After a fall of 20% witnessed in the last fiscal, India’s farm and processed food exports are set to register a turnaround by the end of current financial year despite a sharp fall in shipment of basmati rice, which has share of 20% of total exports basket.
According to data from Agricultural and Processed Food Products and Export Development Authority (Apeda), exports in April-December FY17 stood at Rs 76,902 crore, 3.7% lower than same period last year.
India’s farm and processed foods exports had fallen to Rs 1.06 lakh crore in FY16 against Rs 1.31 lakh crore reported in FY15. Because of stoppage of rice shipment to Iran, the country’s biggest destination for shipment of aromatic long grain rice, India’s exports during first three quarters of FY17 has fallen by close to 13% to Rs 15, 379 crore.
In case of non-basmati rice, the exports have increased marginally to Rs 11,640 crore in the current fiscal compared to Rs 11,509 crore reported during the same period last fiscal.
However the exports of buffalo meat, with a biggest share of around 26% in the Apeda export basket, has declined only by 4% to R19, 739 crore in April-December, 2016-17. “Buffalo exports which was hit temporarily because of demonetisation, has seen a rebound and expected to witness an increase in the last quarter of the current fiscal,” D K Singh, chairman, Apeda told FE.
The shipment of fresh fruits and vegetables rose by more than 12% in the current fiscal to around Rs 7,000 crore while the exports of groundnuts witnessed an increase of close to 30% to Rs 3,630 crore in April-December 2016 period.
Trade sources said in the last quarter of the current fiscal, basmati rice exports could increase as India and Iran negotiate the modalities. Tehran recently put upper limits for import and consumer prices of the cereal. While India’s recent exports of the rice to the West Asian country cost the importer around $ 900 to 950 per tonne (landed price), the ceiling price imposed is $ 850 a tonne and the maximum consumer price set is $1.15 a kg.
Clearly, realisations of Indian exporters will diminish under the price caps. “This is unilateral imposition of a virtual import tariff. Iran government must realise that prices are decided by demand and supply… it is unfair to impose such restrictions,” a leading rice exporter told FE on condition of anonymity. Apeda has identified 20-odd clusters for sustaining growth in the exports of food products.
Sourec: financialexpress.com