The shipment of vegetables, including pear, okra, curry leaf and bitter gourd, follows the export of millets from Uttarakhand to Denmark in May 2021. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) sourced and processed ragi (finger millet) and jhingora (barnyard millet) from farmers in Uttarakhand in conjunction with Uttarakhand Agriculture Produce Marketing Board (UKAPMB) and Just Organik, an exporter.

 

The state government has backed organic farming, and the UKAPMB has helped thousands of farmers obtain organic certification through a unique project. These farmers mostly grow millets such ragi, barnyard millet and amaranthus.

 

APEDA has been doing promotional operations to put Uttarakhand on the map of India's agricultural and processed food exports. APEDA intends to give financial assistance for the establishment of a packhouse in Uttarakhand that would meet the essential infrastructure requirement for the export of fresh fruits and vegetables to worldwide markets.

 

According to a statement from the commerce ministry, "APEDA would continue to focus on the Uttarakhand region in terms of capacity building, quality upgradation, and infrastructure development through linking buyers to farmers through improving the entire supply chain of agricultural produce."

 

India exported fruits and vegetables worth 11,019 crore in 2020-21, up from 10,114 crore in 2019-20, an almost 9% increase. APEDA promotes food exports through market promotion, market intelligence, international exposure, talent development, capacity building, and high-quality packaging.

 

According to a World Trade Organization (WTO) analysis on the developments in world agricultural trade over the last 25 years, India entered the top 10 list of agricultural produce exporters in 2019 with a significant share of rice, cotton, soya beans, and meat exports. With a 3.1 percent share of global agri-exports, India has surpassed New Zealand as the ninth largest exporter of agricultural products.