India's rice, buffalo meat exports drop

MUMBAI: India’s rice exports for April-February dropped 9.4 percent from a year earlier to 10.57 million tonnes, as leading buyer Bangladesh trimmed its purchases due to a bumper local harvest, a government body said in a statement on Wednesday.

The country’s buffalo meat exports during the period dropped 9.6 percent from a year ago to 1.12 million tonnes, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority said, as demand moderated from the biggest buyer – China.

Guar gum exports climbed 3.5 percent to 465,705 tonnes on robust demand from the United States.

India is the world’s biggest exporter of buffalo meat, guar gum and rice.

The country’s exports of pulses nearly doubled during the period to 261,016 tonnes, while dairy exports surged 75.7 percent to 152,736 tonnes due to government incentives for exports of skimmed milk powder, the agency said.

India will hold a general election starting on Thursday in the world’s largest democratic exercise, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking a second straight term.

The election will held in seven phases until May 19 and votes will be counted on May 23.

Modi government’s inability to create a million jobs every month, and ease farmers’ distress over low product prices, has taken the shine off what is still the world’s fastest growing major economy.

From sugar farmers in Uttar Pradesh going unpaid for produce, to small businesses in the south shut because they are unable to meet the requirements of a new, unifying national tax, discontent has brewed for months.