Ladakh exports its first batch of Apricots to Dubai

Ladakh is among one of the topmost travelled destinations in the country, with breathtaking beautiful mountain ranges to freshwater lakes. 

It has been one of the most visited places by tourists in India.

Now, the government is promoting the horticulture Industry in the Union Territory. 

Apricots from Ladakh are famous and of high quality. 

For the first time, the government is exporting the fruit to Dubai. Apricots are one of the major fruits with a very distinctive taste and texture produced in Ladakh. Around half a dozen varieties of apricots are grown in Ladakh. 

Most of them are of high quality.

It is the primary cash crop for the farmers of Kargil and was never exported before. 

However, this year, the government with help of a private farmer-centric firm undertook this task to market the apricots from Ladakh.

''The event marks an important milestone for Kargil, the fruit has not only been sent to the Indian market but also to the international market, with their first order of 150 kg from Dubai. Paving the way for local entrepreneurs to participate in the value chain of Apricot, this initiative would also ensure that the farmers of Kargil benefit from reduced wastage and receive an immediate realisation of the value of their crop. Apricot has recently been identified as the primary crop for Kargil under the ODOC programme of the Government of India.'' said Feroz Ahmad Khan, CEC LAHDC Kargil.

The farmers from Ladakh are happy that this initiative was taken by the government along with a private firm Krishak Agritech. 

Earlier the farmers could not send across the fresh apricots from the Ladakh region.

''We are thankful to Krishak Agritech and It's because of them that we are able to export apricots. We only used to dry the apricots earlier but now we are able to send fresh apricots to dubai. People are extremely happy by this step.'' said Mohd Abbas, Farmer Kargil.

Krishak Agritech has exported 20 MT of fresh apricots procured from more than 200 farmers of UT of Ladakh. 

The value of this is around 30 Lakh rupees and also generating an avenue of employment for the locals.

''We have a plan to set up a food processing unit before next season of apricot. We will also teach farmers how to hygienically dry the apricots," said  Naveen Gahlawat, Founder, Krishak Agritech.  

The government is now looking at other countries in the middle east to export the apricots.