Millets are gaining popularity abroad due to their high nutritive value and because they’re gluten-free.

◊ By Pure & Eco India

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The first consignment of organic millets grown in the Himalayas was exported to Denmark in May 2021.

APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), in collaboration with the Uttarakhand Agricultural Produce Marketing Board (UKAPMB) and the Indian organic food company, Just Organik, has sourced and processed a variety of organic millets (Ragi, Bajra, Jowar, etc) from farmers in Uttarakhand for export.

Millet sourced from these organic farmers meets the organic certification standards of the European Union, and has been processed in a processing unit built by the Uttarakhand Mandi Board and operated by Just Organik.

Just Organik’s Co Founder and MD, Pankaj Agarwal, informs Pure & Eco India that the current consignment is a pilot shipment for Denmark. The target market is the whole of Europe, with Denmark as a distribution hub. The expected business is 20-40 MT per month, with an annual value of US$ 300,000-500,000.

Bio Habits is the Danish distributor working with Just Organik. 

As per current interest from Europe, the organic millets exported are Barnyard Millet (Jhangora), Finger Millet (Ragi), Pearl Millet (Bajra) and Sorghum (Jowar), with plans to also add Amaranth to the list.

“This development underlines our efforts of the last 7 years to build a sustainable agriculture framework (specifically for Uttarakhand), that covers all the stakeholders in the supply chain, with a special focus on millets. At Just Organik, we feel very strongly that these ancient grains are the future of nutrition worldwide,” says Agarwal.

“Millets are a unique produce from India, which have significant demand in the global market. We will continue to carry out export promotion for millets with a special focus on products sourced from the Himalayas,” says Dr Madhaiyaan Angamuthu, Chairman, APEDA.

The export of organic millets to Denmark could expand export opportunities in European countries for Indian companies. It would also support the thousands of farmers getting into organic farming now.

India’s export of organic food products witnessed an uptick of more than 51% to Rs 7,078 crore (US$ 1,040 million) during April-February (2020-21) compared to the same period in the previous fiscal (2019-20).

In terms of quantity, the exports of organic food products grew by 39% to 888,179 metric tonne (MT) during April-February (2020-21) compared to 638,998 MT shipped in April-February (2020-21).

This growth in organic products has been achieved in spite of the multiple logistical and operational hurdles posed by the Coronavirus pandemic.