SRINAGAR: Ladakh on Wednesday exported its first consignment of fresh apricots to the United Arab Emirates, marking the start of what the administration says will be the region’s largest-ever international export programme for the fruit.
A five-metric-tonne shipment of fresh apricots was flagged off by Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena. The export follows a memorandum of understanding signed in April this year between the Ladakh Administration and UAE-based retailer Lulu Retail, facilitated by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).
Under the agreement, more than 1,000 metric tonnes of fresh apricots are proposed to be exported during the current harvest season, a sharp increase from the approximately 1.5 metric tonnes exported over the previous two years.
The programme focuses on Ladakh’s indigenous ‘Raktsey Karpo’ and ‘Halman’ apricot varieties, which are grown in the region’s high-altitude conditions and are marketed as organically cultivated fruit. The administration hopes the exports will open international markets for local growers and improve returns from horticulture.
Given the highly perishable nature of fresh apricots, the consignment was transported through a cold-chain logistics network maintaining temperatures between zero and four degrees Celsius. The administration said the logistics support was provided with assistance from the Container Corporation of India (CONCOR) to preserve fruit quality during transit to overseas markets.
Officials said the new export arrangement is also designed to address one of the major challenges faced by Ladakh’s fruit growers—post-harvest handling. Under the agreement, the export agency will take responsibility for harvesting, sorting, grading, packaging and shipping the fruit after taking over orchards at harvest time, reducing the burden on farmers who have traditionally handled these activities themselves.
Speaking at the flag-off ceremony, Lieutenant Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena described the initiative as a significant step for Ladakh’s horticulture sector, saying it would provide farmers with direct access to international markets and help secure better prices for their produce.
The administration expects the programme to reduce post-harvest losses, improve market linkages and encourage greater investment in horticulture. However, the scale of exports and the extent to which growers benefit will become clearer as the harvest season progresses and shipments to overseas markets continue.
Apricot cultivation is concentrated in districts such as Kargil and Leh, where the fruit is among the region’s most important horticultural crops. The success of the export initiative could serve as a test case for expanding international trade in other high-value horticultural products from the Union Territory.
