Khasi Mandarin finds place in the list
NEW DELHI: As many as nine organic and exotic agricultural produce of North East including the famous Khasi Mandarin of Meghalaya have been accorded geographical indication (GI) registry but the Memang narang (a wild species of orange which grows in the Garo Hills) has to wait for its turn to get the registry, official sources said on Tuesday.
The nine products included Karbi Anglong Ginger, Tezpur Litchi, Sikkim Large Cardamom, Mizoram Bird Eye Chilly, Manipur Kachai Lemon, Tripura Queen Pineapple, Arunachal Orange and Nagaland Tree Tomato.
“The Memang narang, found in Nonrek biosphere reserve is also likely to get the tag soon,” soures said.
GI tag is a certification which indicates the distinctiveness of the product’s origin in a particular geographical location and carries an assurance of quality of that particular product.
Khasi Mandarin is considered to be the best in India which was certified by the Union Ministry of Horticulture earlier beating the myth that Nagpur orange is better.
The only reason that the oranges of the North East do not reach mainland India is because these oranges are exported to next door Bangladesh leading to a shortfall of supply in the domestic market.
“The North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Limited (NERAMAC) pioneered the move to get the GI tag with the North Eastern Council giving financial support to the initiative,” the sources said. This tag makes these products exclusive and imparts a special status to the local crops of the region.
NERAMAC took the initiative to protect these special crops about four years ago as the GI tag will help in branding these crops.
“Neramac had applied for GI tags for 10 agro products of the Northeast but only Memang narang did not get GI tag as the process is yet to be completed,” official sources said.