Export Competitiveness of major cereals in India

Abstract:

India is one of the third largest producer of cereals next to China and USA contributing to 11.38 per cent of global production. India is the world’s second largest producer of Rice, Wheat and other cereals. Agriculture is the backbone of the Indian economy, contributing significantly to the nation’s GDP and providing livelihoods for a substantial portion of the population. The present study aimed to examine the competitiveness of major cereals viz. basmati rice, non-basmati rice, wheat, maize and other cereals export from India. For the study purpose secondary data for last twenty years (2002-2022) obtained from the official website different agencies, including the Agricultural Processed Product Export Development Authority (APEDA), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), the Agricultural Marketing Information Network (AGMARKNET) and India stat. To study the export competitiveness Nominal Protection Coefficient (NPC), Revealed Comparative Advantage (RCA) and Revealed Symmetric Comparative Advantage (RSCA) were worked out. The NPC value showed that the basmati rice and maize were competitive in the global market whereas the non-basmati rice and wheat were non-competitive during the study period. The RCA and RSCA index showed that India had comparative advantage in the export of the basmati and non-basmati rice while it had comparative disadvantage in the export of wheat and maize.