Cooperative Exports Take Off via NCEL

RR Team

4 months ago

What Is NCEL?

The Ministry of Cooperation has formed National Cooperative Exports Limited (NCEL). NCEL is a multi‑state cooperative society. It acts as an umbrella to boost cooperative sector exports across India.

It supports procurement, processing, branding, packaging, certification, market intelligence, training, financing and trading. It helps cooperatives reach global markets. It fetched best prices for their products.

Membership Strength

Any multi-state or state-level cooperative society can join NCEL. So far, over 11,034 cooperatives have become members. That includes:

10,793 primary cooperatives (PACS & Class‑5)
216 tehsil/district level co‑ops (Class‑4)
10 multi‑state cooperatives (Class‑3)
10 state‑level co‑ops (Class‑2)
5 promoter cooperatives/organizations (Class‑1)

Export Volume & Value

NCEL has exported huge volumes of agri commodities. It moved 13,49,831 MT with total value ₹ 54,03,01,47,854 (₹ 5403 crore).

Exports included rice, pulses, spices and more from cooperative societies nationwide.

Commodity Break‑up: 2023‑24

In 2023‑24, NCEL exported:

Non‑basmati white rice: 230,310 MT worth ₹ 993 crore
Whole broken rice: 32,194 MT worth ₹ 107 crore
Fresh red onion: 2,530 MT worth ₹ 9.4 crore
Wheat grain: 1,025 MT worth ₹ 3.5 crore

Commodity Break‑up: 2024‑25

In 2024‑25 (till date), NCEL shipped:

Whole broken rice: 775,596 MT worth ₹ 2,845 crore
Non‑basmati white rice: 280,003 MT worth ₹ 1,252 crore
Fresh red onion: 5,039 MT worth ₹ 245 crore
Diverse products: turmeric, cumin, pulses, tea, sugar and more totalling 10.8 lakh MT worth ₹ 4,283 crore

2025 Export Performance

In 2025 (till date), the cooperative sector exported:

Whole cumin seed: 84 MT worth ₹ 1.76 crore
Indian parboiled rice: 520 MT worth ₹ 1.83 crore
Turmeric finger: 168 MT worth ₹ 2.59 crore
Indian long grain rice: 26 MT worth ₹ 0.13 crore
Total: 798 MT worth ₹ 0.63 crore

Strengthening Export Ecosystem

The ministry works with Indian missions abroad. It seeks market intelligence. It introduces NCEL to global buyers and importers.

MoUs support cooperation. Key MoUs include:

Republic of Zambia – MoC with Ministry of SME Development
Senegal – Ministry of Industry & Trade
Indonesia – Sinton Vantage Trading & PT Sinton Surini Nusantara

These partnerships help open new trade alliances. They boost demand for cooperative products internationally.

Impact on Cooperative Sector

NCEL empowers farmers and rural producers. It boosts incomes. It gives them access to better markets at fair prices.

It promotes Indian cooperative exports. It projects “Make in India” in global trade fields. It strengthens India’s trade diplomacy.

Way Forward

NCEL’s journey has just begun. With wider membership and deeper partnerships, exports will grow. NCEL can diversify commodity mix. It can scale services in branding, logistics, R&D and capacity building.

It matches India’s ambition to become a global export hub for cooperative products. It supports local producers and rural economies.