years<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>During the initial years of the present govt, agricultural exports dropped from $43.25 billion in 2013-14 to $35.60 billion in 2019-20, accompanied by an increase in imports from $15.53 billion to $21.86 billion (during the same period).<\/li>\n<li>During this period, global agri-commodity prices fell significantly, leading to a decline in India&#8217;s agricultural exports.\n<ul>\n<li>The <a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/upsc-exam\/the-united-nations-un\/\" target=\"_blank\">UN <\/a>Food and Agriculture Organization\u2019s (FAO) food price index dropped from an average of 119.1 to 96.5 points between 2013-14 and 2019-20.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Low international prices made India&#8217;s exports less competitive and increased its vulnerability to imports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impact of Global Events<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The global price recovery after the Covid-19 pandemic and Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine caused India&#8217;s farm exports and imports to reach all-time highs in 2022-23, with the FAO index soaring to 140.8.<\/li>\n<li>However, exports decreased in the fiscal year that just ended.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Agri exports: key trends<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Impact of ban on export of sugar and non-basmati rice<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The fall in exports to have been led primarily by sugar and non-basmati rice.<\/li>\n<li>The government hasn\u2019t allowed any sugar to go out of the country during the current production year from October 2023.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>Exports of the sweetener were valued at only $2.82 billion in 2023-24, after peaking at $5.77 billion and $4.60 billion in the preceding fiscals.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Concerns over domestic availability and food inflation have similarly triggered a ban on exports of all white non-basmati rice since July 2023.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>Currently, only parboiled grain shipments are being permitted within the non-basmati segment, while also attracting a 20% duty.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>These restrictions have pulled down overall non-basmati exports from a record $6.36 billion in 2023-23 to $4.57 billion in 2023-24.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Impact of export restrictions on wheat and onion<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Wheat exports were altogether stopped in May 2022, following which their value plunged to $56.74 million in 2023-24, after reaching an all-time-high of $2.12 billion in 2021-22.<\/li>\n<li>Similarly, the onion export was also banned.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>On May 4, 2024, the Centre lifted a ban on exports of the bulb. Simultaneously, a floor price of $550 per tonne, along with a 40% duty, was imposed.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Trend of other major agri export items<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Most of the other major agri export items \u2014 barring marine products, castor oil and other cereals (mainly maize) \u2014 have posted growth.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Basmati rice exports fetched $5.84 billion in 2023-24, surpassing the previous high of $4.86 billion achieved back in 2013-14.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>Spices exports, too, crossed the $4 billion mark for the first time.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3>Agri imports \u2013 key trends<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Dip in imports of edible oils<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Analysis of data shows that the 7.9% dip in overall agri imports during 2023-24 was largely due to a single commodity &#8211; edible oils.<\/li>\n<li>India\u2019s imports of vegetable fats topped $20 billion in 2022-23.\n<ul>\n<li>That was the year immediately after the Russia-Ukraine war when the global price of vegetable oils increased.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>However, 2023-24 saw lowering of global prices of the vegetable oil. This, in turn, reduced the import bill to below $15 billion during last fiscal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Increase in import of pulses<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The import of pulses almost doubled to $3.75 billion in 2023-24, the highest since the $3.90 billion and $4.24 billion levels of 2015-16 and 2016-17 respectively.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Key takeaways<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Policy stability and predictability is the key<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>Farmers and agri-traders, like all businessmen, want policy stability and predictability.<\/li>\n<li>When governments resort to banning\/restricting agri exports, they usually privilege the interests of consumers over producers.\u00a0\n<ul>\n<li>These actions hurt more when taken overnight, like with wheat exports.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Building export markets takes time and effort.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li>A more predictable and rules-based policy \u2014 say, introducing temporary tariffs instead of outright bans or quantitative restrictions \u2014 is what is recommend.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><strong>Zero\/low import duties are not suitable for crop diversification<\/strong>\n<ul>\n<li>The govt has done away with import duties on most pulses \u2014 arhar (pigeon pea), urad (black gram), masoor (red lentils), etc.\n<ul>\n<li>The rate has been kept at 5.5% for crude palm, soyabean and sunflower oil.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The above zero\/low tariffs are at variance with the government\u2019s own objective to promote crop diversification.\n<ul>\n<li>The govt is taking steps to wean away farmers from rice, wheat and sugarcane to growing pulses and oilseeds, which are less water-guzzling and also significantly imported.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Q.1. What is Parboiling?\u00a0<\/h2>\n<p>Parboiling is a traditional method of processing rice in Asian and African countries that involves soaking, steaming, and drying rice while it&#8217;s still in its inedible outer husk.<\/p>\n<h2>Q.2. What is Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)?<\/h2>\n<p>The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is a United Nations agency that works to end hunger and improve food security and nutrition. The FAO&#8217;s goals include: Improving nutrition, Increasing agricultural productivity, Raising the standard of living in rural areas, and Contributing to global economic growth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/agriculture-new-export-import-9318675\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Why agriculture may need a new export-import policy<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressNoteDetails.aspx?NoteId=151859&amp;ModuleId=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">PIB<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.investindia.gov.in\/sector\/agriculture-allied-sector#:~:text=As%20per%20First%20Advance%20Estimates,estimated%20at%20224.82%20Lakh%20Tonnes.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Invest India<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The agricultural sector is estimated to constitute 18 percent of India&#8217;s GVA in FY24.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":40860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-40859","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40859","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40859"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/40859\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/40860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40859"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=40859"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=40859"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}