Assam: Kaji Nemu, Urohi springs onto Global stage among 27 Indian agri products

GUWAHATI: In a significant development, ‘Kaji Nemu’ (Assam Lemon) and ‘Urohi’ (Flat Beans) have been included as new flag-offs of export shipment-ship among 27 other Indian agri-products by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

These products scheduled by APEDA are being exported to more than 203 countries/territories, worldwide in the current financial year.

APEDA has implemented several initiatives to expand the export of its scheduled agricultural and processed food products to new markets.

In this regard, there is a special focus on products under the One District One Product (ODOP) and Geographical Indication (GI) categories, with efforts being made to procure these exports from non-traditional regions or states.

APEDA is deeply engaged in capacity-building programs for Farmers' Producers Organizations (FPOs), which are increasingly seen as vital entities for aggregating farm produce. They play a pivotal role in optimizing the supply chain and ensuring farmers have efficient market access.

Earlier on February 14, the Assam government declared ‘kaji nemu’ as a state fruit. Kaji Nemu is also known as Assam Lemon and scientifically called ‘citrus lemon.’ This unique aromatic lemon of Assam was given a GI tag in 2019.

Agriculture Minister Atul Bora, while informing the House of this development, said, “The Assam Assembly took a decision to declare ‘kaji nemu’ as state fruit, and I hope the House also supports this decision.”

Bora stated that after getting the GI tag, the state’s unique lemon has grabbed the attention of people around the globe, and the demand has also increased for this lemon for possessing medicinal properties and a unique aroma.

In the last two years, 70,000 pieces of kaji nemu were exported from Assam to London, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar, etc. At present, the lemon is grown on a land area of 15.90 hectares, producing 1.58 lakh metric tonnes. According to the Indian Agricultural Research Council, the presence of this lemon was first noticed in Byrnihat. Now, it is being commercially grown in places like Baksa, Kamrup, Chirang, Kokrajhar, Goalpara, Morigaon, Nagaon, and Tinsukia in the state.

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