GUWAHATI:
In a move towards harnessing the export potential of naturally grown, organic certified fresh pineapples of the Northeastern region (NER), the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) on September 3 organised an in-store export promotion programme in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Manipur’s pineapples among consumers.
The ‘in-store promotion show’ of organic certified fibre-rich Kwe variety of pineapples from Manipur, was organized at the Lulu Hyper Market, Dubai’s largest supermarket in association with the Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) of the Manipur government. The event is part of APEDA’s strategy to promote locally produced agricultural products to the international markets.
MOMA has supported the sourcing of organic certified Kwe variety of pineapples directly from the farmers of Manipur. The Manipur pineapple, which is showcased with support from APEDA, is a fibre-rich sweetener from the Northeast. The showcased pineapples are procured from Thayong Organic Producer Company Ltd in the Imphal East district.
At the in-store export promotion show, consumers were offered Manipur pineapple to taste the sweetness of the fruit. Northeast pineapple is one of the most important tropical fruits grown in the region and the fibre-rich fruit is cultivated in almost all of the region.
APEDA chairman Dr M Angamuthu stressed on promoting a processed form of value-added pineapple to sustain in the global export market for a longer period.
“We need to focus on promoting pineapple sourced from farmers in processed form in the Gulf countries through Lulu Group. It will help farmers in better price realization of their produce,” Dr Angamuthu said.
With a production of 134.82 metric tonnes (MT) in 2020-21, Manipur ranks sixth in pineapple production having a share of 7.46 per cent in total production in India.
The top ten importing countries of Indian pineapples are UAE, Nepal, Qatar, Maldives, USA, Bhutan, Belgium, Iran, Bahrain and Oman. A quantity of 7665.42 MT of pineapples valued at USD 4.45 million was exported in 2021-22.
Besides pineapple, the APEDA has also decided to take forward the promotion of other locally grown unique horticultural products from Manipur to the international market. The other unique products from Manipur are Tamenglong orange, Kachai lemon, black rice, etc.