On the 13th of January 2022, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) facilitated the virtual flagging off of the first shipment of GI tagged "Marayoor Jaggery" from Marayoor, Idukki, Kerala to Dubai, UAE.
Dr. M Angamuthu IAS, Chairman, APEDA flagged off the first consignment of Marayoor Jaggery to Dubai. He mentioned promoting Marayoor jaggery in all parts of the world as being a unique GI product that is chemical-free. He also thanked the Govt of Kerala & farmers of Marayoor Jaggery for all the support.
Plan to Promote Marayoor Jaggery:
T V Subhash IAS, Director of Agriculture, Govt of Kerala, Representatives from Fair Exports India Pvt Limited along with other officials of APEDA took part in the flag-off ceremony. He specified that a detailed action plan to promote exports from Kerala will be developed soon focusing on the airports & ports.
GI tagged Marayoor jaggery is exported from Marayoor, Idukki by Fair Exports India Pvt. Ltd to Dubai. Fair Exports India Pvt. Ltd. belonging to the Lulu Group International is a leading exporter registered under APEDA. This initiative to promote GI-tagged products from India is ultimately paving the way to achieve PM’s target of 400 billion USD of merchandise export by 2021-22.
About Marayoor Jaggery:
Jaggery is an unrefined natural sugar that is produced without adding any chemicals. More than 70% of the total world jaggery production is done in India. As the major producer of Jaggery, the country has been recognized as one of the leading traders and exporters of Jaggery to the world.
India exported 631,895.81 MT of jaggery and confectionery products to the world for the worth 358.88 USD Million during the year 2020-21. The cane jaggery export alone was worth 30.06 USD Million from India in which 12.67% share is from Kerala in 2020-21. The major export destinations of cane jaggery were Malaysia, USA, Nepal, UAE, UK, etc
The cane sugar, Marayoor Jaggery locally known as Marayoor sharkara is prepared from the sugarcane grown in the Marayoor and Kanthalloor Grama panchayaths of Idukki District of Kerala. These are the rain shadow regions of Idukki district.
Jaggery produced from the geographical area has higher market demand due to its taste, flavour and quality and is generally produced without the addition of harmful chemicals like artificial colouring or sweetening agents.
Marayoor Jaggery is generally prepared in ball form (undasharkara) but is also produced in powder and liquid forms in minor quantities. Brown to dark brown Jaggery balls is available in well-dried form with firm consistency and non-sticky nature. Its unique characteristic feature is its non-salty sweetness and is rich in sucrose, iron, potassium & calcium. This traditional sweetening agent has a vital role in ayurvedic preparations due to the presence of natural phytochemicals. 2 Metric tonnes of Marayoor Jaggery is exported to Dubai in the first consignment.
