Export Status of Fruits and Vegetables from India

Abstract

Background: Horticulture export is one of the most promising industries, due to rising global demand and the country's diverse agro-climatic system. During the early 1990s, following post-reform, there was an increase in agricultural commodities export which boosted the Indian economy. Methods: Secondary time series data of fruits and vegetables (fresh and processed) were collected from APEDA and FAO, the methodologies used were Compound Growth Rate, Instability Index, Revealed Comparative Advantages and Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantages. Results: Fruit and vegetable importers include the UAE, Bangladesh, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka and others. Fresh fruits, fresh vegetables, processed vegetables and fruits, nuts and juices showed positive and significant growth throughout the study period. Whereas, the import of fresh fruits and vegetables also shows a positive and significant growth rate, because some fruits and vegetables are cheaper to import than produce. Revealed Comparative Advantages show disadvantages in the global market. India has to improve its marketing strategy, and storage facilities and improvise their skills for the production and processing of fruits and vegetables, etc. to emerge as a major exporter of fruits and vegetables.