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Global customers evince interest in black tea & cashew at Organic Fair
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Wednesday, 24 January, 2018, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Nandita Vijay, Bengaluru
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International customers evinced considerable interest in black tea and cashew and interacted with Indian farmers and exchanged information, resources and knowledge about agricultural practices at the 2018 International Trade Fair on Organics and Millets, which concluded in Bengaluru recently.
The event served buyers from the United States, Germany, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea, Uganda, China and Malaysia. The global customers stated that in order to trade globally, the three factors that Indian farmers needed to consider were quality, quantity and price point.
The state government officials said, “Although many agriculture products are exported in the organic space, the export of millets is miniscule.”
“Though the Central government has announced that 2018 is the year of millets, the world still lacks awareness about the ones grown in India, and millets in general. After all, they are not a part of a staple diet in most countries,” stated D V Sadananda Gowda, minister of statistics and programme implementation, Government of India.
“From India, we usually import cashews, nuts, turmeric and rock honey. However, there are a few problems when it comes to the quality assessment. In our country, each product goes through at least 377 tests. However, this is not the case in India. Unless Indian produce meets the Korean Specific Organic Standard, trade between the two countries cannot happen, except if the items are processed,” stated a representative from South Korea.
Among the commonly exported items to South Korea and China, turmeric stood out from the rest. However, contamination and cross-contamination issues pertaining to sampling and shipping continue to affect international trading.
The United States is a huge market for organic spices, such as peppercorns, chillies, cumin, garlic and other spices.
“Heavy metal tests often fail when it comes to Indian imports. Additionally, there is a lack of awareness about Indian grains in the international markets,” said a representative from the US.
The international participants contended that the Government of Karnataka’s initiative to organise the event needed to be commended, as it highlighted the diversity and range of grains in India.
In most countries, South Korea, China and the United States included, there are only two or three types of millet grains. This has always limited their ability to use them in the local diets.
If the local taste buds develop a liking for these grains, India can look at exports, provided the standards of quality are maintained in cultivating and processing.
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