Agri goods can fetch India USD 97 bn in exports: FAO

Select agri and agri-based commodities like meat, milk and fruits, among others, present an export opportunity worth over USD 97 billion (about Rs 6.9 lakh crore) for India, as per data from the Food & Agriculture Organisation.

India's export share in agri items such as bananas, oranges, chicken, meat, and milk products like cheese and buttermilk is minuscule at present, the data showed.

The country's share in the global market for 19 commodities was a minuscule 1.5 per cent, or around USD 1.5 billion (about Rs 10,650 crore), in 2017 against a potential of USD 97 billion, the World Trade Centre said in a statement on Thursday quoting the FAO data released recently.

While the global market for meat and chicken is a whopping USD 20.6 billion, the country's export share is only 4.04 per cent of this.

Similarly, the global market for bananas is close to USD 15 billion wherein India's share is a paltry USD 480 million, the statement said.

Butter and cow milk provide a USD 8 billion opportunity, while India does not get a single penny from their exports, it said.

The country earns USD 275 million annually from the export of grapes, while the global market is worth USD 8.6 billion.

Significantly, food waste is a USD 11 billion market, but India earns nothing from its export.

It can be noted that nearly a third of Indian farm produce is wasted due to lack of storage/proper transport facilities, it added.

The global onion export market is over USD 3 billion, but India earns just USD 420 million from exports.