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

2. 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 million hectares with a total production of million metric tonnes (In-shell). The average productivity is 1671 kg/ha (In-shell)
The annual global export of groundnuts is million tonnes (kernels).

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

4. India vis-a-vis other global players

5. 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

6. Top Ten Groundnut Producing Countries

7. 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

8. 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 (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.

9. India's Export of Groundnut oil
(Quantity in tons)
Year
(Apr-Jul)
Quantity
2706
11583
6586
31122
6483
Source: DGCIS April-March

10. India's Export of Groundnuts
Quantity ton)
Rank
Country
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, India exported 1,57,329 tons of groundnut in comparison to 2,10,103 tons during same period last year.

11. 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

12. India-Groundnut Balance Sheet (2016-17)
Quantity Lakh ton
 Item
Kharif
Rabi
Total
Crop in shell
53.75
15.45
69.20
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

13. 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 per USD in August, 2017 VS Rs in August, 2016)

14. 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%).

15. 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

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

17. 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

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

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

20. 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

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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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

25. 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

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

27. 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

28. 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

29. 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

31. State-wise Normal Area, Production and Yield of Groundnut in major growing states (Average of to )
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