India is the 5th Largest Exporter of Millets: MoCI Data

As per the data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI), India is the 5th largest exporter of millets in the world (as per the 2020 data).

• India is the world leader in the production of millets with a share of around 41 percent of total global millet production in 2020. 
• As per the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare data, India produces around 12 million MT of millets annually.

Key Points over Millet Export:

i.The millets export of India increased continuously at around 3 percent CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) in the last 5 years ending with 2020.

ii.In 2020-21, India exported millets worth USD 26.97 million against USD 28.5 million in 2019-20.

iii.World export of Millet has increased from USD 380 million in 2019 to USD 402.7 million in 2020.

iv.Top 3 Importers of millets from India in 2020-21:

• The other 7 destinations in the top-ten list of India’s millet export are Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, UK (United Kingdom), Yemen, Oman and Algeria.
• In accordance with the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence & Statistics (DGCIS) data, the top 10 countries imported millets worth USD 22.03 million from India. 
• Other countries accounted for millet imports worth USD 5.13 million from India, taking the grand total of imports from India in 2020-21 to USD 27.43 million.

Major Global Exporters: 

i.The millet exports of USA (United States of America), Russian Federation, Ukraine, India, China, Netherlands, France, Poland and Argentina stood at USD 221.68 million in 2020. 

ii.Global exports of millets in 2020 stood at USD 466.284 million. 

iii.The top importers of millets in 2020 along with their share in world imports are Indonesia (8%), Belgium (7.36%), Germany (4.65%), Mexico (4.1%), Italy (4.02%). The top 10 importers accounted for USD 221.7 million in 2020.

Kinds of Millets: The different kinds of millets include sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), little millet (kutki), small millet (samai), foxtail millet (kangni), proso millet (barri), barnyard millet (jhangora), kodo millet (kodra), two pseudo millets (buckwheat and kuttu), Ameranthus (chulai), etc.

16 programmes are being planned by APEDA for promotion of Millets and Value Added Products of Millets in UAE, Indonesia, USA, Japan, UK, Germany, Australia, Republic of Korea, South Africa and Saudi Arabia. During the promotion programme, Buyer Seller Meets, Road Shows and participation in major international events will be organized to promote Millets and Value Added Products of Millets.

Note – Due to the global-level rise in demand for nutria-cereals, the Department of Commerce expects Indian millets exports to increase exponentially in the coming years.

Initiatives undertaken by APEDA:

i.APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) has created the Nutri Cereals Export Promotion Forum which also included millets exports to boost the export and remove the obstruction in the supply chain of nutria-cereals. 

ii.APEDA has signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) for the promotion of millets and millet value-added products. 

iii.It has initiated a study on ‘Refinement of Millet Value Chain for Export Markets: Preparation of export strategy in wake of International Year of Millets, 2023’ through IIMR.

iv.It has developed its own Virtual Trade Fair (VTF) application to facilitate interaction among exporters, producer organizations and international buyers.

About Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI):

Union Minister – Piyush Goyal (Rajya Sabha Maharashtra)
Minister of State – Anupriya Singh Patel (Constituency – Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh) ; Som Parkash (Constituency – Hoshiarpur, Punjab)