In line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for ‘Vocal for Local’ and ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, the Centre, through Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority (APEDA) has been facilitating trial shipments into new markets worldwide for 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, Jalgaon Banana, Vazhakulam Pineapple, Marayoor Jaggery, etc.

Some of the shipments of GI products in 2021 included export of Naga Mircha (King Chilli) from Nagaland to UK, Black Rice from Manipur and Assam to the United Kingdom, Assam Lemon to the United Kingdom and Italy, three GI varieties of Mango (Fazli, Khirsapati, and Laxmanbhog) from West Bengal and one GI variety of Mango (Zardalu) from Bihar to Bahrain and Qatar.

Around 30 kgs 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.

“To promote exports of locally sourced Geographical Indications (GI) tagged agricultural products, Centre has been striving to identify new products and new export destinations. While Darjeeling Tea and Basmati Rice are the two popular GI-tagged agricultural products of India, there is a host of GI-tagged products in various corners of the country which have niche but loyal customers and need to be marketed properly to reach more potential buyers,” stated the press statement.

The Government has placed 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.

To ensure GI tagged product promotion, a prime location has been identified at the departure area of Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport, Varanasi.

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.

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, Centre through APEDA has been organising buyer-seller meets, conducting awareness and capacity building workshops with various organizations.

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.

As on date, 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).