Exports of groundnuts have jumped by over a third on robust demand from countries such as Vietnam and Indonesia and a bigger domestic crop.

However, exporters are apprehensive of sustaining the growth in groundnut shipments, especially after the Government opened up shipments of groundnut oil in bulk quantity as overseas buyers may find it cheaper to import oils.

As per the provisional estimates, shipments were up 34 per cent for the April-February period at 6.53 lakh tonnes over the year-ago period’s 4.88 lakh tonnes. In rupee value terms, the exports for the period were up 35 per cent at ₹4,910 crore as against ₹3,652 crore in the year-ago period.

In dollar terms, the shipments registered 31 per cent growth at $728.62 million for April-Feb as against $557 million in the same period last year.

Exporters attribute the rise in groundnut exports to multiple factors, including increased availability of the seeds, competitive prices in the international market and globally acceptable quality.