Manipur ranked sixth in pineapple production in India, with a production of 134.82 MT fibre rich variety of pineapples in 2021-22. The fibre rich Kwe variety of pineapples from Manipur was showcased and promoted at the in-store exports promotion show held in Dubai, official sources said.
The Centre organised the show in collaboration with the Manipur government through the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), in an effort towards harnessing export potential of organic certified fresh pineapples of North-Eastern Region (NER), and to promote locally produced agricultural products in the international markets.
The Union Commerce and Industry Ministry stated in a release that the in-store promotion show of organic certified fibre rich Kwe variety of pineapples from Manipur, was held at the Lulu hyper market in Dubai with Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA). It was attended by P Vaiphei, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur, among others.
The Manipur pineapple is fibre-rich sweetener and procured from Thayong Organic Producer Company Ltd in Imphal East district, Manipur.
“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 NER and the fibre-rich fruit is cultivated in almost all the region,” the ministry stated.
With a production of 134.82 metric tonne (MT) in 2020-21, Manipur ranks sixth in pineapple production having a share of 7.46 per cent total production in India, the ministry said.
On the occasion, APEDA chairman Dr M. Angamuthu stressed on promoting processed form of value-added pineapple to sustain in the global export market for a longer time 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.
The top 10 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 $ 4.45 million was exported in the year 2021-22, the ministry stated.
It stated that with the intervention of APEDA, 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 ministry said 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.
Tripura was the first North Eastern state to export its ‘queen’ variety of pineapple to Dubai and Doha in 2018. Tripura’s pineapple was also exported to Bangladesh in 2020. Assam also made a debut in pineapple export to Dubai in 2019.
The NE region witnessed an 85.34 per cent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from $ 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.
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 organized 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 Manipur 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 Manipur and increase the employment opportunities among the people of the state, the ministry added.
