<p data-path-to-node="2"><b data-path-to-node="2" data-index-in-node="0">BIHTA (PATNA)</b> — Bihar’s agricultural export ecosystem has achieved a historic milestone as the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), alongside state agriculture officials, successfully facilitated the first commercial sea shipment of Geographical Indication (GI)-tagged Mithila Makhana (fox nuts) bound for Australia.</p><p data-path-to-node="3">The 18-metric-tonne consignment of premium-quality raw Makhana, packed into seven specialized export containers, was procured directly from traditional growers in Darbhanga district and processed at the Integrated Unit of Irradiation-cum-Packhouse in the BIADA Industrial Area, Bihta near Patna. Bihar Agriculture Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha officially flagged off the landmark shipment, marking a decisive shift toward structured, sea-based agro-export logistics for the state’s niche produce.</p><h4 data-path-to-node="4"><b>Direct Market Linkages Boost Farmer Returns</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="5">By establishing a direct, cold-chain-assisted maritime supply route, the initiative enabled local Makhana cultivators in Darbhanga to achieve price realizations approximately 18% higher than prevailing domestic market rates. Transitioning from high-cost air freight to scalable ocean transit drastically reduces per-unit transport overheads, allowing Bihar’s agro-exporters to establish competitive price points across international consumer markets.</p><p data-path-to-node="6">The consignment was exported by M/s NIAD Green, with specialized end-to-end logistics execution managed by M/s Jitban Supply Chain Pvt. Ltd.—a logistics startup nurtured under APEDA’s BHARATI (Bharat’s Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement, and Incubation for Export Innovation) program.</p><h4 data-path-to-node="7"><b>Infrastructure Upgrades Powering Agro-EXIM</b></h4><p data-path-to-node="8">The export consignment underwent rigorous scientific quality testing, irradiation treatments, and international-standard packaging before its multimodal dispatch from Bihta to Kolkata by rail, where it was loaded onto an ocean liner bound for Australia.</p><p data-path-to-node="9">State agriculture officials emphasized that the success of this sea-export model for Mithila Makhana creates a repeatable blueprint for other high-value, GI-tagged agricultural commodities from Eastern India. With modern irradiation and packhouse facilities now active at Bihta, APEDA and the Government of Bihar plan to expand direct sea-export corridors to North American, European, and East Asian health-food markets.</p>