Central government to boost agriculture export from Northeast

A union commerce ministry statement said there has been a significant increase in the export of agricultural produce from NE states like Assam, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Meghalaya in the last few years.  

The Northeast has seen 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,” the statement said.

The ministry said steps taken by the Central government to boost the export of horticulture products grown in North-Eastern (NE) states are showing results on the ground.

The NE region is geopolitically important as it shares international boundaries with China and Bhutan, Myanmar, Nepal and Bangladesh, making it the potential hub for the export of agricultural produce to neighbouring countries as well as other foreign destinations.

On providing potential market linkages, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development and Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, organised field visits of importers to have first-hand information about the qualitative cultivation practices being followed by farmers. Importers were mostly the Middle East, far Eastern countries, European nations and Australia, etc. 

In the last three years, APEDA organised 136 capacity-building programmes on export awareness across the different parts of NER. The highest, 62 capacity-building programmes were held in NER in 2019-20, while 21 in 2020-21 and 53 such programmes were organised by APEDA in the year 2021-22. Apart from capacity-building initiatives, APEDA facilitated 22 International Buyer-Seller Meets as well as trade fairs in NER in the last three years. 

APEDA also organised a conference on the Export Potential of Natural, Organic and Geographical Indications (GI) Agro Products in Guwahati on June 24, 2022, to tap the abundant export potential of organic agricultural products from Assam and neighbouring states of NER.

“APEDA aims at creating a platform in Assam for the exporters to get the products directly from the producer group and the processors. The platform will link the producers and processors of Assam and exporters from other parts of the country that would expand the base of the export pockets in the North-Eastern states, including Assam and increase the employment opportunities among the people of the state” the Ministry said.

APEDA has 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.

Assam Lemon is now exported regularly to London and the Middle East and as of now, more than 50 MT of Assam Lemon has been exported. Several consignments of litchi and pumpkin have also been exported by APEDA from Assam to different countries.

“Assam and the other states of North East Region have a favourable climate condition and the soil type for growing almost all agricultural and horticultural crops. As most of NER’s boundaries are shared with nations like Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and China, there are possibilities of enhancing exports from the region,” APEDA Chairman Dr M Angamuthu said.

During Covid-19 period, APEDA continued to push its export plans through Virtual Buyer Seller Meet in association with the Embassy of India located in different countries with exporters and FPOs/FPCs from NER regarding the sourcing of pineapple, ginger, lemon, orange, etc. APEDA also organised Virtual Trade Fairs during the pandemic and facilitated the export to foreign countries. 

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