New Delhi: The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) has taken several steps to ensure that Indian products are exported to newer destinations. Special emphasis has been given on promoting One District One Product (ODOP) goods and Geographical Indication (GI) goods and sourcing these exports from non-traditional areas and states, the government agency said in a release on Tuesday.

APEDA scheduled products are currently being exported to more than 203 countries and territories, worldwide. To give this a further fillip, more than 27 flag-offs were organised in the current financial year. Notable flag-offs included flat beans and lemons from Assam (to London, UK) and Khasi Mandarin oranges from Meghalaya (to the UAE).

With a focus on enabling direct exports, the APEDA has also transformed 119 Farmers' Producer Organisations (FPO) into exporters over five years through “tailored support and guidance”, an official release stated.

The agri-export promotion body in collaboration with the Central Institute for Subtropical Horticulture (CISH) has embarked on a proactive initiative to develop sea protocols tailored for the export of fresh produce to long-distance markets.

The shipping of bananas by sea to the Netherlands in November and to Russia in January have been highlighted as major successes even as the Indian body continues to eye more exports. Meanwhile, trial shipments of mangoes and pomegranates to the USA and the European Union are being planned, officials have revealed.

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