India’s agri-food exports up 13% to $22.67B (Apr-Feb). Rice shipments surge 21%, driven by eased restrictions. FY25 export target: $26.56B.

Written by Sandip Das.

India’s exports of agricultural and processed food products rose by more than 13% year-on-year to $22.67 billion during the April-February period of the current financial year, driven primarily by a sharp increase of 21% in rice shipments.

According to data provided by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics, rice exports, including basmati and non-basmati varieties, increased by 21% y-o-y to over $11 billion compared with $9.32 billion in the year-ago period.

The government started easing restrictions on rice exports in September 2024 on prospects of bumper output and significantly higher stocks, around a year after they were imposed. It has since removed all export restrictions, including the minimum export price, on rice shipments.

Exporters say that rice exports in FY25 may see an increase of 15% surpassing a record $12 billion because of a robust global demand.

In FY24, India shipped rice worth $10.41 billion, a decline of 6.5% on year, as shipments were hampered because of restrictions that were imposed to improve domestic supplies.

Trade sources say India’s dominance in global rice trade is likely to be restored with a spike in shipments, especially to Africa and Southeast Asian countries. India has been the largest exporter of rice for a decade now.

“With an export target of 5 million tonne in the current financial year for premium basmati rice, India has outpaced its closest competitor, Pakistan, which manages less than one million tonne annually,” Ranjit Singh Jossan, MD, Jossan Grains, a leading exporter of basmati rice in Punjab, told FE.

Exporters say that despite issues pertaining to settlement of payment for the shipments to Iran, the global demand for basmati rice continues to be robust.

Meanwhile, exports of buffalo meat, dairy and poultry products rose by close to 12% on year to $4.61 billion in April-February of FY25 compared with $4.11 billion in the same period of FY24.

Officials said that in the past decade, there has been a rise in demand for the Indian bovine meat across the globe due to its quality and nutrient value.

The shipment of fresh fruits and vegetables in the first 11 months of FY25 increased by over 5% to $3.39 billion, and cereals preparation by more than 9% to $2.82 billion.

The Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has set an export target of $26.56 billion for FY25. The share of exports of products under the APEDA basket is around 51% in the total shipments of agricultural produce.

The rest of the agricultural product exports include marine, tobacco, coffee, and tea.

Published Date: March 19, 2025