NEW DELHI: The famous Queen variety of pineapples from the northeastern state of Tripura is now available in the capital of the country as a sales point for the fruit with world renown was opened in the Dilli Haat of New Delhi.
The Union Minister for Agriculture, Narendra Singh Tomar, Tripura’s Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Ratan Lal Nath and Minister of State for Agriculture Kailash Choudhary inaugurated the sales point in Delhi Haat on Wednesday.
Speaking at the event, Ratan Lal Nath said that the Northeastern state of Tripura produces a large quantity of both the Queen and the Kew varieties of pineapple. But lack of market linkage remains a problem for the farmers despite the huge global demand for the fruit. He also mentioned that the farmers had to sell these fruits previously at Re 1, but are now getting a good value for the same. Tagging pineapple as the state fruit for Tripura as well as granting the Geographical Identifier tag to the Queen Pineapple has helped the farmers to great lengths.
The minister also mentioned that the farmers were not interested in the commercial cultivation of the crop before as the lack of proper advertising resulted in low prices. This changed when the stated government arranged for the agencies to procure the fruits directly from the farmers with a minimum procurement price fixed to the same and arranged for their export to foreign nations including the Gulf countries as well as European nations.
He also mentioned that the Covid global pandemic had a negative effect on the sector, but it returned with even better outputs after reopening. As of now, the state produces higher quantities of fruit per hectare compared to any other place in the country ensuring a good income to the farmers cultivating this fruit.
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