Bengaluru: Farmers from Manipur participating in the millet and organic expo in Bengaluru claim that exports of the famous black rice, organic turmeric, king chilli and pineapple from the hill state have declined following the volatile situation due to the Kuki-Meitei conflict. , The state has suffered a loss of Rs 40 crore due to export of these products alone.
According to Manipur Organic Mission Agency, the horticulture department of Manipur, around 5 lakh farmers involved in the cultivation of these products suffered losses and many production units engaged in processing pineapple to make value-added products did not get the raw material due to supply chain constraints. Cutting.
A farmer claimed that the state used to export about 30 tonnes of black rice to European countries, but exports have been affected by at least 60 per cent due to the conflict. Similarly, the supply of pineapple to Gulf countries was also affected.
“The rice got the GI tag in May 2020, and in August 2021, one tonne of Manipur black rice was exported to Europe. The state also exports pineapple and organic ginger and all of them have suffered huge losses due to the stress,” said a farmer.
Agreeing that the situation is uncertain, Manipur Organic Mission Agency project director K Devdutt Sharma said Manipur capital Imphal used to export 30 tonnes of black rice, 2,000 tonnes of dry turmeric and 10 tonnes of king chilli. He said, due to the conflict, exports were affected and we suffered a loss of about Rs 40 crore in 2023.
“Apart from these products, Manipur produces 20,000 tonnes of pineapples, 600 tonnes of GI oranges, 300 tonnes of GI Katchai lemons, and supplies to places like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi have been affected due to the ongoing conflict. Between May and July 2023, the horticulture department estimates a loss of Rs 102 crore,” the official said.
60 thousand tourists came to the millet fair on the first day
Bengaluru: A day after inaugurating the Millets and Organics International Trade Fair, Agriculture Minister N Chaluvarayaswami said 60,000 people visited the expo on the first day. The fair attracted marketers from Australia, Europe, Kenya, Kuwait and UAE, 61 business-to-business meetings took place and six contracts worth Rs 5.10 crore were signed. 40 foreign and 50 state marketers participated in the meetings. 97 marketers and 154 manufacturers participated in the B2B meetings. A total of 310 stalls were set up in the fair.
