India's Agricultural Trade Potential in Post-WTO Period

Abstract

The paper has analysed the agricultural trade scenario of India including its direction, composition and potential by collecting data from published sources. To find the export potential of India in the international market, Balassa's Index has been computed for various agricultural commodities. The study has revealed that India has comparative advantage in export of some agricultural commodities such as meat and edible meat offal, rice, wheat, oilseed, coffee and tea. Also, India has trading partners from both developing and developed nations. The study has suggested that the government should encourage the production of those commodities in which we have comparative advantage in export like cereals, meat and meat offal, frozen fish, oilseeds, coffee and tea. Commodity specific programs aiming at export development should be initiated. To develop the comparative advantage in export of fruits and vegetables, infrastructure development is required. One of the major constraints in agricultural exports is the lack of transportation facilities. These should be developed as per international standard. Private participation should be encouraged in this sector. EXIM bank should encourage agricultural export by providing adequate credit. Export-oriented farming should be encouraged to meet the international standards.