Chairman and Chief Executive Councillor, LAHDC, Kargil Feroz Ahmad Khan along with the Deputy Commissioner and CEO, LAHDC, Kargil Santosh Sukhadeve flagged off the first-ever international export of Ladakhi apricot to Dubai.

Apricot, the primary cash crop for the farmers of Kargil was for the first time exported to a foreign country. Krishak Agritech, a farmer-centric organisation that is working with farmers across the Himalayan states undertook this mammoth task to find a way to export and market for fresh Ladakhi apricots. 

CEC, Feroz Ahmad Khan expressed happiness on the export of fresh local apricot outside Ladakh which was banned since 1986. He further stated that this event marks an important milestone for Kargil. Krishak Agritech has taken the fruit not only to the Indian market but also to the international market, with their first order of 150 kg from Dubai. 

He thanked Krishak Agritech for this endeavour and assured all support to take this journey further and make this initiative a success.

Apart from paving way for local entrepreneurs to participate in the value chain of apricot, this initiative would also ensure farmers of Kargil benefit from reduced wastage and receive the real value of their crop, he added.

Feroz Khan informed that the Apricot has recently been identified as the primary crop for Kargil under ODOC programme of the Government of India. 

DC Kargil, Santosh Sukhadeve hailed the maiden efforts undertaken by Krishak Agritech through their innovative, sustainable, and scalable intervention. He also appreciated that instead of coming up with a problem, Krishak Agritech came up with a solution by way of understanding the possibility of export of Ladakhi apricots in all its dimensions- technology deployment, establishing logistics connect and finding markets while also keeping a strong farmer connect. He further emphasized that exporting apricots is a strategic priority for Kargil and Ladakh to contribute to the economy of UT in its full potential. 

Founder Krishak Agritech Naveen Gahlawat informed that so far the organisation has exported 20 MT of fresh apricot worth Rs 30 lakh procured from more than 200 farmers of UT Ladakh, in addition to generating over 600 man-days of direct employment. He further informed that the fruit has reached Mumbai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Delhi/ NCR markets.

Naveen Gahlavat also introduced the entrepreneurs from Kargil and local partners of Krishak Agritech Ghulam Mustafa, Kacho Mehboob Ali Khan and Muhammad Javed who helped the organisation to complete the novel task for this season.

Highlighting the feedback received from customers across the country, Naveen shared that today they have secured their first order to send out Ladakhi apricots to the international market in Dubai. He stated that it comes with the help of the Department of Industries and Commerce, UT Ladakh through APEDA, and expressed gratitude to one and all who have helped the organisation to bring this initiative to fruition.