Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the centre for perishable cargo at the International Cargo Terminal of Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi (LGBI) Airport in Guwahati, on February 19.
A consignment of vegetables (for export) weighing about 600 kg was also flagged off by the chief minister on the occasion.
The inaugural ceremony was also attended by State commerce and industries minister Chandra Mohan Patowary and Airports Authority of India (AAI) regional executive director, M Suresh, and other airport cargo officials.
The perishable cargo terminal has been developed by the Assam Industrial Development Corporation Ltd, which is the nodal agency in the state for export of perishable cargo through air transport.
“The state-of-the-art facility will go a long way towards boosting exports of perishable produce, empowering farmers to add value to agri-products. The building will also solve infrastructure bottlenecks in exports.”
~Sarbananda Sonowal, Chief Minister of Assam
In a separate development regarding boosting promotion of exports of perishables in Assam, Industries and Commerce Minister Chandra Mohan Patowary chaired an Export Conclave organised by the Department of Industries and Commerce in collaboration with Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) at Assam Administrative Staff College in Guwahati on Friday.
Speaking at the event, Minister Patowary said, “Assam Government has given great thrust for promoting exports of horticultural and agricultural products and processed food. The agro-climatic conditions of the State favours growth of a variety of fruits, vegetables, and spices which can contribute a lot for setting up of agro-processing industries in the State”.
The Industry Minister shed light on how the attractive incentives in the State’s Exports and Logistics Policy, Integrated Check Post at Sutarkandi, Land Custom Stations at Golokganj, Mankachar and Darrangamela and the air cargo terminal for perishable goods near LGBI airport at Borjhar will bolster Assam’s infrastructure growth to turn it into an export hub.
Completion of the International Agar Trade Centre at Golaghat and Tea Park at Chaygaon will lead to a boost in producing, processing, packaging and marketing quality products across the globe.
Mr Patowary hoped that the Export Conclave will be an apt platform for the buyers and sellers to address issues and challenges and will be benefited from the insights by industry experts.
“Assam has a surplus of fruits and vegetables and has been exporting to Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Kuwait in the past few years. Even during the COVID-19 lockdown period, Assam exported consignments of vegetables to Middle East countries. The focus given here shall go a long way in establishing their well-deserved marketability in the international markets.”
~Chandra Mohan Patowary, Industries and Commerce Minister, Assam
The Assam Government and Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) .
Dr. KK Dwivedi, Principal Secretary; Industries and Commerce presented the history, potentialities and initiatives taken by the State government to promote exports in the State.
Two handbooks on export-import by Commissionerate of Industries and Commerce and IIFT were also released during the event.
