Question

Which was the single largest contributor to the total agri exports in 2000-01? If the total agri exports were valued at US $ 6 billion, what is its contribution in dollar terms?

• A. Cereal, US $ 1.49 billion
• B. Marine Products, US $ 1.27 billion
• C. Marine Products, US $ 1.39 billion
• D. Cereal, US $ 1.03 billion
• A. Meat and Meat Preparations
• B. Fruits and Vegetables
• C. Processed Fruits and Vegetables
• D. None
• A. Pulses
• B. Cereals
• C. Cashew nuts
• D. Nuts and Fruits
• A. India has raised its domestic production of these commodities.
• B. India's demand for these commodities has gone down.
• C. India's gap in production and requirement of these commodities has gone down.
• D. India's population consuming these commodities has gone down
• A. The concerns were justified because India continued to import agri commodities.
• B. The concerns were not justified because the value of agri imports in aggregate terms has come down during the period.
• C. The concerns were justified because vegetable oil and pulses formed a major component of the imports.
• D. The concerns were not justified because the total exports in aggregate terms were higher than the total imports in aggregate terms.
• A. India should not get into export of agri products and concentrate on other sectors.
• B. India should find ways and means of increasing imports.
• C. India should restrict its imports and exports only to a limited number of commodities and products.
• D. India should work on strategies to enhance exports and reduce imports.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is C

Step 1 — Read the data for 2000–01 exports:
From the export table, we need to find the largest contributor to agri exports in 2000–01.
Key entries (2000–01, in value terms):
• Tea = 433
• Coffee = 259
• Cereals = 744
• Tobacco = 191
• Spices = 354
• Cashew = 411
• Oil Meals = 448
• Fruits & Vegetables = 248
• Processed Fruits & Veg = 122
• Meat & Preparations = 322
• Marine Products = 1,394
• Others = 815
Total Agri Exports = 6,004.

Step 2 — Identify the largest share:
Marine Products = 1,394, which is the highest among all categories.
Its percentage share is already given = 23.2%.

Step 3 — Convert to dollar terms:
If total agri exports in 2000–01 = US $6 billion,
Marine Products contribution = 23.2% of 6 billion.
= (23.2 / 100) × 6,000,000,000.
= 1,392,000,000.
≈ US $1.39 billion.

Final Answer: Marine Products, US $1.39 billion (Option C).

Answer 2

Step 1 — Observe export values across 3 years:
We need to identify which product grew consistently and strongly from 1998–99 to 2000–01.

Key products (in value terms, lakhs):
• Processed Fruits & Vegetables = 69 → 86 → 122.
• Marine Products = 1,038 → 1,183 → 1,394 (growth, but more gradual).
• Cashew = 387 → 567 → 411 (growth then fall).
• Cereals = 1,495 → 724 → 744 (big decline, then slight rise).
• Tea = 538 → 412 → 433 (fall).
• Coffee = 411 → 331 → 259 (fall).

Step 2 — Identify strong growth:
• Processed Fruits & Vegetables show steady increase every year.
69 → 86 = +24.6% growth.
86 → 122 = +41.9% growth.
Overall nearly +77% growth over 3 years.
• Others like Marine Products also rise, but not as sharply in percentage terms.

Step 3 — Conclusion:
The product with clear, consistent, and strong growth is Processed Fruits and Vegetables.

Final Answer: Processed Fruits and Vegetables (Option C).

Answer 3

Step 1 — Check the import data for 2000–2001:
From the Agricultural Imports table (2000–01 values in lakhs):
• Cereal = 19
• Pulses = 109
• Milk & Cream = 2
• Cashew nuts = 211
• Nuts & Fruits = 175
• Sugar = 7
• Oil seeds = 2
• Vegetable Oils = 1,334
Total Agri Imports = 1,858.

Step 2 — Identify dominant commodity after Vegetable Oils:
• Vegetable Oils = 1,334 (≈71.8% of total). Clearly the largest.
• Next highest = Cashew nuts = 211.
• Others are smaller (Nuts & Fruits = 175, Pulses = 109, etc.).

Step 3 — Conclusion:
After Vegetable Oils, the largest contributor to imports in 2000–01 was Cashew nuts.

Final Answer: Cashew nuts (Option C).

Answer 4

Step 1 — Look at Sugar import data:
• 1998–99: 264
• 1999–2000: 256
• 2000–2001: 7
There is a sharp fall from 264 → 7, showing India imported much less sugar by 2000–01.

Step 2 — Look at Cereal import data:
• 1998–99: 288
• 1999–2000: 222
• 2000–2001: 19
Again, imports drastically reduced over the 3-year period.

Step 3 — Interpret the trend:
Lower imports of Sugar and Cereals indicate that India’s domestic production of these commodities has improved relative to the demand. In other words, the gap between production and requirement has narrowed.

Step 4 — Conclusion:
The data suggests that India’s gap in production and requirement of Sugar and Cereals has gone down.

Final Answer: India's gap in production and requirement of these commodities has gone down (Option C).

Answer 5

Step 1 — Recall the concern:
Some circles feared that after liberalization and removal of quantitative restrictions, imports of agricultural products would surge, thereby harming Indian farmers.

Step 2 — Check the aggregate import data:
Total Agricultural Imports (in lakh US$):
• 1998–99: 2,919 (6.9% of total imports).
• 1999–2000: 2,858 (5.8% of total imports).
• 2000–2001: 1,858 (3.7% of total imports).

Step 3 — Interpret the trend:
Instead of increasing, the total agri imports declined steadily across the three years. Both in absolute value (from 2,919 → 1,858) and in share of overall imports (6.9% → 3.7%), agricultural imports went down.

Step 4 — Conclusion:
The fear of a surge in agricultural imports post-liberalization was not borne out by actual data. The numbers show that imports of agricultural products declined, not increased.

Final Answer: The concerns were not justified because the value of agri imports in aggregate terms has come down during the period (Option B).

Answer 6

Step 1 — Check the share of agri-exports in total exports:
• 1998–99: 18.2%
• 1999–2000: 15.2%
• 2000–2001: 13.5%
This shows a clear declining trend in the contribution of agriculture to India’s overall exports.

Step 2 — Check the share of agri-imports in total imports:
• 1998–99: 6.9%
• 1999–2000: 5.8%
• 2000–2001: 3.7%
This also shows a decline in agricultural imports as a percentage of India’s total imports.

Step 3 — Interpret the trend:
- Exports: The falling share of agri-exports in total exports indicates that India’s agricultural sector is not expanding its export contribution in line with the overall growth of total exports.
- Imports: The falling share of agri-imports is positive, but India must ensure that critical commodities are not excessively dependent on imports.

Step 4 — Policy Implication:
The data suggests that India needs to:
• Enhance agricultural exports by diversifying products, improving quality, and accessing new markets.
• Reduce imports by strengthening domestic production of key commodities like vegetable oils, nuts, and pulses.

Final Answer: India should work on strategies to enhance exports and reduce imports (Option D).