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India must sharply improve crop quality and raise agricultural productivity to secure better prices in both domestic and should also aim to achieve global competitiveness to ramp up exports, Sudhanshu, Secretary of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) said on Monday.
India's vast agrarian base offers potential for export expansion, but only if quality becomes central to production. "We have to work on improving the quality of the crop to fetch good prices in both domestic and global markets. We have an agrarian economy," Sudhanshu said during the Agri Business Summit 2025 in the national capital. He said that India continues to trail China in terms of farm productivity. "We are lagging with China in yield or productivity. China is way ahead of us. If we are able to work on the yield, then we can get a multifold quantity," he said. The APEDA chief of India has "natural clusters" suited for producing high-quality agricultural goods. But he warned that outdated or inadequate infrastructure in some clusters limits export readiness. "If all the entities of the value supply chain are fixed then we will get good prices for our produce. Some clusters have improper and outdated infrastructure," he added. Sudhanshu said modern testing facilities are critical to accessing premium markets. "Laboratories are needed for testing facilities. Now the question arises to get the right amount of quality and quantity with proper certification," he said. He said APEDA's participation in global trade shows is aimed not only at promoting Indian products but also at learning from competitors. "We participate in international trade events to expose the products at international markets but also to learn from our competitors," he said. India's smaller exporters, processors and farmer-producer organisations (FPOs) are also beginning to capture niche markets. "Our small exporters, processors and FPOs are also writing success stories in this regard," he said. Citing examples of India's success, Sudhanshu said, "Europe is a quality-conscious market, and we are successfully able to export grapes to Europe." He added that targeted market research and product adaptation are helping India enter new destinations. Japan, he said, faced a rice shortage, prompting India to study which varieties suit Japanese cuisine. "We gave a project profiling to IRRI, which told us which Indian rice varieties are fit for Japanese cuisine. We had a chef and asked to make cuisine fit for the Japanese palate. Then we went to Japan and sold out of rice. Now we started non-basmati exports to Japan," he said. Sudhanshu said India's long-term export success hinges on improving quality at the farm level. "We should improve the quality of our produce. Good extension activities would lead to better yield and demand," he said. (ANI)
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