India now sells farm goods to 208 countries, yet recent export growth has leaned towards bulk commodities as processed-food exports lose ground and shifting rules unsettle trade.
India’s agricultural exports have grown far beyond the handful of markets that once dominated the trade, but the bigger story is not simply expansion. It is the changing quality of that growth. According to Telangana Today, export values have risen sharply over nearly three decades, yet the latest gains have come increasingly from bulk commodities rather than high-value, processed foods, while policy shocks and geopolitical tensions have made the trade less predictable.
The newspaper’s analysis of trade data from 1997 to 2025 shows agricultural exports climbing from $6.6 billion to $54 billion, while imports increased even faster, narrowing the sector’s surplus from its 2013 peak. But the pace of export growth has slowed markedly since the early 2010s, and the pattern has become more uneven. The Indian government’s Economic Survey also notes that agricultural export growth stalled between financial years 2023 and 2025, underlining how vulnerable the sector remains to regulation, logistics and external demand.
Over the long term, the composition of exports has become more sophisticated. Telangana Today found that processed food’s share of agricultural exports almost tripled over the period, with categories such as sugar confectionery, fruit and vegetable preparations, dairy products and cereal preparations all gaining ground. Yet that progress has gone into reverse more recently. The share of processed food peaked in 2022 and then fell, with the value of those exports dropping even as total agricultural exports reached record levels. The article links that shift partly to export curbs introduced in 2022, which tilted the basket back towards cereals, but also to the fact that faster-growing markets tend to buy less processed food than richer economies.
That destination mix is changing quickly. The report says India now sells agricultural goods to 208 countries, up from 174 in 1997, and that the five largest markets account for a smaller share of exports than they once did. China, Vietnam and Iraq have risen sharply in importance, while Japan and Russia have slipped back in relative terms. Much of the new growth has been driven by staples such as rice, buffalo meat, fish and oilcake. APEDA’s export data also show how specific commodities are concentrated in particular markets, with Vietnam especially important for buffalo meat and several African destinations taking larger shares of rice.
The shift has been accompanied by fresh evidence of how trade tensions can reshape flows. Telangana Today points to the United States’ tariff pressure on seafood as one example, noting that India’s seafood exporters were able to redirect some volumes to Europe, Vietnam and China. The Marine Products Export Development Authority has separately reported that India exported 1.70 million tonnes of seafood worth $7.45 billion in financial year 2024-25, with frozen shrimp leading the pack and the United States and China among the main buyers. That resilience, however, is uneven. Larger exporters with access to finance, certifications and logistics can pivot faster than smaller firms, meaning trade shocks do not affect every producer in the same way.
The bigger policy question is whether export growth is actually lifting farm incomes. Telangana Today argues that the answer is still unclear. Bulk exports may raise shipment values without delivering much of that gain to farmers, who often receive only a small share of the final price once procurement systems and trader margins are taken into account. The Economic Survey and the OECD both warn that frequent policy shifts, including export bans and minimum export price rules, can unsettle supply chains and push overseas buyers to find alternative suppliers. On that basis, the article’s central warning is a practical one: India has widened the map of its farm exports, but a more durable gain will require more stable rules, stronger value addition and market diversification that does not come at the expense of processed goods.
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