India exported agricultural commodities worth ₹2.74 lakh crore till February of the 2020-21 fiscal, a 16.9% increase from ₹2.31 lakh crore in the year earlier, notwithstanding the pandemic, the agriculture ministry said on Wednesday.
Similarly, imports of agriculture and allied commodities increased by 3% to ₹1,41,034 crore during the April-February period of 2020-21 from ₹1,37,014 crore in the year earlier period. Despite COVID-19, balance of trade in agriculture has favourably increased to ₹1,32,579.69 crore from ₹93,907.76 crore in the said period, the ministry said in a statement.
“India has consistently maintained trade surplus in the agricultural products over the years. …Even during the difficult time of the pandemic, India took care not to disturb the world food supply chain and continued to export,” the ministry said.
During April-February of the 2020-21 fiscal, the country exported agri-commodities worth ₹2.74 lakh crore as against ₹2.31 lakh crore in the same period of the previous year. Among agri-commodities exported, wheat shipments rose in terms of value to ₹3,283 crore in April-February, from ₹425 crore in the year-earlier period. NAFED exported 50,000 tonnes wheat to Afghanistan and 40,000 tonnes to Lebanon under government-to-government arrangement. In the case of non-basmati rice export, the ministry said the shipments increased to ₹30,277 crore in April-February of 2020-21 from ₹13,030 crore in the year-earlier period.
