Bihar begins vegetable exports to Dubai via VEGFED cooperative –

Bihar has started exports of green vegetables produced by Cooperative marketing federations, VEGFED, which has been constituted on the lines of the milk cooperative, COMFED. A first consignment of 1500 kilograms of green vegetables was sent to Dubai via Varanasi yesterday. Cooperative Minister Prem Kumar flagged off the first consignment of vegetables for Lulu Mall, Dubai. To promote vegetable production through cooperatives, the state cooperative department has constituted Bihar State Vegetable Processing and Marketing Cooperative Federation Limited (VEGFED), which runs Vegetables Producers group of farmers in Tirhut, Magadh, Vaishali and Champaran areas,s which are already producing milk through different dairy groups. Cooperative department minister Dr. Kumar said farmers will get more than 20 times the price in Dubai compared to the domestic market for their vegetables.
 
The first shipment contained 10 types of vegetables that included jackfruit, cauliflower, eggplant, bitter gourd, bottle gourd, etc. The Minister said Dubai’s LuLu Mall has demanded 45 Metric Tonnes of vegetables. He said the concept of export is on the line of “every dish filled with Bihari vegetables”. Dr. Kumar said the next shipment of vegetables will be sent to Singapore. In Bihar, green vegetables are produced at a large scale and tap the potential, the state government has decided to provide a marketing platform as a Tarkari outlet besides COMFED milk parlours. There is a plan to open 534 ‘tarkari’ retail outlets. The Minister said that as of now, plots have been identified for opening 200 outlets, and funds have also been released for the same. In the International Year of Cooperatives, the state government is promoting vegetable growers’ cooperatives. The state government wants to replicate the model and success of the dairy model and milk production in the vegetable production sector. A VEGFED committee will be set up in all the blocks of the state by the end of this month. The VEGFED committee has already been constituted in 495 blocks besides four unions.