In a bid to promote exports of locally sourced Geographical Indications (GI) tagged agricultural products, the Centre has identified several new products from all parts of the country, including Northeast states, and new export destinations, such as the United Kingdom, South Korea and Bahrain, official sources said.
The Union Commerce and Industry Ministry stated in a release that there are 417 registered GI products and of them, around 150 GI tagged products are agricultural and food products, out of which more than 100 registered GI products fall under the category of APEDA scheduled products (Cereals, Fresh Fruits and vegetables, processed products, etc).
To promote the unique GI Products from the North Eastern Region such as Manipur Black Rice (Chak-Hao), Manipur Kachai Lemon, Mizo Chilli, Arunachal Orange, Meghalaya Khasi Mandarin, Assam Kaji Nemu, Karbi Anglong Ginger, Joha Rice, and Tripura Queen Pineapple, the Centre through APEDA has been organising buyer-seller meets, conducting awareness and capacity building workshops with the participation of representatives of the NER States, FPOs/FPCs, Exporters, associations, and government departments such as Indian Railways, AAICLAS, NAFED, DGFT, IIFPT etc, the ministry stated.
The Centre has also been facilitating trial shipments into new markets local products such as Kala Namak rice, Naga Mircha, Assam Kaji Nemu, Bangalore Rose Onion, Nagpur Oranges, GI varieties of Mangoes, GI-tagged Shahi Litchi, Bhalia wheat, Madurai Malli, Bardhaman Mihidana and Sitabhog, Dahanu Gholvad Sapota, Jalgaon Banana, Vazhakulam Pineapple and Marayoor Jaggery, etc.
Notable shipments of GI products to the UK in 2021 included export of Naga Mircha (King Chilli) from Nagaland, Black Rice from Manipur and Assam, and Assam lemon to the UK and Italy.
Three GI varieties of Mango (Fazli, Khirsapati, and Laxmanbhog) from West Bengal and one GI variety of Mango (Zardalu) from Bihar were shipped to Bahrain and Qatar. Around 30 kg of a sample shipment of Joynagar Moa, a sweetmeat delicacy from South 24 Pargana district of West Bengal was sent via Kolkata airport to Bahrain. Subsequent to the sample shipment, further orders for Joynagar Moa were received from Bahrain, the ministry said.
The ministry also stated that in a major thrust on exports of GI-tagged products from Bihar, the first shipment of 524 Kg GI tagged Shahi Litchi was exported from Muzaffarpur district of Bihar to London in May 2021. The year also witnessed the export of GI tagged Banaganapalle Mango from Andhra Pradesh to South Korea.
The Government has placed great emphasis on connecting farmer producer organisations (FPOs), food producer companies (FPCs) and exporters with international business communities to create an export hub in Varanasi, especially for GI-tagged agricultural products. In June 2021, the season’s first shipment of 1048 kg GI Tagged Malihabadi Dusseheri Mango was exported from Lucknow to the United Kingdom and UAE.
GI products from other regions included Sangli raisins, Nagpur Orange, Dahanu Gholvad Chikoo, Marathwada Kesar Mango, Jalgaon Banana from Maharashtra, Kandhamal Turmeric from Odisha and Bangalore Rose Onion from Karnataka, Allahabad Surkha Guava, Kalanamak Rice from Uttar Pradesh, Madurai Malli from Tamil Nadu etc.
In 2020, virtual buyer-seller meets were organized with UAE and USA, two of the largest export markets for APEDA scheduled products, in association with the Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi and the Embassy of India in Washington DC.
The meet on GI products provided a platform for interaction between Indian exporters and importers of USA and UAE. The exporters were informed about the potential GI products for exports such as Basmati Rice, Mango, Pomegranates, Bangalore Rose Onions, SangliGrapes/Raisin, Banana and products of North-Eastern Region such as Joha Rice of Assam, Black Rice (Chak-Hao), Naga Mircha, and their derived processed products, the ministry stated.
