Indian Agrochemical Industry Achieving Favorable Trade Balance
During the financial year 2021-22, Indian agrochemical exports were to the tune of INR 36,521 crore as against imports of INR 13,363 crore creating a trade surplus of over INR 23,000 crore, a rare feat for any industry, according to Krishak Jagat.
Rajju Shroff, Chairman Emeritus, Crop Care Federation of India (CCFI), speaking on the achievement of the Indian agrochemical industry, said, “Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, while addressing the Governing council meeting of Niti Aayog, emphasized the need to increase exports with less dependence on imports. We involved in the agrochemical industry and agriculture are very confident that we can increase export of agriculture inputs and simultaneously increase export of food. Today, India is second largest producer of agriculture produce in world with production of US$481 Bn for the year 2020-21.”
In fiscal year 2020-21, agrochemical imports surged by 37% and about 50% of imports were from China mainly due to import friendly regulations. Increased imports lowered domestic industries capacity utilization and increased costs.
There are problems faced by India in exporting rice, tea or even mangoes where we are amongst the largest producer in the world. The industry is actively analyzing the situation and seeking solutions to help increase exports of food almost by 100%.
A few foreign funded environmental activists are against use of pesticides, which is the main input to reduce crop losses in farmers fields and in storage. The narrative about indiscriminate use of pesticides by Indian farmers is incorrect if we go by the data. India is using nearly 60,000 MT pesticides and produces US$481 Bn worth of agriculture produce, compared to European Union countries, using 250 lakh MT pesticides and producing less than US$200 Bn worth of agriculture produce even though EU has more land than India.
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