Potential for Trade in Seeds between India and Other SAARC Countries

[Neha Jain]

From CUTS International:

 

Potential for Trade in Seeds between India and Other SAARC Countries

 

India and other South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries offer natural markets for each other’s export products. The South Asia region enjoys mutual advantages of trade carried out within the group due to low transaction cost, scope for quicker delivery, similar agro-climatic conditions and food habits and common languages. These similarities are worthwhile to explore opportunities for increasing formal trade to meet demand, especially in food items.

 

The paper explores potential for trade in seeds. It identifies nine important seeds that are directly or indirectly related to food security and livelihood in the region. These include vegetables, fruits, oil, maize, wheat, rice, barley, grain sorghum and buckwheat. It shows that though total trade (in nine identified seeds) between India and the other SAARC countries reveals an increasing trend during the period 2001-11, the region holds much bigger potential and opportunity of seed trade. Among the South Asian countries, India holds a place of prominence in seed trade, particularly export. The paper reveals that India is a dominant player in the SAARC seed market, whose status can be understood by the fact that India’s total seed export to SAARC countries constitutes over 93 percent of its total seed trade.

 

 

Monograph can be found at: http://www.cuts-citee.org/RISTE/pdf/Potential_for_Trade_in_Seeds_between_India_and_Other_SAARC_Countries.pdf

 

Best Regards,

RISTE Team