In a boost to exports of organic products, a consignment of 10.20 MT of value added products of organically certified gluten free jackfruit powder &retort packed jackfruit cubes were exported to Germany from Bengaluru today via sea route. The has been processed in the APEjackfruit DA assisted pack house owned by Phalada Agro Research Foundations (PARF), Bengaluru.

APEDA registered PARFrepresents a group of 1500 farmers with a wide coverage of around 12,000 acres farms. These farmers grow Medicinal and aromatic herbs, coconut, jackfruit, mango puree products, spices and Coffee.

PARF facilitates the certification process as per National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), European Union, National Organic Programme (the United States) standards to their small farmers groups. Processing unit of PARF has been certified by APEDA under its accredited Organic Certification.

Recently, a shipment of 1.2 metric tonne (MT) of fresh jackfruit was exported from Tripura to London. Jackfruits were sourced from the Tripura based KrishiSanyoga Agro Producer Company Ltd. The consignment was packed at APEDA assisted pack-house facility of Salt Range Supply Chain Solution Ltd and exported by Kiega EXIM Pvt Ltd.This was the first APEDA assisted pack house for exports to European Union, which was approved in May 2021.

Under the NPOP, organic products are grown under a system of agriculture without the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides with an environmentally and socially responsible approach. This method of farming works at grassroot level preserving the reproductive and regenerative capacity of the soil, good plant nutrition, and sound soil management, produces nutritious food rich in vitality which has resistance to diseases.APEDAis currently implementing the NPOP, which involves the accreditation of certification bodies, standards for organic production, promotion of organic farming and marketing etc.

In 2020-21, India produced around 3.49 million tonne of certified organic products which includes all varieties of food products namely oil seeds, sugarcane, cereals, millets, cotton, pulses, aromatic &medicinal plants, tea, coffee, fruits, spices, dry fruits, vegetables, processed foods etc.

Madhya Pradesh has covered largest area under organic certification followed by Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Odisha, Sikkim and Uttar Pradesh. In 2020-21, the total volume of organic products export was 8.88 lakh metric tonne and the export realization was around Rs 7,078 crores (1040 million USD).

YB/SS