Exports of agri-products from Gujarat: problems and prospects

Abstract

Agri-products are defined to include products of agriculture & allied activities, fishing, forestry, and manufacturing industries, like food & food products, tobacco, textiles, paper, furniture, etc. Gujarat has a revealed comparative advantage in the exporting activity over the other states since, as per GITCO Study (November 2001), more than one-fifth of the exports of the country originate from Gujarat. Gujarat has the revealed comparative advantage in ground-nuts, oilmeals, castor oil, poultry & dairy product, spices, sesame & niger seeds, processed food & vegetables & fruits, cotton yarn & fabric, man-made textiles, handicrafts, and cotton raw including waste. Fresh fruits & vegetables, floriculture, and fish are not the areas of strength for Gujarat so far. Based on the large sample survey conducted by GITCO (November 2001), several features of the exports originating from Gujarat are also examined. Exports of agri-products originating from Gujarat represent excess supply rather than exclusive supply to the foreign markets. The prospects of the domestic demand and production of the agricultural sector in Gujarat are examined. The dismal picture of the declining real income in Gujarat agriculture during the late nineties is not supported by several other evidences. On the contrary, Gujarat has a very vibrant and responsive agricultural sector. It has an achievable potential to grow at 4.5% to 5% p.a. over the next 8 to 10 years. The paper concludes by identifying some areas for further research.