Extraordinary And Plenipotentiary Diplomatist July 19 Edition . | Page 40

AFRICA DIARY
Africa’s exports to India
Major agricultural commodities exported by Africa
Cashew, Cotton, Pulses, Spices, Oil Seeds etc. In value
terms, on an average exports to India represented the share
of 40.55 percent for these major agri commodities exported
from Africa. Specifi cally, there was a general rise in the
value of agricultural export from INR 4.30 thousand crore
in 2010 to approximately INR 14.93 thousand crore in 2018.
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: fresh fruits, nuts and
melons; fresh vegetables; coff ee, tea and spices; cotton; and
fertilisers. Further, trends across these fi ve product categories
have fl uctuated over the years. Almost 90 percent of raw
India’s Import of major Agri Commodities from Africa
India’s Import of major Agri Commodities from Africa
Product Name
2010-11 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14
Cashew
5.12
7.50
8.38
7.47
Pulses
3.40
2.31
3.50
1.17
Spices
0.11
0.15
0.14
0.20
Other Oil Seeds
0.40
0.38
0.41
0.50
Coff ee
0.08
0.08
0.08
0.09
Others
0.31
0.08
1.10
2.30
Total
9.42
10.50
13.62
11.73
cashews are sourced from Africa, besides other agricultural
commodities sourced including pulses, spices, fruit and nuts.
Africa’s Agri commodities exports to India have increased
continuously over the last decade from 27.53 percent to
40.55 percent in 2018-19. The reasons behind this increase in
exports include price booms of various commodities over the
last decade, the improvement in infrastructure in the continent
(mostly transport and telecommunication), economic growth,
and more regional and global integration eff orts. In terms
of value, India imported agricultural products worth INR
36.83 thousand crore in FY 2019, with the share of Africa
40.55 percent. India almost 62 percent of Raw Cashews are
imported from Africa besides other agricultural commodities
including Pulses (14 percent), Spices (6 percent), Other Oil
Seeds (5 percent) and Coff ee (1 percent).
In order to foster greater and concerted participation, few
of the hindrances need to be worked out judiciously. The fi rst
major block is the high transport & logistic cost owing to
which Indian exporters prefer to sell their goods on a ‘free
on-board’ basis instead of ‘on-delivery’. Indian exporters
also cite poor business environment and lack of access to
buyers as another major impediment in trade. Firms fi nd it
diffi cult to acquire the necessary visas and permits required
2014-15
9.28
3.94
0.22
0.49
0.10
0.79
14.83
2015-16
9.32
4.17
0.27
0.57
0.11
1.65
16.09
2016-17
7.64
7.11
0.23
1.12
0.17
2.60
18.87
(In Lakh MT)
2017-18 2018-19
6.36
7.14
3.25
5.56
0.29
0.37
1.23
2.12
0.16
0.17
2.04
1.96
13.33
17.32
to set up operations in Africa. This is particularly important
for information technology fi rms who are looking to partner
with and expand operations in the African continent.
Finally, the semblance of the agrarian economy in both
India and Africa with the dependency of the majority of
the population for livelihood off ers a plethora of bilateral
growth opportunities. The importance of Africa as a major
growth partner of India’s economic expansion could be
further ascertained by the fact that out of the 10 fastest
growing economies at least fi ve are in Africa. The greater
socio-economic partnership of India & Africa is expected to
signifi cantly strengthen India role in the global economy as
Africa provides a consumer market with 1.7 billion people,
over USD 6.7 trillion consumer market and investment
opportunity of over USD 100 billion a year spread across
55 countries. If proper incentives are provided and key
impediments are resolved, India could be a key investor
in agriculture, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, textiles,
automobiles, banking and fi nancial services, information
technology, energy and infrastructure. 
* Author is Head - R&D at National Bulk Handling
Cooperation (NBHC)
40 • Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Diplomatist • Vol 7 • Issue 7 • July 2019, Noida