Groundnut exports from India A bird’s eye view Kishore Tanna Convener, Groundnut Panel and Director INDIAN OILSEEDS AND PRODUCE EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL

The Global Scenario Groundnut is an important oilseed and supplementary food crop of the world. It’s commercially grown between 40°N and 40°S latitude. It’s the fourth most important source of edible oil and the third most important source of vegetable protein. Globally the crop is raised on 25.82 million hectares with a total production of 43.32 million metric tonnes (In-shell). The average productivity is 1671 kg/ha (In-shell) The annual global export of groundnuts is 2.76 million tonnes (kernels).

The top five Producers Exporters Importers China India Argentina Netherlands Nigeria U.S.A. Indonesia USA Vietnam Brazil Canada

India vis-a-vis other global players

Top 10: Acreage (ha) and production (MT) Share (%) Country Acreage Share Production Yield China 4,625,494 17.4 16,550,213 37.7 3,578 India 4,685,000 17.7 6,557,000 14.9 1,400 Nigeria 2,770,100 10.4 3,413,100 7.8 1,232 USA 535,200 2.0 2,353,540 5.4 4,398 Sudan 2,104,000 7.9 1,767,000 4.0 840 Tanzania 1,619,500 6.1 1,635,335 3.7 1,010 Argentina 409,312 1.5 1,165,924 2.7 2,849 Burma 484,000 1.8 865,900 1,789 Chad 774,604 2.9 791,088 1,021 Senegal 878,659 3.3 669,329 762 Others 7,655,791 29 8,146,936 19 World 26,541,660 100 43,915,365 1,655 Source: FAOSTAT 2017

Top Ten Groundnut Producing Countries

Top Exporting Countries (Thousand tons) Country 2016/17 2015/16 Share (%) India 760 551 27.53 Argentina 630 704 22.82 USA 500 528 18.11 China 340 290 12.31 Brazil 107 121 3.88 Nicaragua 85 78 3.08 Senegal 62 142 2.25 Other 277 278 10.03 Total 2761 2692 100 Source: Oil World 2017 (Oct-Sept) India is largest exporter of groundnuts in the world with a share of about 28% in the world trade. Argentina and USA secured second and third position respectively in exports of Groundnut during 2016-17.

Top Ten Importing Countries (Thousand tons) Country 2016/17 2015/16 Share China 450 460 16.33 Netherlands 318 316 11.54 Indonesia 190 175 6.90 Vietnam 138 134 5.01 Canada 137 135 4.97 Germany 120 126 4.36 Russia 129 117 4.68 UK 85 81 3.09 Phillipines 82 86 2.98 Thailand 69 71 2.50 Others 1037 1001 37.64 Total 2755 2702 100.00 Source: Oil World 2017 (Oct-Sept) China was the largest importer of groundnut with a share of 17% followed by EU with Netherlands and Germany together accounting for a share of about 16%. Indonesia has about 7% share.

India's Export of Groundnut oil (Quantity in tons) Year 2017-18 (Apr-Jul) 2016-17 2015-16 2014-15 2013-14 Quantity 2706 11583 6586 31122 6483 Source: DGCIS April-March

India's Export of Groundnuts Quantity ton) Rank Country 2016-17 2015-16 Share (%) 1 Indonesia 186203 173966 25.67 2 Vietnam 159625 18418 22.01 3 Malaysia 62963 72211 8.68 4 Philippines 50834 50699 7.01 5 Thailand 44125 63048 6.08 6 Pakistan 35655 37366 4.92 7 China 22629 15791 3.12 8 Russia 21018 3853 2.90 9 Algeria 17384 3705 2.40 10 South Africa 16432 981 2.27   Others 108398 102692 14.95 Total 725266 542730 100.00 Source: DGCIS Indian exports picked up due to resumption of exports to Vietnam and price competitiveness of Indian groundnut. During April-August, 2017 India exported 1,57,329 tons of groundnut in comparison to 2,10,103 tons during same period last year.

