Govt plans Rs 13.5 crore export pack house at Mopa airport

Panaji: To boost agriculture exports from Goa and neighbouring states, state govt has decided to set up an export pack house facility and related infrastructure on a turnkey basis at Manohar International Airport, Mopa, at a cost of Rs 13.5 crore.


Agriculture director Sandeep Faldesai said govt aims to turn Goa into an organic export hub. He said the presence of Goans abroad and tourists using local produce has opened export opportunities, as “Goan products are tasty as compared to others”.


“We will get a good market for our agriculture produce,” he said, and added that exports require infrastructure compliant with Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) standards. He said there is no such facility within a 300km radius of Goa.


Faldesai said the nearest facilities are in Ratnagiri and Satara in Maharashtra, and Hubballi and Dharwad in Karnataka. He said produce grown in Goa is largely organic by default, which would support exports through the proposed facility.


Products in demand include green chilli, cashew, mancurad mango, Moira banana, alsando, and korgut rice.


The Goa agricultural produce and livestock marketing board said the project will enable handling, grading, precooling, and export of perishable agricultural and horticultural produce from Goa and parts of north Karnataka and Maharashtra. The board has proposed setting one up under the APEDA scheme as a common infrastructure facility.


The state’s Agriculture Export Policy (AEP), notified in 2022, focuses on increasing farmers’ income and boosting Goa’s share in national agriculture exports. It aims to promote Goa as an export hub, build export-oriented infrastructure, and encourage indigenous, organic, and traditional products.


“The state can become an export hub owing to the facility of the Mormugao port and the Dabolim airport,” the policy states.