Lok Sabha Question No. 2544 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-14
Subject: Import of Seeds
Ministry: COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
Asked by: ANTO  ANTONY

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COMMERCE & INDUSTRY (DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE)

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2544 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14 TH  MARCH, 2016

## IMPORT OF SEEDS

## 2544. SHRI ANTO ANTONY:

Will  the  Minister  of COMMERCE & INDUSTRY ( वािणÏय एवं मंत्री ) be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is importing seeds from various countries;
- (b) if so, the total quantity of seeds imported into the country during the last three years and the current year, year and country -wise; and
- (c) the revenue generated therefrom during the said period?

## ANSWER

## वािणÏ य एवं उɮयोग राÏ य मंत्री ) Įीमती िनमर्ला सीतारमण ( ( èवतंत्र प्रभार ) THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN)

- (a) and (b) : The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare is not directly importing any seeds from any country. However,the New Policy on Seed Development, 1988  allows  import  of  seeds  and  planting  materials  of  cereals,  coarse  cereals,  pulses, oilseeds,  fodders,  fruits  and  vegetables  to  any  individual  or  any  firm  on  fulfilment  of certain  conditions  and  also  on  the  fulfilment  of  conditions  laid  down  in  the  Plant Quarantine (Regulation of import into India) Order, 2003.

Information related to country wise import of seeds into India during the last three years and the current year (April to December, 2015) is annexed.

- (c): Revenue generated through customs duty on seed imports during the last three years and the current year (April to December, 2015) is given as under:

| Customs Duty Collected on ImportedSeeds   | Customs Duty Collected on ImportedSeeds   |
|-------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Financial Year                            | Duty (in Rs. Crore)                       |
| 2012-13                                   | 120.88                                    |

| 2013-14                  |   115.29 |
|--------------------------|----------|
| 2014-15                  |   136.88 |
| 2015-16(Apr to Dec 2015) |    94.01 |

COUNTRY-WISE IMPORT OF SEEDS Annexure (VALUES IN US $)

