Owing to the potential of Assam as well as the Northeastern region to surface as export hub for both agricultural and allied products, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has shown interest in taking on a number of market development initiatives in the region. The initiatives will stress on infrastructure development, capacity building, strengthening supply chain as well as improving quality.
APEDA Chairman Dr. M Angamuthu expressed in a report that the Northeastern region is advantageous in many ways as it shares boundaries with Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Myanmar and China. Apart from this advantage, the Northeastern region is also the gateway to ASEAN countries. Dr. Angamuthu further added that the practice of organic farming which comes as a tradition is an added benefit. As the demand for organic products is rapidly increasing in the international market, Northeastern region can definitely be considered as an organic hub for exports, he added.
Another important feature highlighted by Dr. Angamuthu is the scope of Geographical Indication (GI) products such as Assam lemon, Karbi Anglong ginger, black rice, joha rice and Naga Chilli which is immense in the export market.
Commenting on the GI tags, the APEDA Chairman said that the GI is a crucial tool that can highlight the distinctiveness of a product in the international market and can also provide a brand to the products.
“Other products such as organic honey, passion fruit, bamboo shoots, and orchids are unique to the region and through aggressive promotion and branding offers great scope for exports,” said Dr Angamuthu in the report.
APEDA, which comes under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has undertaken many promotional activities, through its regional office in Guwahati as part of the effort to bring Assam and the North Eastern states on the export map of India.
Talking about APEDA, the Chairman said that APEDA falling under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry facilitated the first customs-cleared consignment of vegetables to Dubai. It not only started market development initiatives via trial shipments to new markets. He also informed that the first trial air shipment of fresh pineapples to Dubai from Tripura was done by APEDA in 2017. Also in the month of February, export shipments of fresh ginger from Arunachal Pradesh to Isreal and South Africa were aided by APEDA.
Along with these initiatives, APEDA would g on with several such initiatives as stated by the Chairman. GI crops from the region will also be promoted for exports. Citing some potential products from the region including Mandarin orange, Kiwi, Assam lemon, both black rice and red rice, jackfruit, banana, chilli and ginger as well as upcoming products such as bamboo shoots, organic honey, passion fruit and buckwheat, Dr. Angamuthu said that these products have huge demands in the Middle East, Europe etc apart from the neighbouring countries.
As stated by the Chairman, priority will be given in promoting the products from the northeastern region along with providing connectivity between buyers and promoters for fruitful results in the future.
