The growth in agricultural commodity exports from India has exceeded the growth of exports of other products primarily because of bumper crops and favorable government policies. In 2010/11 agricultural exports equaled $17.35 billion. By 2012/13 agricultural exports stood at $31.86 billion, and for the first 11 months of 2013/14 agricultural exports equaled $29.3 billion according to the country’s commerce ministry. In 2012/13 the country’s agricultural exports accounted for 10.66% of overall exports – up from 7.06% in 2009/10. Supportive government policies, reduced transaction costs, better port gate management, fiscal incentives, focus on food safety and compliance with international standards are all expected to contribute to further growth. Currently India is the world’s largest rice exporter and is ranked second in terms of wheat, and according to the World Trade Organization, India ranks 10th in terms of global agricultural and food exports. Through policy implementation, increasing productivity, and promoting diversity of crops, the country has a goal of achieving $70 billion in agricultural exports by 2017.
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