How animal products are powering India’s farm exports

Livestock and fisheries now account for nearly 40% of India's agricultural GDP, up from 30% just over a decade ago. This trend is evident in the country's agricultural exports. In the period from April to September, farm exports reached $27.1 billion, an increase of 4.7% compared to the previous year's $25.9 billion. However, exports of marine products and buffalo meat surged at a much faster rate, growing by 13.2% and 53.8% respectively, from $4 billion to $4.5 billion and $2.2 billion to $3.4 billion.

India's marine product exports hit an all-time high of $8.4 billion in 2025-26, despite a US tariff shock which initially reduced exports to the United States. Exports to other countries including China, Vietnam, Japan, Thailand, Belgium, Canada, Spain, Italy, Russia, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, and Taiwan increased during this period. The current fiscal year has also seen a recovery in US exports and continued growth in exports to China, Japan, Thailand, and Russia.

Buffalo meat exports are particularly noteworthy. After declining from $4.8 billion to $3.2 billion between 2014-15 and 2022-23, they surpassed the $5-billion mark for the first time last fiscal and are expected to exceed $6.5 billion in 2026-27. Indian buffalo meat exporters have diversified their markets, with major destinations including Vietnam, Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Iraq, and the Philippines.

Importantly, unit value realizations have improved significantly, rising from $2,716.8 per tonne in 2022-23 to $4,368.2 per tonne in 2025-26.