From farm gate to flight case: APEDA’s BHARATI aims for a $50-billion agri-export lane

Agriculture exports have long been a promising yet elusive frontier for India’s economy. The country boasts an abundant and diverse agricultural base, ranging from tropical spices and fruits to pulses and organic superfoods. Yet, despite this endowment, Indian agri-exports have struggled to break through a series of systemic bottlenecks that hinder their full potential on global shelves. Fragmented producers, inconsistent quality standards, prohibitively expensive air freight, and limited working capital availability combine to throttle the scale and reliability of outbound shipments. These “last-mile frictions” have perpetuated a cycle where India’s vast farm output fails to translate into commensurate foreign exchange earnings or sustained global market penetration.

Enter APEDA’s BHARATI initiative, an ambitious, product manager–style intervention designed to tackle these frictions head-on and forge a $50-billion agricultural export corridor by 2030. The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is leveraging the BHARATI project to curate a cohort of 100 promising agri-food and agri-tech startups, transforming them into export-ready enterprises equipped with the necessary certifications, logistical partnerships, market intelligence, and financing pathways. This approach marks a paradigm shift in India’s agri-export strategy: moving away from ad hoc subsidies and fragmented support toward an integrated, scalable model that addresses supply chain inefficiencies and quality assurance in a holistic manner.

The initiative’s strategic focus spans Scheduled Products, which include geographically indicated (GI) fruits like Alphonso mangoes, organic produce, superfoods such as millets, and AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Unani, Siddha, and Homeopathy) herbal lines sectors where India holds competitive advantage and growing global demand. The BHARATI program was formally launched in September, backed by a robust national outreach campaign and a structured application pipeline via the APEDA portal. Selected startups receive tailored coaching on global quality standards such as Global G.A.P. and HACCP, alongside guidance on packaging innovation and cold-chain logistics design. At the same time, APEDA is forging close coordination with airports, shipping lines, and customs authorities to streamline transit procedures, reduce delays, and mitigate risk uncertainties that have historically inflated costs and eroded export margins.

The operational backbone of BHARATI is exemplified by pilot capacity-building exercises, notably in Varanasi’s airport ecosystem. Here, APEDA convened farmer producer organizations (FPOs), scientific experts, and freight operators to collaboratively address specific bottlenecks hindering perishables cargo movement from securing priority cargo slots to expediting certification processes. This localized, demand-driven engagement creates a replicable template for other export hubs, demonstrating how micro-level interventions can unlock macro-level gains. When linked with state horticulture missions and working capital products tailored to export receivables, these efforts generate a flywheel effect that amplifies trade volumes and quality compliance simultaneously.

Underlying BHARATI’s optimism is the broader infrastructure revolution reshaping India’s logistics and trade landscape. The completion of expressways and dedicated freight corridors has reduced over-the-road variability and transit times, while the proliferation of cold-chain nodes closer to farm clusters enables better preservation of perishable goods. Simultaneously, advances in cross-border payment systems, leveraging low-cost and high-compliance digital channels, are smoothing financial flows and mitigating currency risks for exporters. These compounding logistical and financial efficiencies improve the unit economics of agri-exports, making India’s products more competitive in price-sensitive global markets.

Yet, significant risks remain. Indian agriculture is inherently vulnerable to weather shocks, which can disrupt supply continuity and quality. Non-tariff barriers ranging from phytosanitary regulations to complex customs documentation persist as hurdles in many export destinations. Moreover, the ongoing treadmill of quality compliance demands continual investments in infrastructure, training, and certification, which can strain smaller producers. BHARATI seeks to address these challenges not by eliminating them but by embedding resilience and standardization into the export ecosystem. By codifying an “export-ready” playbook and demonstrating its viability with 100 firms initially, the initiative aims to scale to 1,000 and beyond, thereby institutionalizing export excellence rather than relying on sporadic government support.

The BHARATI initiative also represents a crucial pivot toward integrating agri-tech innovations into export promotion. Several cohort startups specialize in technologies that enhance traceability, automate quality testing, or optimize supply chain visibility key enablers of compliance with stringent international standards. For instance, blockchain-enabled provenance tracking can assure buyers of product authenticity and origin, mitigating concerns around fraud and adulteration. Similarly, IoT sensors deployed in cold storage and transport vehicles provide real-time monitoring of temperature and humidity, reducing spoilage and losses. This fusion of technology and traditional agriculture signals a maturation of India’s export ecosystem, moving it closer to global best practices.

From a policy perspective, BHARATI’s success hinges on fostering multi-stakeholder collaboration. APEDA’s role as a central coordinator is critical in aligning the interests of producers, logistics providers, certification agencies, financial institutions, and regulatory bodies. This integrated governance model contrasts with previous fragmented interventions and underscores a growing recognition that agricultural export promotion requires systemic solutions rather than isolated fixes. The initiative also dovetails with broader government priorities under the Atmanirbhar Bharat (Self-reliant India) framework, which emphasizes value addition and export diversification across sectors.

Economists and trade analysts have welcomed BHARATI’s launch as a timely and strategic effort to tap into the expanding global demand for healthy, organic, and specialty food products. According to the India Brand Equity Foundation, global organic food sales are projected to reach $320 billion by 2027, with Asia-Pacific markets exhibiting rapid growth. India, with its diverse agro-climatic zones and traditional knowledge systems, is well positioned to supply this burgeoning demand. Similarly, the global superfoods market is forecasted to exceed $220 billion by 2030, driven by health-conscious consumers in North America and Europe. BHARATI’s focus on these high-value segments could enable India to capture a larger share of such premium markets.

However, success will require sustained investment beyond the initial cohort. Scaling from 100 to 1,000 export-ready firms demands expanded capacity-building programs, deeper integration with finance providers, and robust IT infrastructure for data-driven monitoring of export performance. There is also a need to address structural challenges such as land fragmentation, limited farmer education, and uneven digital literacy, which constrain the ability of many producers to engage with export markets. Furthermore, international diplomacy and trade negotiations will play a role in easing access barriers, particularly in regions with complex phytosanitary regimes.