The main volume of agricultural products in India is produced and consumed directly by farmers' families. The level of mechanization in private farms remains low, despite the "Green Revolution" that took place in the 1960s and 1970s, which led to an increase in production volumes and specific productivity.
Due to the significant area of the country and territorial, climatic and soil differences, crop production in India is characterized by great potential.
So, in India, three agricultural seasons are distinguished at once: harif, Rabi and Zaid.
Harif begins with the onset of monsoons and rains, during which crops such as rice, corn, peanuts, etc. are sown from June to July. Harvesting takes place from September to October. Rabi, on the contrary, is a dry season: in October – December, wheat, barley, oilseeds are sown, harvesting is carried out in April – June. The zaid season lasts from March to July, during which vegetables, melons, and industrial crops (jute) are sown and harvested.
India is among the world leaders in the production of sugar cane. In 2021, according to FAO, its production amounted to 405.4 million tons, which is 9.4% higher than the previous year. According to preliminary USDA estimates, in 2022, sugar cane production in the country reached 416.0 thousand tons.
According to FAO, the production of grain crops in India in 2021 amounted to 356.3 million tons, the average growth over 5 years was 3.4%. The basis of production is rice and wheat, the production of which in 2021 amounted to 195.4 and 109.6 million tons, respectively. The key grain producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Punjab. According to preliminary estimates of the USDA, in 2022 production decreased slightly, reaching 187.5 million tons of rice and 100 million tons of wheat.
The production of vegetables, root crops and tubers in 2021 in India amounted to 194.8 million tons, of which 54.2 million tons (about 28% of the total production of vegetables, root crops and tubers) accounted for potatoes, According to FAO, the production of meat and edible offal in India by the end of 2021 amounted to 13.2 million tons. A significant share of production is carried out at the expense of small enterprises, but in recent decades vertically integrated production has been actively developing in India.
The Government of the country implements programs for the development of the meat industry and stimulates the development of domestic meat production, including through the introduction of protectionist measures in the form of relatively high import duties on the supply of agricultural products. In general, India's duties are mainly protective in nature and range from 30% to 100%, with the exception of some agricultural products (onions and shallots, raw soybean and sunflower oils, as well as sunflower cake and meal).
India is among the world leaders in milk production with an indicator of 209.0 million tons. The main dairy states of the country are Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
According to the Constitution of India, state governments are responsible for the development of agriculture, and the central Government plays a supporting role in increasing production and productivity in this sector, as well as in implementing international trade policy. In the central Government, the Ministry of Agriculture is responsible for developing policies to improve agricultural production and trade. The Ministry focuses on policies related to production, harvesting and improving the condition of the agricultural community.
Taking into account the socio-economic importance of the agricultural sector for the economy, the state policy in it is aimed at ensuring food security for consumers while ensuring stable prices for farmers. The Basic Goods Act of 195512 (as amended in 2006) provides for "in the interests of the general public, control over the production, supply and distribution, as well as trade and commerce of certain goods." If necessary, frequent interventions are also carried out, including by imposing restrictions on imports and exports, to ensure the stability of supply and prices in the domestic market13.
In 2021 India held a presentation of its Long-term Development Plan for 10 years (2021-2030) (English Indian Agriculture Towards 2030). Fundamental changes for the agricultural sector were fixed in this document.
The changes were aimed at reorienting the Indian food and agriculture system from focusing on simple production to increasing farmers' incomes and environmental safety.
In 2020, the Government of India published three new laws in the field of farming, but farmers perceived these laws extremely negatively and, in this regard, the implementation of the law had to be abandoned.
India continues to increase imports of agricultural products, despite a 21.5% decrease in this indicator in 2018. Thus, in 2022, the volume of imports amounted to a record 34.1 billion US dollars, which is 17.8% higher than in 2021. India is the world's largest consumer of vegetable oils, three main types (palm, soybean and sunflower) accounted for 61.1% of all imports of agricultural products in value terms in 2022. Also, according to the volume of imports, it is worth highlighting nuts (cashews, almonds) and legumes (beans, lentils, peas and soybeans).
The main exporting countries of agricultural products to India in 2022 were Indonesia (17.9%), Malaysia (12.0%) and Argentina (10.6%). In total, the share of the top 10 countries accounted for 68.0% of imports of agricultural products of India. Countries such as Brazil (2.5 times) and Thailand (+88.0%) have significantly increased the volume of exports to India. At the same time, supplies from Ukraine decreased (-43.9%). Deliveries from Russia to India in 2022, according to the India Department of Commerce, in value terms increased by 3.0 times (by 621.9 million US dollars) compared to the same period last year.
India is one of the largest grain producers in the world: it is one of the three world leaders in gross wheat and rice harvests. Almost all the volumes of grain grown (with the exception of rice) are consumed domestically, and frequent droughts and an unstable monsoon climate do not allow India to consistently supply these crops to foreign markets. The only exception is rice: on average, from 25% to 40% of the total rice exported in the world comes from India.
An important achievement of Indian farming was that in the last agricultural year, Indian farmers managed to increase wheat production to a level sufficient to export this crop in significant volumes, the country even entered the top ten world leaders in this indicator.
At the same time, the prospects for maintaining this status in the current agricultural year are still in question due to record low stocks.
In 2022 India imported 247.2 thousand tons of grain crops for a total of 119.1 million US dollars. Compared to last year, the volume of imports of this product category increased 2.7 times in physical terms and 2.8 times in value.
