Introduction:

India grows a large number of vegetables from temperate to humid tropics and from sea level to the snowline. Vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, particularly niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and vitamins A and C. Most of the vegetables being short-duration crops fit very well in the intensive cropping system and are capable of giving very high yields with very high economic returns to the growers.

Varieties: India grows a large number of vegetables from temperate to humid tropics and from sea level to the snowline. Vegetables are an excellent source of vitamins, particularly niacin, riboflavin, thiamin and vitamins A and C. Most of the vegetables being short-duration crops fit very well in the intensive cropping system and are capable of giving very high yields with very high economic returns to the growers.

Production and Area:
The major areas producing fresh vegetables are Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Haryana. The area under vegetable cultivation and production in the year 2023-24 is as in below table:

Export:

India is a prominent exporter of fresh vegetables in the world. The country has exported 912,466.60 MT of Fresh Vegetables other than Onion to the world, worth Rs. 3,085.14 crores/ 365.05 USD Millions during the year 2024-25.

Major Export Destinations (2024-25): United Arab Emts, Bangladesh, Nepal, U.K, Oman, Qatar and Maldives. (Source: DGCIS)