The Hindu Business Line : Jairam Ramesh favours GI tag for Byadgi chilli

Thiruvananthapuram, March 22 The Union Minister of State for Commerce, Mr Jairam Ramesh, has said that the officials of the Spices Board would be directed to take necessary steps to get the “Geographical Indication” (GI) tag for Byadgi Chilli.

This was imperative for protecting the brand identity of the produce grown in this region in the Haveri district of Karnataka, the Minister said while inaugurating a fresh chilli processing plant with a capacity of 20 tonnes per day at Byadgi on Friday.

Byadgi chilli had special appeal and was in great demand for its colour and less pungent odour. Just as in the case of Mysore Mallige and Darjeeling Tea, the produce needed to be credited with an appropriate GI tag.

BETTER PRICES

This would also help farmers in getting better prices for their yield.

During the last financial year, chilli worth Rs 1,000 crore was exported but hardly was any value addition accorded.

The Minister asked the farmers to raise organic chilli that would fetch much better prices.

A laboratory facility would be set up in Byadgi during the next six months for testing the quality of chilli products meant for export. Solar drying units have been set up at Guntur in Andhra Pradesh. Mr Ramesh promised to look into whether solar drying units were viable in Byadgi as well.

The fresh chilli processing plant is the first such to be set up by the Centre through STCL Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Spices Trading Corporation of India Ltd.

The Thiruvananthapuram-based National Institute for Inter-disciplinary Sciences and Technology (NIIST) has provided the technical know-how.

Among those who attended the inaugural function were Mr Aravind Pandalai, Chairman, and Mr K.C. Ponnanna, Managing Director, STCL.

The plant will produce quality Byadgi chilli in rich colour to stringent international standards, free of aflatoxins.

Unlike the conventional process of sun-drying the fresh chilli, the garden-fresh produce will be converted into the end product within a few hours of reaching the factory.

The Minister also announced that the Spices Board was ready to set up a Spices Park in the region comprising the Dharwad, Haveri and Gadag districts of Karnataka. Such parks have been envisaged for the States of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Kerala and Uttar Pradesh.

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