New Delhi, Feb 21 : India’s agricultural exports have broken new ground under the Modi government with shipments of the country’s fruits entering lucrative markets in the west for the first time and exports of rice posting a record growth, enabling farmers to earn higher incomes.
“From exotic fruits to traditional staples, these first-ever shipments highlight how the Modi government’s vision for Aatmanirbhar Bharat is creating new opportunities for Indian farmers,” a senior agriculture ministry official told IANS.
He pointed out that in a significant milestone for agricultural exports, India successfully sent its first-ever shipments of premium Sangola and Bhagwa pomegranates to Australia via sea. This breakthrough, which will lead to bulk exports at low transport costs, enhances India’s fresh fruit market access in Australia, paving the way for more Indian produce to enter global supply chains.
India pomegranates have proved successful among Western customers after the country took a big step toward expanding its presence in the American market by exporting its first-ever trial shipment of fresh pomegranates via air to the US in 2023. Bhagwa pomegranate from Maharashtra has substantial export potential and almost 50 per cent of the fruit’s export from the country is from the state’s Solapur district.
The official also highlighted that the Modi Government’s GI tagging of fruits has helped to augment the market for India’s special fruits.
India’s unique GI-tagged Purandar figs are now making waves in Europe. In 2024, the Modi government facilitated the export of India’s first ready-to-drink fig juice, made from Purandar figs, to Poland. Earlier in 2022, the export was made to Germany, too. Purandar figs are known for their unique tastes and textures. This event marks a significant achievement in promoting India’s unique agro-products on the global stage.
In 2022, India also flagged off the first consignment of GI Tagged “Vazhakulam Pineapple” from Vazhakulam, Ernakulam, Kerala to Dubai and Sharjah, UAE. With this, the pineapple farmers will get better income and more promotion of their product in the global market.
As part of India’s push to diversify its fruit exports, the fibre and mineral-rich dragon fruit, locally known as ‘Kamalam’, was exported to London and Bahrain in 2021. The consignment exported to London was sourced from farmers of Gujarat’s Kutch region, while the consignment to Bahrain was sourced from the farmers of West Midnapore in West Bengal.
The Northeast region has also been a major gainer as in 2021, the first-ever shipment of Burmese grapes, known as ‘leteku’ in Assamese, was sent from Guwahati to Dubai through Delhi. This export put Assam’s exotic produce on the global map.
Similarly, Germany got a taste of India’s fresh jackfruit from Tripura in 2021. In a first, a shipment of fresh jackfruit was exported from Tripura to Germany by air route. The first consignment of one metric tonne of fresh jackfruits was flagged off from Agartala.
In 2021, in a major boost to exports of GI products from the north-eastern region, a consignment of ‘Raja Mircha’ also referred to as king chilli from Nagaland was exported to London via Guwahati by air for the first time. Given its perishable nature, exporting this product was a challenge, but India successfully facilitated its air shipment, highlighting India’s capabilities in handling specialized agro-exports.
In a major boost to India’s rice export potential, in 2021, the first consignment of ‘red rice’ was flagged off to the US. Iron-rich ‘red rice’ is grown in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam, without the use of any chemical fertilizer. The rice variety is referred to as ‘Bao-dhaan’, which is an integral part of the Assamese food.
India’s agricultural growth has propelled overall exports of rice. The latest figures also show that India’s total rice exports jumped by a robust 44.61 per cent to $1.37 billion in January 2025 from $0.95 billion in January 2024 to emerge as one of the major growth drivers in the country’s overseas merchandise basket, reflecting the strength of the country’s farm sector. (IANS)