Agro-export: The case of India

India's export potentialities of agricultural products remain largely untapped. The country ranks second in fruits and vegetables production in the world, after China. According to the National Horticulture Database published by National Horticulture Board, India produced 81.285 million metric tonnes of fruits and 162.19 million metric tonnes of vegetables during 2012-2013. The area under cultivation of fruits stood at 6.98 million hectares while vegetables were cultivated on 9.21 million hectares.
India is the largest producer of ginger and okra amongst vegetables and ranks second in production of potatoes, onions, cauliflowers, aubergines, cabbages, etc. Amongst fruits, the country ranks first in production of bananas (22.04 per cent), papayas (40.74 per cent), and mangoes (32.65 per cent).
The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd. (NAFED) has revealed that the vast production base offers India tremendous opportunities for export. During 2014-2015, India exported fruits and vegetables worth Rs.74.7414 billion which comprised of fruits worth Rs.27.7132 billion and vegetables worth Rs.47.0278 billion. Mangoes, walnuts, grapes, bananas and pomegranates account for larger portion of fruits exported from the country while onions, okra, bitter gourd, green chillies, mushrooms and potatoes contribute largely to the vegetable export basket.
Developing countries increased their share in manufacturing exports during the 1990s, but saw little expansion in agricultural exports - barely maintaining their share of around 36 per cent after losing market shares during the 1980s. In the 1990s, all of their gains in agriculture came from expansion of their exports to other developing countries. Until now, a major share of India's agro-exports in the global trade in agro-commodities hovers around 1.0 per cent. More than 48 per cent of the world's agricultural trade is conducted between industrial countries - about the same share as in 1980-1981.
The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and McKinsey & Company have recently issued a joint report which confirms that farm products could change the agriculture landscape of India - mangoes, banana, potato, soybean and poultry are the five main farm products that could form the bedrock of rejuvenation in the landscape of India's agriculture and allied activities in the next two decades.
This can be created by building a strong brand for these products in the international markets, reducing wastage by almost half and doubling the yields per hectare. Major problems need be tackled at a quicker pace to ensure that the future prospects become brighter. It calls for ensuring that the kinds and varieties of fruits and vegetables are suitable in all respects for processing and are available in commercial quantities at reasonable prices to the processing industry.
Moreover, the lack of a proper marketing strategy geared to meeting the raw material requirement of processing units and ensuring a sustainable export market for the processed products has been keenly experienced. Due to poor infrastructure, the horticultural industry has failed to register commendable growth in the economy of India. Improper system of transportation, road networks, and freight or cargo facilities, cold storage facilities, etc., coupled with inadequate post-harvest management affect the produce and products. Poor and inconsistent quality of processed products and inadequate export promotions are hindering the growth prospects. It is the residual rather than the fresh produce that is often taken up for processing, which has a bearing on quality.
Fruits and vegetables are generally constrained by poor price support, credit support and delivery system. Inadequate support in the forms of water supply or research and development are also major constraints. The quality of packaging also leaves much to be desired inasmuch as importing countries demand specific packaging for each produce and the use of bio-degradable materials results in high cost of packaging.
Global market for these products is quite big and there is an immense scope for the LDCs (least developed countries) if their agricultural resources are systematically tapped.

Dr B. K. Mukhopadhyay, a
management economist, is attached to West Bengal
State University.
[email protected]