Import of Russian agricultural products in India increased 22 times due to peas and sunflower oil

16-Jul-2024 05:22 PM

New Delhi. Data released during the Moscow visit of the Indian Prime Minister shows that there was a strong increase of 22 times in the import of agricultural and food products from Russia to India in the 2023-24 marketing season.

The Prime Minister thanked the President of Russia for giving relief to Indian farmers by regular supply of fertilizers.

At the beginning of the current year, Russia contributed about one-third of the total import of fertilizers in India. 

The spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs has said that at present bilateral trade between India and Russia is around $ 65 billion, which is targeted to be increased to $ 100 billion by the year 2030.

A joint statement issued after the talks ended said that Russia and India are committed to further increase bilateral trade in the field of agriculture and fertilizers and efforts will be made to simplify phytosanitary restrictions.

According to data released by the Russian Agricultural Supervision Service, during the marketing season of 2023-24, 89.3 million tonnes of grain and food products were exported from Russia, which was 21 percent more than the shipment of 2022-23 season.

Exports of Russian products increased 22 times to India, eight times to Indonesia and three times to Tunisia during this period. In the first quarter of 2024, Russia was the fourth largest exporter of agricultural products to India.

In fact, the import of peas, lentils and sunflower oil from Russia to India has increased rapidly. In December 2023, the Government of India opened the import of yellow peas and now its period has been extended till 31 October.