India’s exports of final food products register impressive growth

The country’s exports of Ready to Eat (RTE), Ready to Serve (RTS) and Ready to Cook (RTC) foods under Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)  basket have exceeded USD 2 billion  during 2020-21. India exports RTE food products majorly to USA, UAE, Nepal, Canada, Sri Lanka, Australia, Sudan, UK, Nigeria and Singapore.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has laid thrust on value addition of these products for exports which include biscuits, confectionery, breakfast cereals, Indian sweets and snacks among others. The food products under the RTE category have registered CAGR of 12 per cent in the last 10 years. The demand for RTE, RTC and RTS food items has increased significantly raising their export by more than 23% during April to October 2021-22.

According to the data provided by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics(DGCI&S), Kolkata, the country exported these products worth USD 5,438 million from 2018-19 to 2020-21. Especially export in the RTS food category has been USD 511 million in 2020-21.

The growth rate of RTE products in 2020-21 against previous year was 26% and these products were exported to the top 10 countries. On the other hand, the RTC food products have achieved the growth rate of 7 per cent in last one decade. The two countries– UK and Indonesia are at the top for importing powder, starch and papad during 2020-21.

The RTC products of India are being exported majorly to USA, UAE, Malaysia, Canada, Australia, Nepal, Qatar and Bangladesh. Export in RTS category has been growing at 11 per cent CAGR in the last one decade and these products include squash, juices, jellies, beverages and energy products, etc. APEDA has also been exploring new  potential markets by organising B2B exhibitions across various countries, besides marketing campaigns.

Over 220 labs in the country have been recognised by APEDA for providing testing services to the products. APEDA also assists in the upgradation and strengthening of the laboratories engaged in export testing.

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