India’s agricultural exports have been growing faster than the country’s overall merchandise exports, showing a strong performance even when many other sectors are slowing down.
Government data for April to September 2025 shows that farm exports touched $25.9 billion, which is an increase of 8.8% from the same period last year, with $23.8 billion for the corresponding six months.
In comparison, India’s total goods exports rose only 2.9%, from $213.7 billion to $219.9 billion in the same six months.
This trend is similar to what happened in the previous financial year. In 2024–25, agricultural exports grew 6.4%, rising from $48.8 billion to $52 billion, while overall merchandise exports barely moved, increasing just 0.1%. Clearly, farm products have been performing much better than the rest of the export basket.
Non-Basmati rice, meat, seafood, and coffee lead the growth
A major part of this year’s export boom has come from products such as non-basmati rice, buffalo meat, marine items, coffee, and fruits and vegetables. These products earned more than a billion dollars each in 2024-25 and continue to do well this year.
For non-basmati rice, the sharp jump mainly came after the government eased restrictions that were imposed earlier to control domestic food inflation. Between September 2022 and August 2023, India had put strict curbs on rice shipments, broken rice and white non-basmati rice were banned entirely, and a 20% duty was put on parboiled rice.
These controls were rolled back gradually after good monsoons and rising rice stocks. Because of this, non-basmati rice exports are expected to break last year’s record of $6.5 billion.
Buffalo meat exports are also doing extremely well and could surpass their previous highest level of $4.8 billion, recorded in 2014–15. Seafood exports have similarly grown strongly. Marine product shipments jumped 17.4% in the first six months of 2025-26, and the sector may cross the all-time high of $8.1 billion that was achieved in 2022-23.
How seafood exports survived the Trump tariffs
The United States is the biggest buyer of India’s marine products. In 2024–25, the US bought $2.7 billion worth of seafood, which was more than one-third of India’s total seafood exports. Because of this, many believed that the heavy tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump, adding up to an effective rate of more than 58%, would severely hit India’s seafood industry.
But surprisingly, Indian seafood exports did not collapse. In fact, total marine product exports rose from $3.4 billion in April–September 2024 to $4 billion in the same period of 2025. Although exports to the US dipped slightly (by 0.4%, to $1.3 billion), exporters compensated by increasing shipments to China, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, the European Union, and Canada. This shows that Indian exporters were able to diversify quickly and reduce their dependence on the US market.
Coffee exports boom on High global prices
Coffee is another striking success story. India’s coffee exports have more than doubled in the last five years, rising from $738.9 million in 2019–20 to $1.8 billion in 2024–25. The quantity of exports has increased modestly, but the real reason behind the jump is the rise in global coffee prices. International coffee stocks have fallen to a 25-year low, pushing prices to their highest levels in decades. Because of these strong prices, India’s coffee exports may cross $2 billion this year.
Fruits and vegetables continue their steady rise
Exports of fruits and vegetables have also seen consistent growth. Fresh fruits and vegetables increased from $1.4 billion in 2019–20 to $2.1 billion in 2024–25. Processed fruits and vegetables saw a matching rise from $958 million to $1.8 billion in the same period. This steady upward movement has continued this year as well, driven by growing demand in West Asia, Europe, and Southeast Asia.
A decade of ups and downs
Even though the current numbers look strong, India’s farm exports have not always been stable. Over the last decade, agricultural exports have experienced big swings. They reached $43.3 billion in 2013–14 but fell sharply to $32.8 billion in 2015–16. After that, they gradually recovered, rising to $41.9 billion in 2020–21, $50.2 billion in 2021–22, and then hitting a record $53.2 billion in 2022–23.
These ups and downs closely match global food price trends. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation) Food Price Index fell from 119.1 in 2013–14 to 90 in 2015–16. It remained below 100 until 2019–20. Then prices shot up first to 102.4, then 133.1, and then 140.6 in the next three years. As global prices rose, India’s export numbers improved too.
After peaking in early 2022, global food prices started dropping, and this slowdown was reflected in India’s export figures, which fell to $48.8 billion in 2023–24 before rising slightly to $52 billion in 2024–25.
Government export restrictions also played a role
Another reason for the recent dip in India’s farm exports was the government’s export bans and restrictions. To control inflation, the government halted or restricted exports of items like wheat, rice, sugar, onions, and even de-oiled rice bran. These clampdowns reduced the overall export numbers even when global prices were favourable.
Looking ahead, India’s export performance in the second half of 2025–26 will depend on two major factors: global prices and the Trump tariffs.
Global prices are currently weak
The FAO Food Price Index for October 2025 stood at 126.4, far below the record level of 160.2 reached in March 2022 after the Russia–Ukraine war began. The cereals sub-index, at 103.6, is at its lowest point since August 2020. Sugar prices, at 94.1, are also at their lowest level since December 2020.
Historically, when global food prices fall, India’s exports also tend to weaken. So the coming months may be challenging for exporters.
Tariffs are beginning to hurt key sectors
There are already signs that US tariffs are affecting certain Indian products. In September, exports of marine products to the US fell by 26.9%, spices dropped 45.1%, and basmati rice exports fell 17.8%. These declines show that the tariff pressure is now starting to be felt.
However, there is also some good news. The US administration has recently softened its tone and is signalling that a trade deal with India may be possible before the end of the year. President Trump has already rolled back tariffs on several food items in which India has strong export interests, such as spices, coffee, tea, and fresh fruits.
Imports are rising too, but in fewer items
While exports have grown fast, India’s farm imports have also increased. Agricultural imports rose 5.9% in April–September 2025, going from $18.4 billion to $19.5 billion. Overall imports grew at a slightly slower rate of 4.5%.
But unlike exports, which are quite diverse, India’s farm imports are concentrated in just a few products.
The biggest import is vegetable oils, which rose 13.5% this year. India relies heavily on imports for edible oils, and this category alone may again reach the $20-billion range.
The second major import item is pulses. India imported a massive $5.5 billion worth of pulses in 2024–25. But this year, imports have fallen due to a bumper domestic crop and the government’s decision to reimpose import duties.
Imports of fresh fruits and raw cotton are the fastest-growing categories. India now imports more than $3 billion worth of fresh fruits, and the US is the biggest supplier, sending over $1.1 billion worth of almonds, pistachios, walnuts, and other dry fruits. Cotton imports have also surged because domestic production has fallen due to a lack of new technology after the Bt cotton era.