New Delhi, Aug 14 — India’s shift toward higher‑value crops such as spices and oilseeds is creating stronger demand for organised price discovery and risk management, a report said on Friday.
The report from Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX) said spices recorded the strongest production growth among the crop categories, rising from 6.99 million metric tonnes in 2015‑16 to 12.99 MMT in 2024‑25, up 85.9 per cent.
Production is projected to touch 18.12 MMT by 2029-30, growing at a forecast CAGR of 6.87 per cent.
High‑value spices showed broad-based gains as Ajwain production more than tripled between 2015‑16 and 2024‑25, while ginger, cumin and garlic registered CAGRs of 9.12 per cent, 8.75 per cent and 8.23 per cent respectively.
Oilseeds also expanded strongly, from 25.25 MMT in 2015‑16 to 42.99 MMT in 2024‑25, showing cumulative growth of 70.2 per cent.
"The segment grew at a CAGR of 5.46 per cent, the second highest growth rate among the eight segments analysed. Oilseed production is projected to touch around 56.7 MMT by 2029-30," the report said.
Among major oilseeds, rapeseed and mustard led the growth with production rising 86.4 per cent to 12.67 MMT. Soybean and groundnut production rose 78.2 per cent and 77.4 per cent, respectively.
Groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, and soybean accounted for 95 per cent of the oilseed sector’s Rs 2,135.3 billion economic output in 2023-24.
The report noted that India’s agricultural growth is increasingly being driven by “high-value commodities, such as spices and oilseeds”, creating opportunities for market-based risk management, value addition and organised trading.
The changing crop mix is increasing the importance of efficient market mechanisms as production, consumption and trade expand, the report said, adding that a well-functioning agricultural derivatives market is an “essential component of agricultural market infrastructure”.
Of the 117 major agricultural commodities identified under the Ministry of Agriculture’s classification, about 9 per cent, currently have active exchange-traded derivative contracts.
The report noted that expanding commodity coverage, digital warehousing, improved physical market infrastructure, greater institutional participation and consistent regulatory support are areas that can help deepen the agricultural derivatives ecosystem.
Reforms such as reclassifying commodities, raising position limits at the client level, phasing in physical settlement and broadening participation by financial institutions could improve liquidity and hedging efficiency.