Ladakh Begins Premium Apricot Exports to UAE

Key facts

• The Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh flagged off the season's first export consignment of fresh Halman apricots from Kargil to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in New Delhi.
• The consignment of five metric tonnes was dispatched from Ladakh Bhavan in New Delhi.
• The Ladakh administration signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Lulu Retail, a UAE-based retail conglomerate, to facilitate exports of 1,000 metric tonnes of Ladakhi apricots this season.
• Last year, only 1.5 metric tonnes of Halman apricots were exported to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar.
• Apricot cultivation supports over 30,000 farming families in Ladakh, covering nearly 2,600 hectares with an annual production of around 15,868 metric tonnes.
• Ladakh is India's largest producer of dried apricots, contributing nearly 1,999 metric tonnes annually, and its Raktsey Karoo apricots received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2021.