For the first time since arrival of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in Purvanchal (east Uttar Pradesh) region, the export of perishable agri products has touched new heights, accounting 50 MT and 117 MT in Apr and May from Lal Bahadur Shastri International Airport of Varanasi.
An APEDA registered farm producer organisation (FPO) involved in the export supply chain has exported 700 MT from seaways to Gulf nation, while FPOs have handled around 600 MT of perishable (green chillies, etc) cargo in a short period in Apr and May.
Talking to the media on Sunday, APEDA regional head C B Singh said, “Achieving the first-ever 117 MT monthly export from LBSI and approx 700MT in last two months by sea route to Gulf nations is a significant milestone for APEDA. Since its inception is Varanasi in 2019, agri export has grown rapidly from 4 MT in FY 2020-21 to 732 MT in FY 23-24.”
Following APEDA’s initiative of organising an exposure visit of around 50 FPOs to UAE in Feb, they got valuable trade leads resulting in achieving the export figure of 117 MT of perishable cargo in May from LBSI Airport, said Singh.
After exporting 700 MT via sea route to Gulf nations, the APEDA registered FPO director Saswat Pandey of Gopiganj in Bhadohi said, “Our FPO is involved actively in export of fresh green vegetables and seasonal fruits. We are sending air shipments to Middle East countries from Varanasi and Lucknow airports, regularly. In financial year 2024-25, we exported 200 MT green chilies, sourced from our member farmers. Currently, we are sending sea shipments from our packhouse in Gopiganj, which is assisted by APEDA. We are looking forward to a busy season. In terms of green chili production, Purvanchal has great capabilities, and we are putting time-bound efforts into providing an alternate export market to farmers. Other FPOs and agri startups are also involved in this business and collectively approximately 500 MT of chili has been exported from Uttar Pradesh in FY 2024-25.” Another FPO director from Ghazipur, Ram Kumar Rai, said, “The Dubai (UAE) exposure visit in Febr resulted many positive trade leads of Gulf markets. Among those trade leads, our FPO has sent 300 MT of green vegetables especially chilly to Gulf Market. A container of fresh vegetables is being sent at every alternate day from the region. Our FPO is targeting 1,000 MT in the current fiscal year 2024-25”.
This region, once lacking in agri-exports due to insufficient infrastructure, transformed into a hub of export activities, contributing to the country’s exports, said Singh, mentioning that with establishment of a robust export-oriented infrastructure, quarantine and customs clearance facilitation center at LBSI Airport, FPOs became exporters and numerous exporters now operated in the region, utilising air and sea routes for agricultural product exports. According to him, since 2019, APEDA organized more than 150 capacity-building programmes in the entire region followed by eight international buyer seller meets (virtually) that provided a platform to FPOs and exporters to market their agri products in the global marketplace.
Around 140 FPOs have been promoted as exporters of agri export, with over 20 actively engaged in direct and deemed exports.
With the relentless efforts of APEDA, a variety of agricultural products such as fresh fruits and vegetables (green chili, mango, okra, potato, water chestnut, cranberry, banana, yam, ivy gourd, bottle gourd, pointed gourd, arvi, ginger, fresh marigold flowers and rice, have been exported, showcasing the region’s ability to meet global demand.
