Trade in food products between India and the UAE soared in the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry here announced. Food security and stability of markets is one of the shared priorities between India and the UAE.

The Ministry said recent successes in bilateral food trade included my first-time achievements.

These comprised the first ever exports of fresh potatoes from Purvanchal, a sub-region in Uttar Pradesh state, to the UAE market, the first ever exports of water chestnuts from Varanasi to the UAE and similar pioneering export of marigold, also from Varanasi. Marigold is a plant whose flowers are important in India on social occasions.

Other first-time exports from Varanasi to the UAE include banana plant derivates, hog plum and cranberry. Odisha state exported yellow watermelons for the first time to the UAE.

India’s export of poultry products to the UAE soared by 94.17 percent and to Oman by 61.61 percent in the first eight months of the ongoing fiscal year. India’s financial year begins on 1st April and ends on 31st March the following year.

The first-time exports from India’s various regions are the result of targeted exports drives to promote local products by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which was created by an Act of India’s Parliament in 1985.

WAM