The most significant shares in the structure of grain imports in India in 2022 were: barley (65.7% of total grain imports), oats (18.1%), corn (9.6%) and rice (6.3%).
In 2022, Argentina was the leader in grain supplies to India, which increased its shipments by more than 20 times both in kind and in value terms. France (3.9 times) and Thailand (2.6 times) also significantly increased the volume of supplies. A decrease in grain exports to India was noted in the USA (2.6 times) and South Africa (-7.8%).
India is one of the world's largest producers, consumers and importers of legumes, which are an important part of the daily diet of Indian households, especially for vegetarians, as they are one of the main sources of protein.
The total volume of imports of legumes of India in 2022 amounted to 1,521.3 thousand tons by 1,307.8 million US dollars, which is 21.1% in physical terms and 17.5% in value lower than in 2021. The largest imported categories are beans (55.2% of all imports of legumes in value terms) and dried lentils (40.2%). The supply of beans in 2022 amounted to 780.6 thousand tons (721.7 million US dollars), which is 16.1% in physical terms and 18.0% in value below 2021. The supply of lentils decreased by 11.5% in physical terms, but increased by 0.2% in value, amounting to 641.5 thousand. tons (525.5 million US dollars). In addition, imports of dried chickpeas decreased (2.8 times in kind and 3.3 times in value terms) and dried fodder beans (5.9 times and 5.1 times, respectively).
Myanmar occupies a leading position in the structure of leguminous supplies to India (40.4% of imports in value terms). The second place in the market in 2022 was occupied by Canada (24.0%), the third — Australia (15.4%), which managed to increase exports to India by 42.7% in physical terms and 67.2% in value. An increase in supplies was also observed from Madagascar (by 30.7% and 16.1%, respectively). At the same time, imports from Tanzania (2.3 times in value terms), Ethiopia (-36.7%), Singapore (-33.3%) and Canada (-23.7%) significantly decreased.
India is one of the largest consumers and producers of vegetable oil in the world, but the country is heavily dependent on imports. Over the past three years, more than 60% of India's domestic vegetable oil needs have been provided by imports. About 21 million tons of vegetable oil are consumed annually in the country.
In 2022 India imported 15.2 million tons of vegetable oils worth US$ 21.2 billion, which is 9.3% in physical terms and 22.6% in value above 2021. The basis of supplies was palm oil (55.1%), soybean oil (28.8%) and sunflower oil (14.3%). Supplies of soybean oil for this period increased by 28.5% in value terms, sunflower oil — by 25.1%, and palm oil — by 22.1%. At the same time, the import of rapeseed oil has significantly decreased (by 16.2 times in value terms).
From April 1, the Government of India, in order to support domestic producers, decided to suspend the zero import duty on soybean oil (in May 2022, the Government of India allowed the import of 2 million tons of soybean oil at zero duty and planned to extend its validity in 2023/24). This decision will increase the demand of Indian importers for palm and sunflower oil.
The largest exporter of vegetable oils to India is Indonesia, which supplied 4,642,4 thousand tons of products worth 5,505.0 million US dollars in 2022. Thus, the increase by 2021 amounted to 34.3% in physical terms and 38.6% in value. This is followed by Malaysia (18.9%), Argentina (16.4%) and Brazil (10.3%). The most significant increase in supplies was shown by Brazil (3.2 times), Russia (2.9 times) and Thailand (2.0 times) In 2022. Russia significantly increased exports of vegetable oils to India, occupying 4.3% of the market. In 2022 , 558.5 thousand were delivered . tons of products worth 908.8 million US dollars.
India is one of the top 10 global meat producers, which means that domestic consumption is almost completely satisfied at the expense of local production.
The volume of imports of meat, food by-products and finished meat products of India in 2022 amounted to only 1.4 thousand tons in the amount of 7.5 million US dollars.
In 2022, the largest volumes in the structure of imports of meat, food by-products and finished meat products accounted for the supply of pork and pork by-products. The country also buys insignificant volumes of finished meat products, lamb and poultry meat.
In 2022, Belgium was the main supplier of meat, food by-products and finished meat products to India, exporting 0.5 thousand tons of products worth 2.2 million US dollars. There were also deliveries from Sri Lanka, New Zealand, Spain and Italy. The top 5 countries accounted for 81.9% of Indian meat imports.
In 2022, the volume of exports of agricultural products of India amounted to a record 51.9 billion US dollars over the past six years, increasing by 12.2% compared to 2021 and by 43.1% compared to 2017.
The basis of Indian exports of agricultural products are rice, crustaceans, sugar, as well as beef and edible offal of cattle: these positions accounted for 47.5% of the country's agricultural exports in value terms in 2022. In addition to these products, India also exports wheat (4.2%), paprika (2.3%), corn (2.2%) and castor oil (2.1%). Beet and cane sugar (+51.0%), wheat (+25.0%), shellfish (+23.5%) and non-food extracts, natural resins (+22.7%) showed a significant increase.
In 2022, the main importing countries of agricultural products from India were the USA (10.5%), China (7.0%) and Bangladesh (6.4%). In total, the top 10 importing countries accounted for 50.0% of exports of agricultural products in India in 2022. The most significant increase in Indian exports was observed to Iran, which increased the volume of purchases by 61.2% compared to 2021. Exports of agricultural products from India to Saudi Arabia (+29.7%), Malaysia (+21.5%) and the UAE (+20.0%) also increased. At the same time, deliveries to Nepal (-23.7%), Bangladesh (-11.2%), the USA (-4.2%), Vietnam (-0.4%) decreased.
