Read full article@ The Economics Times Photo Credit: The Economis Times
India’s exports of millets are expected to increase significantly in the coming years on account of rising demand in the global markets, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday. Currently, India is the fifth largest exporter of millets in the world, it added. In 2020-21, India exported millets worth $26.97 million against $28.5 million in 2019-20.
Major exporters of millets are the US, Russia, Ukraine, India, China, Netherlands, France, Poland and Argentina. Global exports of millets in 2020 stood at $466.284 million.
The other destinations included Libya, Tunisia, Morocco, UK, Yemen, Oman
and Algeria.
“With demand for nutria-cereals rising steadily globally, the Department of
Commerce expects millet exports to increase exponentially in the coming
years as Indian exporters find new markets abroad,” it said.
The ministry is working towards facilitating shipments of millets by domestic
exporters and helping them make inroads into new markets, it added.
India is the world leader in the production of millets with a share of around 41
per cent of total global production in 2020. India produces around 12 million
tonnes of millets annually, according to data by the Ministry of Agriculture
and Farmers Welfare.
The various kinds of millets include sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra),
finger millet (ragi), little millet (kutki), small millet (samai), foxtail millet
(kangni), proso millet (barri), barnyard millet (jhangora), kodo millet (kodra),
two pseudo millets (buckwheat and kuttu), and Ameranthus (chulai), among
others.