|                 | 2012-13   | 2012-13   | 2013-14   | 2013-14   | 2014-15   | 2014-15   | 2015-16(apr to dec)   | 2015-16(apr to dec)   |
|-----------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------------------|-----------------------|
| Country         | qty(kg)   | val       | qty(kg)   | val       | qty(kg)   | val       | qty(kg)               | val                   |
| SOMALIA         | 7983060   | 9948955   | 25745530  | 43859876  | 20146425  | 35846494  | 10970779              | 13202190              |
| TURKEY          | 12569601  | 26914141  | 14411217  | 49271416  | 10930570  | 33114014  | 7627179               | 23017643              |
| SUDAN           | 23316974  | 22880699  | 19781180  | 30390181  | 30970792  | 27606069  | 35152068              | 39426983              |
| CHILE           | 112914    | 14224690  | 97914     | 12529590  | 141308    | 17262539  | 119331                | 15336398              |
| EGYPT A RP      | 13833170  | 21193838  | 5354600   | 7968321   | 11159000  | 17123626  | 9015000               | 12477450              |
| ITALY           | 4395424   | 9308260   | 4014391   | 10926864  | 7065879   | 16960820  | 7181722               | 13563121              |
| THAILAND        | 927939    | 13998297  | 1282884   | 16045413  | 219413    | 16686391  | 135933                | 15589544              |
| GHANA           | 20987253  | 10181540  | 37853579  | 19957004  | 28350102  | 16161083  | 13568480              | 7108404               |
| U S A           | 614747    | 6921825   | 858948    | 8096558   | 1412560   | 13742171  | 917790                | 8975993               |
| VIETNAM SOC REP | 4715627   | 13698113  | 2923109   | 8349592   | 4385495   | 13007094  | 3058350               | 8737295               |
| CHINA P RP      | 1439638   | 9794487   | 730388    | 7201890   | 2015990   | 10836579  | 2515410               | 11627947              |
| AFGHANISTAN     | 1910223   | 7090699   | 2190714   | 7232758   | 2498403   | 9584965   | 1989690               | 7535467               |
| TAIWAN          | 6654      | 3184591   | 9166      | 4884075   | 24421     | 6226856   | 11545                 | 4988969               |
| PAKISTAN IR     | 10141442  | 7068882   | 17067617  | 32159157  | 6096573   | 4879860   | 3670514               | 2810745               |
| NIGERIA         | 7486049   | 10881064  | 12698720  | 22877659  | 3459310   | 4470003   | 4618973               | 3686414               |
| KOREA RP        | 73703     | 2763840   | 84182     | 2198310   | 695474    | 4300120   | 92532                 | 3028542               |
| TANZANIA REP    | 1399382   | 2059466   | 996280    | 1543787   | 837873    | 3103181   | 253044                | 946711                |
| NEW ZEALAND     | 623625    | 1441205   | 897651    | 2664645   | 1095863   | 3042823   | 1366780               | 3997095               |
| PHILIPPINES     | 49864     | 2672664   | 36778     | 1551155   | 52327     | 2537459   | 47223                 | 2228245               |
| FRANCE          | 54383     | 1777427   | 168812    | 2265936   | 295727    | 2455152   | 348836                | 2178957               |
| AUSTRALIA       | 1236705   | 1751279   | 127934    | 1183842   | 307599    | 1586332   | 50095                 | 1150584               |
| GUATEMALA       | 131       | 337817    | 100101    | 1197584   | 69173     | 1537153   | 76205                 | 1367160               |
| ETHIOPIA        | 2453000   | 3866525   | 1261700   | 2670603   | 673000    | 1441656   | 1158600               | 1430282               |
| UKRAINE         | 182000    | 129993    | 155727    | 198010    | 1272000   | 1302779   | 1109550               | 944211                |
| BULGARIA        | 100000    | 49345     | 22500     | 39493     | 876500    | 1233104   | 516999                | 613712                |
| BENIN           | 6532696   | 3436061   | 7743990   | 3580932   | 2133000   | 1170245   | 4211000               | 2062388               |
| NETHERLAND      | 60449     | 907731    | 25207     | 1350339   | 36771     | 1038125   | 48134                 | 1602494               |
| INDONESIA       | 80103     | 1671228   | 41615     | 1330509   | 42749     | 1031196   | 71310                 | 1927893               |
| JAPAN           | 4031      | 793720    | 29744     | 785404    | 10629     | 1024181   | 9167                  | 1153114               |
| RUSSIA          | 201000    | 190493    | 42000     | 51710     | 740725    | 980032    | 4242982               | 3419176               |
| MYANMAR         | 763       | 115279    | 477500    | 108257    | 706255    | 897757    | 4062649               | 5038716               |
| SOUTH AFRICA    | 3370      | 46647     | 1026      |           | 36033     | 786544    | 22189                 |                       |
|                 |           |           |           | 137915    |           |           |                       | 781513                |
| MEXICO          | 4207      | 870456    | 260       | 72914     | 5822      | 695927    | 412                   | 107152                |

