India aims to become world’s top agricultural and processed food exporter, minister says
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal urged deeper food‑agriculture‑hospitality collaboration to boost value‑added exports as India’s agri and food exports reach over ₹5 trillion annually.
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said India should aim to become the world’s largest exporter of agricultural and processed foods and urged closer cooperation between the food, agriculture and hospitality sectors to increase value‑added exports.
Goyal noted that India’s food and agricultural exports, including farm produce and fisheries, now total nearly ₹5 trillion (over $55 billion) annually, making the country the seventh‑largest exporter of agricultural produce globally.
He outlined export growth from 2014 to 2025: processed foods exports rose fourfold; fruit and pulses exports tripled; processed vegetable exports quadrupled; cocoa exports tripled; cereal exports doubled; and rice exports grew by 62%.
The minister highlighted the role of trade agreements, saying nine free trade agreements concluded over the past three and a half years opened access to 38 developed and prosperous countries and provided preferential market access covering nearly two‑thirds of global trade.
Goyal listed recent and prospective trade deals, noting FTAs with the UK and Oman, announced conclusions of negotiations with the EU and New Zealand, progressing talks with Canada, and recently launched discussions with the six‑nation GCC group.
He said the government protected domestic stakeholders during FTA negotiations, specifically safeguarding sensitive sectors such as dairy, denying concessions to foreign producers on dairy and GM products, and protecting key commodities including rice, wheat, maize, soy meal, several pulses and sugar to shield domestic producers and sugarcane farmers.
The minister encouraged farmers and entrepreneurs to use the ₹1 trillion agriculture infrastructure fund to invest in food processing and value addition to access higher‑value global markets.
Citing commerce ministry data for FY25, Goyal said agricultural and allied product exports were around $55 billion, driven by rice ($12.47 billion, over 30% of agri‑exports), marine products ($6.73 billion) and spices ($3.79 billion).
He also urged greater collaboration with international partners and pointed to market opportunities in Europe, EFTA countries, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Korea, ASEAN nations, Oman, the UAE and Mauritius.