Farmers, entrepreneurs from Ladakh and Jammu & Kashmir and global buyers from USA, Bangladesh, Oman and United Arab Emirates participated in the meet
In order to boost agricultural exports from the union territory, Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in collaboration with Union Territory of Ladakh Tuesday organised an International Buyer-Seller Meet (IBSM) in Leh. The buyer-seller meet aimed at boosting exports of apricots and other agri products from the UT.Eighteen entrepreneurs from UTs of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir displayed a range of apricots and other agricultural products. Twenty buyers from India, USA, Bangladesh, Oman, Dubai participated in this event.
More than 30 producers of Ladakh apricots and other agro products and stakeholders from UTs of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir participated to interact with the importers and exporters providing a platform for growers, and entrepreneurs from both UTs to display their products and facilitate B2B interactions. Ladakh is endowed with conducive climatic conditions for the production of a large number of apricots and other agri products. The farmers and entrepreneurs of both UTs need exposure to the international trade opportunities with specific reference to temperate fruits such as apricots, walnuts, and apples among others.
IBSM provided an opportunity to the producers and processors of the UTs to showcase their products to promote the exports as well as their wholesale and retail sales.
Radha Krishna Mathur, Lieutenant Governor, UT of Ladakh inaugurated the IBSM in the presence of Jamyang Tsering Namgyal, Member of Parliament, Ladakh; Dr. M. Angamuthu, Chairman APEDA; Ravinder Kumar, Secretary, Agriculture, Ladakh; Saugat Biswas, Secretary, Industry and Commerce, Ladakh; Dr. Tarun Bajaj, Director, APEDA; Moses Kunzang, Director, Industry and Commerce, Ladakh and officials from APEDA and Ladakh. APEDA, under its initiative to boost exports from the Himalayan region, is encouraging the states and UTs to harness their potential for agricultural produce exports. A platform will be created for the buyers to get the products directly from the producer group and the processors.
This event is aimed to link the producers and processors of both UTs and buyers from other parts of the country as well as abroad which in turn will broaden the base of the export basket from the region to increase the employment opportunities thereby improving the livelihood of the people.
APEDA organises international trade fairs for the participation of exporters and provides a platform for the exporters to market their food products in the global marketplace. APEDA was also given priority and was provided to participation from UTs of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir in the national and international events organised by it such as AAHAR, Organic World Congress and BioFach India to promote agro product exports from these regions.