| FINLAND         | 951200   | 1166223   | 414800   |   557492 | 384300   | 664371   |   203800 |   399103 |
|-----------------|----------|-----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|----------|
| SPAIN           | 1786     | 305866    | 3512     |   243980 | 2781     | 596306   |     1649 |   361564 |
| CZECH REPUBLIC  | 65000    | 178428    | 205300   |   738146 | 179243   | 565302   |   222100 |   551989 |
| GERMANY         | 27901    | 356922    | 85950    |   384010 | 18139    | 520403   |    99674 |   374591 |
| MOZAMBIQUE      | 200000   | 164156    | 91000    |   116370 | 282000   | 511625   |        0 |        0 |
| NEPAL           | 385085   | 96083     | 242000   |   149101 | 696780   | 425027   |   136470 |    83165 |
| MOLDOVA         | 0        | 0         | 0        |        0 | 745000   | 372621   |  1948000 |   906108 |
| BURKINA FASO    | 0        | 0         | 54000    |    97187 | 639000   | 366297   |   380280 |   486057 |
| CANADA          | 0        | 0         | 173588   |   144282 | 301382   | 365010   |    75007 |   190864 |
| TOGO            | 1684152  | 2614896   | 660560   |  1183789 | 147000   | 320248   |   380300 |   480516 |
| ISRAEL          | 723      | 78923     | 18913    |   247003 | 2992     | 277432   |     3022 |   171985 |
| POLAND          | 1000     | 2542      | 0        |        0 | 148638   | 269185   |       23 |       80 |
| CAMEROON        | 0        | 0         | 19724    |    48526 | 78890    | 261797   |    90021 |   248210 |
| SYRIA           | 75000    | 225896    | 760047   |  2059165 | 111000   | 258240   |  1821000 |  4783359 |
| IRAN            | 774250   | 267943    | 774984   |   258967 | 438000   | 214904   |  1140400 |   755185 |
| COTE D' IVOIRE  | 1149240  | 720639    | 702623   |   745544 | 182460   | 166875   |   235000 |   120553 |
| COSTA RICA      | 958335   | 1015629   | 1125962  |  1021540 | 100550   | 157003   |        0 |        0 |
| DENMARK         | 1735     | 78072     | 20120    |   169929 | 13941    | 138380   |    30923 |   258268 |
| BANGLADESH PR   | 299000   | 79286     | 732410   |   216542 | 109900   | 111163   |   349000 |   179968 |
| SINGAPORE       | 13000    | 37797     | 315000   |   532270 | 37000    | 108562   |        0 |        0 |
| PERU            | 0        | 0         | 83       |    48704 | 1150     | 95771    |      345 |   291436 |
| ARGENTINA       | 206020   | 158472    | 1886     |   142480 | 40377    | 95711    |   121337 |   639957 |
| NETHERLANDANTIL | 0        | 0         | 0        |        0 | 373      | 68782    |      224 |    70397 |
| BELGIUM         | 6179     | 127779    | 12744    |   278774 | 1481     | 60528    |    20006 |   241828 |
| MALAWI          | 0        | 0         | 155000   |    83076 | 104000   | 60410    |        0 |        0 |
| GREECE          | 48000    | 92195     | 0        |        0 | 19000    | 54491    |        0 |        0 |
| KENYA           | 73000    | 91958     | 33000    |    63970 | 24000    | 50034    |        0 |        0 |
| UNSPECIFIED     | 41584760 | 18729713  | 8        |     1877 | 19000    | 38121    |   434205 |  1039441 |
| MAURITIUS       | 3184     | 57003     | 11032    |    89825 | 2210     | 37396    |     1652 |    33243 |
| UZBEKISTAN      | 0        | 0         | 0        |        0 | 20000    | 23450    |        0 |        0 |
| MOROCCO         | 0        | 0         | 200003   |   319488 | 20000    | 21618    |        0 |        0 |
| LATVIA          | 0        | 0         | 44       |    15706 | 10       | 7168     |       47 |    39735 |
| U ARAB EMTS     | 1887745  | 2464845   | 817714   |  1421147 | 2500     | 2849     |     2000 |     1656 |
| KOREA DP RP     | 250      | 31499     | 0        |        0 | 20       | 2621     |      250 |    36399 |
| U K             | 70       | 16926     | 74       |    12297 | 2        | 2046     |       69 |     5289 |
| HONDURAS        | 0        | 0         | 0        |        0 | 70       | 2041     |        0 |        0 |
| MALAYSIA        | 0        | 0         | 50000    |    49628 | 65       | 101      |        0 |        0 |
| BRAZIL          | 0        | 0         | 21597    |    32114 |          |          |        0 |        0 |
| CHAD            | 0        | 0         | 417990   |   721084 | 0 0      | 0 0      |        0 |        0 |
| DJIBOUTI        |          |           |          |   109847 | 0        |          |        0 |        0 |
| GEORGIA         | 608000 0 | 963373 0  | 57000 8  |    65358 | 0        | 0 0      |        0 |        0 |

| GUADELOUPE    |         0 |         0 |         2 |     15070 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
|---------------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
| GUINEA BISSAU |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |    129000 |    155530 |
| HONG KONG     |      9880 |     34561 |        88 |     21722 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| HUNGARY       |         0 |         0 |       262 |      2506 |         0 |         0 |    120300 |    187333 |
| IRELAND       |         0 |         0 |       600 |      2221 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| MADAGASCAR    |         0 |         0 |     11000 |     11243 |         0 |         0 |       500 |      1217 |
| MALI          |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |    190000 |    239989 |
| NICARAGUA     |         0 |         0 |        40 |      1819 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| REUNION       |      2558 |    182433 |      2522 |    306825 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| ROMANIA       |     87000 |     54959 |     40000 |     25044 |         0 |         0 |     22000 |     20132 |
| SENEGAL       |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |     38000 |     43650 |
| SRI LANKA DSR |         0 |         0 |      3000 |      6308 |         0 |         0 |        16 |      3843 |
| SWAZILAND     |       438 |     25440 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| SWITZERLAND   |         1 |      2369 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| UGANDA        |    243000 |     47063 |    131000 |    109267 |         0 |         0 |         0 |         0 |
| Grand Total   | 174847619 | 242641146 | 165600154 | 317552942 | 143637015 | 280966219 | 126437091 | 235465148 |

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