{"id":58911,"date":"2025-08-11T11:09:37","date_gmt":"2025-08-11T05:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=58911"},"modified":"2025-08-11T11:09:37","modified_gmt":"2025-08-11T05:39:37","slug":"indias-agricultural-exports-surge-amid-global-trade-challenges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/indias-agricultural-exports-surge-amid-global-trade-challenges\/","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Agricultural Exports Surge Amid Global Trade Challenges"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>India Farm Exports Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">While overall merchandise export growth remains flat and unlikely to exceed the 2022-23 peak of $451.1 billion, agricultural exports are driving India\u2019s export momentum, showing resilience and record-breaking potential.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Export Performance in 2024-25<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2024-25, India\u2019s merchandise exports stood at $437.4 billion, just 0.1% higher than the $437.1 billion in 2023-24.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">During April-June 2025, exports rose to $112 billion, a 1.7% increase from $110.1 billion in the same period last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Union govt expressed confidence that exports this fiscal would surpass last year\u2019s levels, despite potential disruptions from U.S. President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff measures, including a 50% duty on Indian goods.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Agricultural Exports: Strong Upward Trend<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agricultural exports recorded robust growth of 6.4%, increasing from $48.8 billion in 2023-24 to $51.9 billion in 2024-25.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The first quarter of 2025-26 posted a further 5.8% year-on-year rise.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If current trends continue, farm exports could reach $55 billion in 2025-26, surpassing the previous record of $53.2 billion in 2022-23.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s agricultural exports to the U.S. have been particularly strong, growing by 24.1% during January-June 2025 compared to the same period in 2024.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Drivers and Risks for India\u2019s Farm Exports<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India\u2019s farm exports surged from $7.5 billion in 2003-04 to $43.3 billion in 2013-14, later peaking at <\/span><b>$53.2 billion in 2022-23 due to a global agri-commodity price boom<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The FAO food price index rose from 96.4 (2019-20) to 140.6 (2022-23).<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 2023-24 decline was driven by <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">drought and government curbs on wheat, rice, sugar, and onion exports to control food inflation<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These restrictions eased in 2024-25 as monsoon-aided farm output improved, with a second consecutive above-normal monsoon likely allowing sugar export resumption.\u00a0<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sugar net exports fell sharply from $5.5 billion (2022-23) to $771.3 million (2024-25).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In Q1 2025-26, major items like marine products, non-basmati rice, buffalo meat, coffee, tobacco, and fruits &amp; vegetables posted strong growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Coffee exports benefited from low global stocks due to poor harvests in Brazil and Vietnam, while tobacco shipments rose following output shortfalls in Brazil and Zimbabwe.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Brazil and Vietnam are the world\u2019s biggest producers of arabica and robusta varieties respectively.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India mostly exports robusta beans and powder used in instant coffee and espresso blends.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Tariff Risks and Competitive Pressures<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From August 27, 2025, U.S. tariffs of 50% on Indian goods could hit marine products hardest, with the U.S. taking 35% of India\u2019s exports in this category.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Frozen shrimps and prawns alone sent $1.9 billion of the $4.5 billion total to the U.S<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Similar tariffs on Brazilian goods may divert their coffee surplus to other markets, potentially lowering prices and hurting Indian exports.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>India\u2019s Agricultural Import Trends and Growing Dependence<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">India maintained a <\/span><b>$13.4 billion agricultural trade surplus in 2024-25<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with farm exports ($51.9 billion) exceeding imports ($38.5 billion), even as the surplus has fallen sharply from $27.7 billion in 2013-14 due to faster import growth.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Agricultural imports remain concentrated in a few commodities<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, with over two-thirds coming from <\/span><b>vegetable oils, pulses, and fresh fruits<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Fresh fruit imports<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 worth $1.7 billion, largely from the U.S. \u2014 include almonds, pistachios, walnuts, apples, grapes, kiwis, figs, pears, and dates.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Pulses imports<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> hit a record 7.3 million tonnes ($5.5 billion) in 2024-25 after duty cuts following the 2023-24 El Ni\u00f1o drought, though they have reduced this year with a bumper harvest.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Vegetable oil imports<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (palm, soyabean, sunflower) continue rising as domestic production lags demand.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cotton and natural rubber imports<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> have also grown due to declining domestic output since their peaks in 2013-14 and 2012-13, respectively.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Agriculture Emerges as a Sticking Point in India\u2013US Trade Talks<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PM Modi\u2019s recent statement that India will never compromise the interests of its farmers, livestock rearers, and fisherfolk underscores the government\u2019s firm stance in stalled trade negotiations with the US.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>key point of contention<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">opening India\u2019s market to US farm produce \u2014 including GM maize, soyabean, fuel ethanol, and dairy products<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 which New Delhi now wants excluded from any deal.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This hardened position is shaped by domestic political sensitivities and US President Donald Trump\u2019s tariff measures, including a 50% duty on Indian imports, part of which penalises oil purchases from Russia.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/opinion\/editorials\/for-india-and-us-agricultural-trade-could-be-a-win-win-option-10181691\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> | <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/explained-economics\/indias-rising-farm-exports-10181901\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>India\u2019s farm exports are rising despite flat overall trade growth, driven by strong global demand and easing export restrictions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":58936,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2118,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-58911","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-india-farm-exports","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58911","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\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=58911"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58911\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/58936"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=58911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=58911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}