India’s agri-food and processed food exports fell 3 percent to $5.88 billion in the April-June quarter of this fiscal year due to issues related to the Red Sea crisis, higher freight rates and container shortages, according to data from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.
U.S. importers are ramping up shipments from China to meet the Aug. 1 deadline for increased tariffs on Chinese imports, resulting in a container shortage due to a surge in trade activity between the two countries.
Exports of rice, some cereals, cashew nuts and oilmeal declined in the first quarter.
During the same period, rice exports declined marginally to $2.8 billion, while cashew nut exports fell 17 percent to $68.63 million.
However, fruits and vegetables, some processed foods, meat, dairy and poultry products recorded positive growth.
Exports of restricted items, which include non-basmati rice, wheat and milled rice products, fell 0.49 per cent to $4.33 billion in April-May this fiscal, according to the data.
In the first two months of the current fiscal year, basmati rice exports rose 13 percent to $1.03 billion. However, non-basmati rice exports fell 13 percent to $918.83 million.
(With inputs from PTI)
