11/1/2008
New Commission analysis looks at the role of India in world agriculture

India is one of the fastest growing economies in the world today and among the world's leading agricultural producers and yet its trade flows are relatively small compared with other main players. However, given the size of Indian agriculture, even small changes in its trade have a potentially large impact on world markets. That is one of the conclusions of the latest MAP (Monitoring Agri-trade Policy), published by the Commission's Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development.

 India has a large and diverse agriculture and is also a major consumer, with an expanding population to feed. The average size of holding is just 1.4 hectares and 60% of the workforce depends on agriculture for a living. The latest MAP looks at India's trade patterns with the EU and globally. It also examines India's agriculture and trade policy and attempts to shed light on the impact of these policies on trade.

The MAP is available at http://ec.europa.eu/agriculture/publi/map/03_07.pdf