After Tripura jack fruit, Mizoram citrus on way to UK
After export of jack fruit from Tripura and King Chilli from Nagaland to London, thanks to the intervention of APEDA, consignments of Hatkora, a local variety of citrus in Mamit district of Mizoram, have been sent to Britain and Bangladesh. NE region witnessed an 85.34 per cent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22.
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After export of jack fruit from Tripura and King Chilli from Nagaland to London, thanks to the intervention of APEDA, consignments of Hatkora, a local variety of citrus in Mamit district of Mizoram, have been sent to Britain and Bangladesh.
With the intervention of APEDA, there is a tremendous increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Tripura, Sikkim, Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya.
NE region witnessed an 85.34 per cent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 2.52 million in 2016-17 to USD 17.2 million in 2021-22.
The major destination of export has been Bangladesh, Bhutan, the Middle East, the UK and Europe.
As a part of its strategy to give a boost to the export of organic agricultural products of the North Eastern Region, the Centre through the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) organised a Workshop-cum-Buyer Seller Meet (BSM) at Mizoram University in Aizawl.
The APEDA, which is the apex agricultural products export promotion organisation under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, held the buyer-seller meet in association with Ministries of Agriculture, Commerce & Industries, Govt of Mizoram and North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC).
The BSM was organised to promote the exports of the potential agri-horti products from Mizoram and provide market linkage to farmers, Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs), Farmer Producer Companies from the north-eastern state.
The potential crops for the export from Mizoram are pineapple, hatkora (citrus), dragon fruit, oranges, passion fruit, squash, anthurium flower, Mizo ginger, Mizo chilli and grape wine.
Seventeen exporters and 58 FPOs participated in the BSM while 14 exhibitors representing the state government, coffee board, spices board, NABARD and NERAMAC attended the meet.
The exclusive BSM provided an opportunity to the producers and processors of Mizoram to showcase their products and promote the exports as well as their wholesale and retail sales.
To provide potential market linkages, APEDA organised field visits of importers to have first hand information about the qualitative cultivation practices being followed by farmers by inviting the importers from the neighbouring countries, the Middle East, far Eastern countries, European nations and Australia.
The field visits were carried out in all eight states of NER.
APEDA, in association with the Department of Commerce and Industry, Government of Assam, had organised an export promotion conference-cum-buyer seller meet at Aizawl, Mizoram in March 2021.
Besides, APEDA had organised an international buyer seller meet (BSM) in Guwahati, Assam in March 2022 wherein exhibitors from across the state displayed a wide range of agri-horti products, including GI products such as fresh fruits, vegetables, processed food products, black rice, red rice, joha rice, spices, tea, coffee, honey, processed meat, spices and organic products.
Importers from Sri Lanka, Dubai, Bangladesh, Oman, the Netherlands, Singapore and Greece had participated along with exporters from NER and other states.
A national buyer-seller meet was organised by APEDA in Guwahati in June 2022, to promote the export of organic products grown in Assam. APEDA also signed an MoU with Assam Agriculture University, Jorhat to conduct various training programmes on pre-harvest and post-harvest management and other research activities for the promotion of export from the region.
APEDA has also extended its support to NER to undertake branding and promotion of North East products such as Kiwi wine, processed foods, and carrying out a wet sampling of Joha Rice Pulao and Black Rice kheer.
As a part of capacity building, APEDA organised skill development programmes for manufacturers, exporters and entrepreneurs to utilise the local produce for value addition and export.
Training programmes are being held in different states of the Northeast in association with the Central Food Technology Research Institute, Mysore (CFTRI) and Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IIFPT).
APEDA, in association with the Industries and Commerce Department, Govt of Assam, had also organised an Export Conclave in Guwahati in February 2021.
Assam’s local fruit called Leteku (Burmese Grape) was exported to Dubai and Assam’s Betel leaves have been regularly exported to London.
APEDA under its Agricultural Export Policy is encouraging states to harness the potential of Agri produce exports and is seeking to create a platform for buyers to get products directly from producer group and processors.
