| dc.description.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. | |
