New Delhi, Nov 19 (IANS): In a major boost to export prospects of agricultural produce, India registered a significant surge in export of agricultural and processed food products in April-October period of current Financial Year, 2021-22, in comparison to the corresponding seven month period of last fiscal, 2020-21.

According to the Quick Estimates released by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S), the overall export of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) products witnessed 14.7 per cent growth in terms of USD during April-October 2021 over the same period of the previous year.

The overall export of APEDA products increased from USD 10,157 million in April-October 2020 to USD 11,651million in April-October 2021.

This rise in exports has been achieved notwithstanding Covid-19 restrictions. The significant rise in agri-exports is seen as a testimony of the government's commitment to increase farmers' income through giving thrust on boosting exports of agricultural and processed food products of the country.

The significant jump in exports of agricultural and processed food products during the first seven months of current fiscal is in continuation of growth in exports witnessed in the financial year 2020-21.

The export of rice, which recorded a positive growth of 10.5 per cent, increased from USD 4777.35 million in April-October 2020 to USD 5278.95 million in April-October 2021.

As per the Quick Estimates, the exports of fresh fruits and vegetables registered a 11.6 per cent growth in terms of USD, while shipment of processed food products like cereals preparations and miscellaneous processed items reported a growth of 29 percent.

In April-October 2020-21, fresh fruits and vegetables were exported to the tune of USD 1374.59 million which rose to USD 1534.05 million in April-October 2021-22.

India reported a 85.4 per cent jump in export of other cereals while the export of meat, dairy & poultry products witnessed an increase 15.6 percent in the first seven months of the current fiscal (2021-22).

The export of other cereals increased from USD 274.98 million in April-October 2020 to USD 509.77 million in April-October 2021 and the export of meat, dairy and poultry products increased from USD 1978.6 million in April-October 2020 to USD 2286.32 million in April-October 2021.

The cashew export witnessed a growth of 29.2 per cent in April-October 2021 as the export of cashew rose from USD 205.29 million in April-October 2020 to USD 265.27 million in April-October 2021.

The initiatives taken by APEDA, which functions under the Ministry of Commerce, has helped the country achieve this milestone at a time when most of the business activities suffered a huge setback due to the restrictions imposed after the outbreak of second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We continue to focus on creating infrastructure for exports from eastern, Northeastern regions and hilly states, where infrastructure was earlier not adequate," said M. Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA.