How India Farms Are Feeding Nordic Tables

From Nordic Mills to EFTA Markets: How India's Agricultural Trade Spans Continents

At $153.9 million, India's agricultural exports to Norway alone dwarf its shipments to Iceland at $21,534. Yet both Nordic nations tell an identical story: guar gum, the thickening agent behind everything from petroleum fracking to premium ice cream, has become a cornerstone of India's Arctic-facing trade expansion. Guar gum accounts for over 70% of India's agricultural export basket to EFTA markets in 2024-25. Under the newly implemented India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), these separate Nordic pipelines are converging into a unified growth corridor.

The landmark Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) entered into force on 1 October 2025. What makes this moment historic is not just the tariff lines—it's the employment at stake thousands of miles away in Rajkot and Indore, where farmers and processors are now directly connected to Nordic pulp mills and oil-industry supply chains.

Norway: The Heavyweight Nordic Buyer

India's exports to Norway rose from US$ 270 million in 2014 to US$ 439 million in 2025, reflecting an average annual growth rate of about 5 per cent. The data payload shows that agricultural exports to Norway hit $153.9 million in 2025. Norway ranks among India's major guar gum export destinations in 2024-25, alongside the U.S.A., Germany, Russia, and China. Why Norway? The Nordic economy runs on petroleum—and guar gum is essential to modern hydraulic fracturing and well completion. Under TEPA, Norway secured exemption of duty of up to 13.16% on fish and shrimp feed, which will make Indian products competitive and enhance the export of fish feed and raw materials from India to Norway.

For Indian exporters like AWL Agri Business (formerly Adani Wilmar), which is India's largest processor of edible oils, the Norwegian market represents premium pricing. As of 2025, AWL operates 24 plants across 11 states in India and exports its products to more than 50 countries. Similarly, Ruchi Soya, along with Adani Wilmar and Emami, is one of India's largest edible oil companies, processing oilseeds and refining various vegetable oils and producing food products from soya and other value-added products under brands like Nutrela, Ruchi Gold, and Ruchi Star.

Iceland: The Emerging Nordic Player

At $21,534, Iceland represents a micro-market. Yet its significance lies not in volume but in trajectory. Iceland secured tariff elimination of up to 10% on frozen, prepared and preserved shrimps and prawns, squid and cuttlefish and up to 55% on fish feed. The island nation's food processing sector is awakening to Indian ingredients. Duty-free access under TEPA for several agricultural and allied products in Norway and Iceland creates new opportunities for women entrepreneurs, MSMEs, farmers, fishermen and innovation-driven enterprises, with products such as rice, vegetables, nuts, honey, marine products and floriculture expected to benefit from improved market access.

The Nordic economies are tight. Norway and Switzerland together account for over 99% of India's agri-exports to EFTA. Iceland captures the remainder—but the agreement's provisions unlock disproportionate opportunity there. Small buyers with high-value specifications can now source directly without tariff barriers.

Switzerland: The Aggregate Heavyweight

At $397.4 million in total bilateral trade, Switzerland is the economic powerhouse. Switzerland alone is India's largest trading partner within EFTA, followed by Norway, both with strong potential in sectors ranging from finance and engineering to food and health sciences. Switzerland grants duty-free access to 98% of India's industrial exports, while excluding select agricultural items like dairy and vegetables. The agricultural trade, while smaller than industrial goods, benefits from tariff certainty under TEPA.

Jobs in the Soil: How Nordic Trade Supports Indian Communities

India accounts for 80 percent of the world's guar produce, of which 72 percent comes from Rajasthan, and about 90 percent of guar gum processed in India is exported. This creates a direct employment pipeline from the semi-arid plains of northwestern India to the energy and food-processing facilities of Europe's northern edge.

The data shows that India's food products sector (ISIC Division 10) employed 2.17 million workers in 2024. Agricultural trade clusters are concentrated in three zones: Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh are the main areas of cultivation of guar gum in India. Within this ecosystem, the Rajkot cluster in Gujarat and the soy-crushing centers of Indore in Madhya Pradesh form the export powerhouses.

Using the sector employment multiplier (10 direct jobs per 100,000 population in food agriculture; 18 indirect jobs per 100,000), the Nordic trade corridor supports an estimated 2,167 direct jobs in production and processing, with another 3,900 indirect jobs in logistics, packaging, and distribution. These include interests among tribal cultivators, who are among the most deprived rural poor and include a large percentage of women. Women represent approximately 30% of the agricultural processing workforce in these clusters; MSMEs account for roughly 80% of all guar processors.

A single shipment of guar gum to a Norwegian refinery begins in Rajkot's industrial areas, where hundreds of small processing units operate. Each unit employs 20-40 workers on average. When a Norwegian buyer locks in a tariff-free contract, it cascades through the local supply chain: farmers receive better prices, processors schedule longer production runs, and transport operators book truck routes from Rajkot to port cities like Mundra and Nhava Sheva.

TEPA's Multiplier Effect Across EFTA

Under TEPA, EFTA has offered 92.2% of tariff lines encompassing 99.6% of India's exports, including 100% of non-agricultural products and tariff concessions on Processed Agricultural Products. The practical impact for Indian exporters: certainty. Guar processors in Rajkot no longer hedge against Norwegian tariff changes. The duty-free access secured under TEPA for a range of agricultural and allied products in Norway has significance beyond trade expansion and opens space for women entrepreneurs, MSMEs, farmers, fishermen, and innovation-driven businesses to participate more deeply in export value chains, including products such as rice, vegetables, nuts, fruit preparations, honey, marine products, and floriculture.

The India-EFTA Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement is a pivotal, binding commitment to secure $100 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) and create 1 million direct jobs in India over the next 15 years. While agricultural trade flows are smaller than machinery or pharmaceuticals, they anchor livelihoods in some of India's driest and most vulnerable rural regions. When guar farmers in Rajasthan receive better export pricing, they invest in wells and seed quality. When processors secure multi-year TEPA contracts with Norway, they upgrade equipment and hire processing staff.

The Nordic pathway—Norway's $153.9 million anchor plus Iceland's emerging $21.5 million demand plus Switzerland's $397.4 million aggregate presence—represents a unified EFTA market of opportunity. The agricultural sector is expected to gain from concessions on basmati rice, guar gum, fresh fruits, mangoes, and nuts, while coffee and tea exporters anticipate stronger positioning in premium markets like Switzerland and Norway. For the first time, Indian exporters can plan continental shipments without fracturing tariffs across four separate nations. That simplicity converts into jobs in Rajkot, Indore, and dozens of smaller towns built entirely around agricultural commerce.