Current major destinations and major importing EU nations Major importers The Netherlands Germany UK Spain Italy European Union Southeast Asia Major destinations Indonesia Vietnam Malaysia The Philippines Thailand

India-Groundnut Balance Sheet (2016-17) Quantity Lakh ton  Item Kharif Rabi Total Crop in shell 53.75 15.45 69.20 Kernels @72.50% 39.00 11.20 50.20 Less   Sowing (kernel) 7.50  1.00  8.50  Exports (kernel) 4.70  1.80  6.50  Direct consumption (kernel)  11.30 3.80  15.10  Sub Total  23.50  6.60 30.10  Marketable surplus (kernel for crushing) 15.50  4.60  20.10

Where are prices headed ? Short crop in India Good crop in other exporting countries like USA, Argentina and China Emergence of other competing African origins and depreciation of their currency Appreciation of 4.5% in Indian rupee (Rs. 64.07 per USD in August, 2017 VS Rs. 67.07 in August, 2016)

The paradoxes Although India is the largest exporter of groundnut but its share in the imports by the single largest importing nation viz., the Netherlands is negligible. Argentina has only 1.5% of the world groundnut acreage but contributes 2.7% of the global production and yet it is the second largest exporter of groundnut in the world (share of 23%).

Strengths of Indian Groundnuts Largest acreage (5-6 million ha) and the second largest production in the world Spanish, bold and Valencia­ all types are grown Spanish Bold Valencia

Strengths (contd.) Drying and curing in natural conditions preserves the flavour imparting substances No GM variety is cultivated in India

Strengths (contd.) The export helps stabilize domestic edible oil supply. Cheaper edible oils (mainly palm oil) are imported in a much larger quantity than being exported in form of kernels. Groundnut crop plays a crucial role in bridging the edible oil deficit in the country

Well established state-of-the-art processing facilities Strengths (contd.) Well established state-of-the-art processing facilities

Rainfed crop- the Achilles' heel (weaknesses) Kharif (80%) crop is by and large rainfed (yield varies widely over the years)

Mid- or end-of- the-season drought often mars the crop prospects Weaknesses (contd.) Mid- or end-of- the-season drought often mars the crop prospects

Weaknesses (contd.) Post-harvest unseasonal rains enhance the susceptibility to invasion by Aspergillus flavus

Weaknesses (contd.) Cultivation on marginal and small holdings make it difficult to source in-shells of uniform genetic and agronomic background Multitude of crop varieties (200) enhances chances of varietal mixtures entering the seed chain

Opportunities Wide spread adoption of BBF for enhancing productivity Broad bed and furrow (BBF): a proven technology to tide over short-spell droughts and also excessive rains

Opportunities (contd.) Identification of export worthy varieties through focussed research Formation of farmers’ co- operatives to source raw material of uniform genetic and agronomic background National legislation for contract farming to safeguard interests of all the stakeholders

Opportunities (contd.) Great potential for production and export of organic groundnut Processing of imported lots during the lean period to maximise utilization of the installed capacity- SION norms to be in place soon EU likely to raise ML for aflatoxin from 2 to 10 ppb- opening the floodgates for Indian exporters

Opportunities (contd.) A concerted effort by all the stakeholders will for sure double the exports in the coming years NOW THEN

Challenges and threats Aflatoxin contamination Salomnella spp, Escherichia coli contamination Pesticide residues above MRL Seeds of noxious weeds (Striga spp.) Early release of high-oleic varieties in competing countries Spread of white grub in Gujarat

R & D Needs Development of high oleic varieties Development of varieties highly resistant to Aspergillus flavus Operating procedures for transport and storage Machinery improvement- Laser/colour Warehouse design for storage at controlled temperatures Warehouse design to facilitate fumigation of market lots Improvement in efficiency of colour and laser sorting Packaging material for storage and shipment Data on changes in moisture and temperature of the cargo during voyage

FUTURE PROSPECTS Increase in production through better crop management Large-scale production of in-shells of uniform genetic and agronomic back ground Availability of high-oleic varieties Production of value-added products for export Efficient utilization of installed capacity by processing imported raw material Improved machinery to avoid undesirable rejections Improved warehousing facilities

State-wise Normal Area, Production and Yield of Groundnut in major growing states (Average of 2010-11 to 2014-15) State/ UT Season Area Production Yield ('000 ha) ('000 tonnes) (kg/ha) Andhra Pradesh Kharif 1056.8 553.0 523 Rabi 97.3 216.0 2219 Total 1154.1 768.9 666 Gujarat 1491.6 2740.9 1838 112.6 214.4 1904 1604.2 2955.3 1842 Karnataka 505.0 373.6 740 179.6 164.2 914 684.6 537.8 786 Maharashtra   247.8 277.6 1120 66.6 96.0 1441 314.4 1188 Rajasthan 424.4 802.0 1890 1.4 2.8 2034 425.3 803.2 1889 Tamil Nadu 233.5 489.2 2095 123.1 427.2 3471 356.5 916.4 2570 All India 4376.7 5789.3 1323 846.2 1618.5 1913 5222.9 7407.8 1418 Source: DES, GOI