Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Diplomatist July 19 Edition . | Page 39

AFRICA DIARY
Africa as a whole was a signifi cant net exporter of agricultural
products. With the resumption of growth and the mineral
commodity boom in the 2000s, imports have risen sharply to
exceed exports by over 30 percent. Agricultural land in Africa
is approximately 40.52 percent of the total area. The African
economy has been growing at an average rate of 7 percent
from 2011–2013 and the agriculture sector contributes 32
percent to the GDP. On the other hand, approximately 60.48
percent of India’s total land area is agricultural area and
contributes 15 percent to the GDP of the country. India has the
maximum percentage (nearly 88 percent) of its agricultural
area as arable land. Whereas Africa has only 19 percent of its
agricultural area as arable land; its maximum agricultural land
(nearly 80 percent) is under permanent meadows and pastures.
India’s Africa policy over the past few decades has
oscillated between passive and reluctantly reactive at
best. Strategic apathy toward the continent was obvious
on many fronts. The Duty Free Tariff Preference (DFTP)
Scheme announced by the government for Least Developed
Countries (LDCs) has immensely benefi ted African nations
and contributed towards steady increase in the trade fi gures
by extending duty-free access to 98.2 percent of India’s total
tariff lines. So far, 38 African countries earn the benefi ts of
the DFTP Scheme. In March 2019, the Government of India
proposed to Africa to enter a free trade agreement (FTA) or a
preferential trade agreement (PTA). The AfCFTA provides an
important opportunity for African countries in an increasingly
globalised world. The elimination of tariff s in goods and
services will help in boosting the economic growth of the
African countries, transform their economies and achieve
sustainable development goals (SDGs). Recently, 47 African
leaders have signed a framework establishing Duty Free
Tariff Preference the African Continental Free Trade Area, the
largest free trade agreement since the creation of the WTO.
Africa has changed from a net exporter to a net importer
of agricultural products. Up to the early 1990s, sub-Saharan
Africa as a whole was a signifi cant net exporter of agricultural
products. With the resumption of growth and the mineral
commodity boom in the 2000s, imports have risen sharply
to exceed exports by over 30 percent. In terms of commodity
categories, cereals (including rice, maize and wheat) and
livestock products (dairy and meat) represent more than 50
percent of Africa’s total food imports. ‘Non-traditional’ export
products (fl owers, semi-processed fruits and vegetables,
and textile products), traditional products (coff ee, cocoa, tea
and spices) and tobacco constitute a major share of Africa’s
agricultural exports.
India’s Export to Africa
Major agricultural commodities imported by Africa
include cereals, Pulses, Oils and Spices etc. In terms of value,
Africa imported agricultural products worth INR 122.86
thousand crore in FY 2019, wherein exports from India
represented a meagre share of 16.34 percent. The year-wise
trend for FY 2010 to FY 2019 shows that India’s bilateral
trade with Africa was limited to fi ve major product categories
in these years: cereals, sugar and sugar confectionery, coff ee,
spices and cereals, followed by sugar and sugar confectionery,
being the prominent product categories imported from India.
India majorly exported Non-Basmati rice to Africa with the
share of 57.00 percent followed by Sugar (23.25 percent),
Basmati Rice (6.10 percent), Spices (5.07 percent) and Coff ee
(2.28 percent). While India’s import growth has not been as
high as expected, in contrast, the value of agricultural exports
has increased rapidly during the years since 2010. Over the
entire period, India’s major agri commodities export to Africa
over total agri export have grown about four fold.
India’s Export of major Agri Commodities to Africa
Product Name
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Non-Basmati Rice 0.28
26.57
48.22
45.23
Sugar
2.56
8.34
9.38
10.00
Basmati Rice
0.32
0.66
0.78
0.81
Spices
0.39
0.54
0.71
0.69
Coff ee
0.14
0.23
0.13
0.12
Others
1.934
3.995
13.837
7.215
Total
5.628
40.340
73.051
64.058
India’s Export of major Agri Commodities to Africa
2014-15
39.77
9.68
1.00
0.63
0.11
4.351
55.535
2015-16
41.49
13.76
1.16
0.53
0.15
1.716
58.803
2016-17
43.65
10.98
1.18
0.59
0.18
1.903
58.486
(In Lakh MT)
2017-18 2018-19
43.58
45.77
9.25
19.09
1.33
1.47
0.64
0.75
0.29
0.20
1.569
2.765
56.662
70.039
Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 7 • July 2019, Noida • 39