India aims to double organic food exports to $1 bln

New Delhi: India aims to cross $1 billion of organic product exports next year and the country is exploring Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) in sensitive exports like fisheries which face higher rejections, an official said Wednesday.India’s organic food exports have grown to $494.80 million in 2023-24 from $213 million in 2012-13 with the major export destinations being the US, EU, Canada, UK, Switzerland, Australia, middle east and Asian countries.

The major export items are cereals and millets, processed food, tea, spices and medicinal plant products, among others.

“Quality issues for export consignments are a bigger concern than tariff barriers,” said an official, adding that there has been
over 300% increase in labs and 200% increase in certification for food products being exported since the past decade.Besides, export rejections of Indian fisheries products by the EU have reduced to 3 in 2024 from 15 in 2017.

“MRAs for export of edible products already exist with the EU, China, Bhutan and talks are underway with Qatar for such an arrangement,” the official said.

Moreover, the government is also developing portals for market access, traceability and National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP)- the guidelines for which are being revised after a decade.

Tobacco exports
India’s tobacco exports are likely to grow 8% to cross Rs 13,000 crore this year, Rajesh Agrawal, additional secretary in the Department of Commerce said Wednesday.

India is the second largest producer of tobacco in the world after China. It is also the fourth largest producer of Flue-Cured Virginia (FCV) tobacco in the world after China, Brazil and Zimbabwe.

“Tobacco exports contribute sizable foreign exchange to the Indian exchequer. This year, we are going to cross Rs 13,000 crore…Tobacco farmers income has also doubled over the last five years,” Agrawal said.

In FY24, their exports were around Rs 12,005 crore. Last year, India produced 300 million kg of tobacco. The government regulates the production and aims to maintain the level of production at around 270 million kg.

Agrawal said India does not promote an increase in tobacco production as it is signatory to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC). In the last 10 years, the government has not registered farmers for the production.

The Tobacco Board supports 80,000-85,000 registered farmers by providing handholding assistance to produce tobacco of requisite quality to meet the standards of importing countries and has implemented an IT-enabled electronic auctioning system for FCV tobacco, the main ingredient of cigarettes.