An arm for an Aam: Promoting Indian mangoes in Bhutan

By Tashi Dhendup

The Embassy of India and the Food and Agricultural Export Development Authority of India (APEDA) organized a virtual seller-buyer meeting, between the Uttar Pradesh Co-operative Marketing Association (HOFED) and importers Bhutanese, to promote the export of Indian mangoes to Bhutan.

The virtual meet was conducted with a particular focus on the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj said that Indian mangoes are very popular in Bhutan and there is more scope for promoting this agricultural product in the Bhutan market. “India is committed to ensuring full support for Bhutan in agricultural trade matters during the time of COVID,” she said.

The event was attended by senior officials from various ministries in the Royal Government of Bhutan including the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Agriculture & Forests, Bhutan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Food Corporation of Bhutan Ltd., and several Bhutanese importers and members of the business community.

From the Indian side, the participants included representatives from the Indian Embassy led by Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj, representatives from APEDA – Chairman Dr. M. Angamuthu, Director Dr. Tarun Bajaj, and representatives of various Indian export associations.

Organizers said this meeting has provided an opportunity for Bhutanese importers to have more exposure to mango production and export from India and also helped the Indian side to gain a better understanding of market requirements in Bhutan.

In the past two years, Bhutan’s imports of mangoes from India have increased by more than 80% from 442MT (20million) in 2019 to 806MT(50 million) in 2020. India is the world’s largest producer of mangoes and represents about 50% of the total world production.

Mango is the national fruit of India and Uttar Pradesh is the largest mango-producingstate in India.APEDA is tasked with promoting Indian exports of agro- and processed food products including fresh fruits and vegetables, animal products, rice, and organic products.

APEDA has undertaken many initiatives to promote the export of Indian mangoes to various countries including Germany, Iran, Japan, Kuwait, the Republic of Korea, Russia, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, etc.

The Embassy also organized a trade fair on July 29, 2021, at India House Estate, Thimphu, where Bhutanese government officials and importers had tasted fresh Indian mangooes.

The mangoes were supplied by the Uttar Pradesh State Horticultural Co-operative Marketing Federation (HOFED).

Earlier this year, the Embassy organized a virtual seller-buyer meeting between APEDA and Bhutan on January 07 to promote bilateral trade of agricultural and manufactured food products.

This has led to various results for expanding cooperation about capacity building and infrastructure modernization Infrastructure and Certification of Organic products.