About 10.2 tonnes of value-added products of organically certified gluten-free jackfruit powder and retort packed jackfruit cubes were exported to Germany from Bengaluru through the sea route on Tuesday. These products were processed at the APEDA assisted packhouse owned by Phalada Agro Research Foundation, Bengaluru.
PARF represents a group of 1,500 farmers, who grow medicinal plants, aromatic herbs, coconut, jackfruits, spices and coffee, among other products in around 12,000 acres, APEDA said in a statement.
PARF facilitates the certification process as per National Programme for Organic Production (NPOP), European Union, National Organic Programme (the United States) standards, and small farmers groups. In addition, the 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 packhouse for exports to European Union, which was approved in May 2021.
APEDA is 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 oilseeds, sugarcane, cereals, millets, cotton, pulses, aromatic &medicinal plants, tea, coffee, fruits, spices, dry fruits, vegetables, processed foods etc.
Madhya Pradesh has covered the 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 were valued at ₹7,078 crore ($1040 million), the release said.