Mizoram Exports Bird's Eye Chili to US

An official on Wednesday informed that Mizoram has exported locally grown bird's eye chili to the United States for the first time. The export was done as a part of an initiative to expand market and boost farmers' income of the state.

State Agriculture Minister C. Lalrinsanga flagged off 7.5 metric tonnes of typical Mizo chili (Bird's eye chili) to the US from south Mizoram's Lunglei district on Tuesday.

The official informed that the bird's eye chilies were harvested by farmers from three southern districts- Lunglei, Siaha and Lawngtlai.

The consignment was transported to Visakhapatnam in Andra Pradesh from where it will be sent to Nevada in the US.

The initiative was taken jointly by International Competence Centre for Organic Agriculture (ICCOA) under Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region (MOVCD-NER) and Mission Organic Mizoram (MOM) of the agriculture department. Lalrinsanga congratulated the Farmer Producer Companies (FPCs) for the successful completion of the project while flagging off the consignment.

The Minister said, the success of the project emphasizes the potential of cooperative farming in Mizoram. He motivated department officials and farmers to continue to focus on organic farming to ensure that more and more local agricultural products are exported abroad.

ICCOA executive director Manoj Menon said that the bird's eye chili from Mizoram had undergone stringent quality tests both in India and the US and has met the Organic Standards Protocol.

He further said that the farmers are making efforts to produce ginger and turmeric in Mizoram for export.

Last month, Lalrinsanga had informed the state legislature that the state government has obtained a Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Mizo chili.

Also Read: Mizoram to Export ‘Bird’s Eye Chili’ to US