Introduction
The agriculture sector is the largest source of livelihood in India. The country is one of the largest producers of agriculture and food products in the world. India’s agriculture sector recorded a growth rate of 4.4% in FY25 improving 2.7% as compared to previous fiscal.The Gross Value Added (GVA) of agriculture and allied sectors at current prices increased from US$ 170.27 billion in FY12 to US$ 610.51 billion in FY25. The country produces many crops and food grains such as rice, wheat, pulses, oilseeds, coffee, jute, sugarcane, tea, tobacco, groundnuts, dairy products, fruits, etc.
In FY25 (April-December 2024), India’s tea production stood at 1,284.7 million kgs. Coffee production during FY25 was 3,63,500 million tonnes. While other products such as rice, wheat, maize, pulses, mustard, and sugarcane reached a record high production.
The top crop-producing states in India are West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Gujarat, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Chhattisgarh. Most of the wheat produced in the country comes from Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, and Gujarat. Uttar Pradesh is the largest producer of sugarcane in India contributing about 48%, followed by Maharashtra and Karnataka at 23% and 9% of the total production respectively.
Export Trend
India is one of the largest agricultural product exporters in the world. In FY26 (April-July 2025) agriculture product export stood at US$ 16.9 billion. Whereas, in FY25, the overall value of export of agricultural products stood at US$ 51.2 billion. In FY24 the agricultural exports from India stood at US$ 48.1 billion whereas in FY23, the agricultural exports from India stood at US$ 52.5 billion. India’s agriculture sector primarily exports Agri & allied products, marine products, plantation, and textile & allied products.
Rice exports in FY25 stood at US$ 12.47 billion compared to US$ 10.42 billion in FY24. In FY23, rice exports from India were valued at US$ 11.14 billion, as against US$ 9.67 billion in FY22. Rice is the largest exported agricultural product from India and contributes more than 30% of the agriculture exports. Coffee exports in FY25 stood at US$ 1.81 billion as compared to US$ 1.29 billion in FY24.
Higher exports of marine products, at US$ 7.41 billion in FY25, are benefitting farmers in the coastal states of West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra, and Gujarat.
The government’s commitment to increasing farmers‟ income can be seen through the significant rise witnessed in Agri-exports by giving thrust on boosting exports. Various initiatives taken by the government through APEDA such as organizing B2B exhibitions in different countries and exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns have worked as catalysts for the growth of exports. The government of India has created a product matrix for 50 agricultural products with strong export potential and recognized 220 labs to provide services of testing a wide range of products to enable exporters across India.
Export Destinations
The largest importers of India’s agricultural products, as of FY25, were the USA, UAE, China, Bangladesh. During this period, the USA was the largest importer of Indian agricultural products at US$ 5.62 billion with a share of 10.98% of the total exports.The government of India is keen to organize virtual buyer-seller meets (V-BSM) on agricultural and food products with the major importing countries across the world to promote geographical indications (GI) registered with agricultural and processed food products in India. So far 17 V-BSMs have been organized with Kuwait, Indonesia, Switzerland, Belgium, and Iran. Similar programs have been organized for Canada (Organic products), UAE & USA (GI products), Germany, South Africa, Australia, Thailand, Oman, Bhutan, Azerbaijan, and Qatar.
The government has set up thirteen Agri-Cells in Indian embassies in Vietnam, USA, Bangladesh, Nepal, UAE, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Japan, and Argentina to provide inputs on a real-time basis to improve Indian exports at these destinations by promoting trade, tourism, technology, and investment goals.
Government Initiatives
Agriculture Export Policy 2018 (AEP)
The Government of India has introduced a comprehensive Agriculture Export Policy (AEP) to promote exports of agricultural products. The key objectives of the AEP are to diversify export basket and destinations, to boost high value-added agricultural exports, to promote indigenous, organic, traditional, and non-traditional Agri products exports, to provide an institutional mechanism for pursuing market access and to enable farmers to get the benefit of export opportunities in overseas market.
Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS)
FAS is the export promotion scheme by the Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). It is part of the Finance Commission Cycle for the years FY22 to FY26. The primary aim of this scheme is to assist businesses in export infrastructure development, quality development and market development. The financial assistance under the scheme will range from Rs. 5 lakh (US$ 6,500) to Rs. 5 crore (US$ 650,000).
Ministry of Commerce & Industry scheme
The Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry has also initiated several schemes to promote exports, including the Trade Infrastructure for Export Scheme (TIES), the Market Access Initiatives (MAI) Scheme, etc.
In addition, assistance to the exporters of agricultural products is also available under the Export Promotion Schemes of APEDA, Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA), Tobacco Board, Tea Board, Coffee Board, Rubber Board and Spices Board. Further, to boost honey exports, India has made NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) testing mandatory for honey exported to the USA.
Governing Bodies
Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)
APEDA was formed in 1986 for the development of the exports of the agriculture industry in India. The main functions of the authority are the registration of people as exporters, fixing standards and specifications for the scheduled products, carrying out inspections, collecting statistics and providing information, training and advisory services to the exporters. APEDA is entrusted with the responsibility of the export and promotion of 14 agriculture and processed food product groups.
RELATED SITES
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