Pineapple benefits, Organic certified pineapples sourced from farmers

Manipur: In a move towards harnessing the export potential of naturally grown, organic certified fresh pineapples of the North-Eastern Region (NER), the center, through the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) organized an in-store export promotion program in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for Manipur’s pineapples among consumers.

The ‘in-store promotion show’ of organic certified fiber-rich Kwe variety of pineapples from Manipur, was organized at the Lulu hypermarket, Dubai’s largest supermarket in association with Manipur Organic Mission Agency (MOMA) of the Government of Manipur. This event is part of the government’s strategy to promote locally produced agricultural products in the international markets.

Manipur Organic Mission Agency (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 fiber-rich sweetener from North Eastern Region (NER). The showcased pineapples are 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 fiber-rich fruit is cultivated in almost all of the region.

With a production of 134.82 metric tonnes (MT) in 2020-21, Manipur ranks sixth in pineapple production having a share of 7.46 percent of 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 the year 2021-22.

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.

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, kadhai 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 percent growth in the export of agricultural products in the last six years as it increased from USD 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 organized 136 capacity-building programs on export awareness across the different parts of NER. The highest, 62 capacity-building programs were held in NER in 2019-20, while 21 in 2020-21 and 53 such programs were organized 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 neighboring 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 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.

On the occasion, APEDA chairman Dr. M. Angamuthu stressed promoting a 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. Shri P Vaiphel, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur also attended the meeting.