Indian Millets to make the world a healthier place

Keeping in sync with the G-20 theme of ‘Recover Together, Recover Stronger’ in International Year of Millets (IYoM) 2023 ,India is set to make the world a healthier place with an increased emphasis on its export of nutritional millets. Traditionally grown healthy nutraceutical cereal is fast becoming the new identity of India as it is a sustainable commodity . Bajra, Ragi, Canary, Jawar, and Buckwheat are going to be now globally enjoyed cereals. The Covid-19, climate change, awareness of calorie intakes are the catastrophic changes that drifted the globe towards this smart food and its nutritional benefits. India, the largest producer of millets with 19 per cent of share, had taken up the sole responsibility of shouldering the millet revolution and bringing about a revolutionary change in India’s exports targeting global millet imports with APEDA’s marketing strategy. As a part of Millets Export Promotion Strategy, concerned body organized a Millet Conclave take India ahead and creating awareness amongst the top trading 100 nations displaying a wide range of value-added innovative products of millets with different nutritional values, inviting buyers to show them the unique products that India has to offer and to ultimately secure a space for Indian millets in every diet and every meal across the globe.The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), which works under the Ministry of Commerce &Industry , has plans toachieve USD 100 million target by 2025. A comprehensive global marketing campaign is being prepared ,assessing India’s potential .Accordingly an e-catalogue of 30 importing countries and 21 millet producing states has been prepared and a virtual trade fair platform was launched to give impetus for the export of millets as well as its value-added products. As the world is moving towards nutritional security, there is a decadal rise in international imports of millets, 5.4 per cent in terms of value and 14 per cent in terms of quantity. Millets have grabbed global attention due to its extreme exceptional and excellent quality attributes as they are gluten-free, high protein, high fibre. Being a substitute of rice and wheat, millets are potentially beneficial in diabetic management, low GI aid in weight management, help in anemia, blood pressure and cardiovascular disorders. In all aspects millets are considered superior than wheat, rice and maize and if India moves ahead with the agenda of disease eradication with nutritional millets, these can replace one-third of recommended cereal diet of diabetic patient and anemic women, yielding an opportunity for 100 grams of millet intake per capita per day making India achieve the target of “Millets, a staple food in every diet” in the In The Year of Millets (IYoM).
In the export promotion of Indian millets, Centre is in the process of facilitating participation of exporters, FPOs/FPCs, traders in various international events by organizing Buyer-Seller Meets in more than 16 International Trade Fairs.India has already promoted millet and its value-added products at an event to celebrate IYoM, 2023 was organized by FAO at its HQ in Rome, Italy.Buyer Seller Meets in Jakarta and Medan, Indonesia in association with Indian Embassies. Plans in place to facilitate participation in the International Trade Fairs such as Gulfood 2023, Dubai, UAE, Foodex, Japan, Fine Food, Australia, Anuga Food Fair, Germany, etc and promoting with the theme “Millets”. Leading importers/departmental store/Super market/hyper market chain would be roped in through the Embassy of India to promote millets and food sampling and tasting campaigns will be organised. There would be branding/publicity of Indian Millets in the targeted countries and market in association with IBEF, promotion campaigns through social media. India’s top five millet producing states are Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. There are 16 major varieties of millet, which are produced and exported, including Sorghum (Jowar), Pearl Millet (Bajra), Finger Millet (Ragi) Minor Millets (Kangani), Proso Millet (Cheena), Kodo Millet (Kodo), Barnyard Millet (Sawa/Sanwa/Jhangora), Little Millet (Kutki), Two Pseudo Millets (BuckWheat/Kuttu), Ameranthus (Chaulai) and Brown Top Millet. Exports of millets from India include mainly whole grain and the export of value-added products of millets from India is negligible. The Government is also mobilizing start-ups for export promotion of value-added products in the Ready-to-Eat (RTE) and Ready-to-Serve (RTS) category such as noodles, pasta, breakfast cereals mix, biscuits, cookies, snacks, sweets etc. India’s major millet exporting countries are U.A.E, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Oman, Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen, U.K and U.S.A. The varieties of millets exported by India include Bajra, Ragi, Canary, Jawar, and Buckwheat. The USA stands at the top among the price realization for unit export in sorghum, canary, bajra and ragi whereas Saudi Arabia gave better returns on buckwheat and other millet exports. In general, buckwheat fetched far higher prices compared to sorghum and other millets. The major millet importing countries in the world are Indonesia, Belgium, Japan, Germany, Mexico, Italy, the U.S.A, United Kingdom, Brazil and Netherlands. India is moving ahead in promoting millets across the world with the objective of reforming millet as part of staple food in every diet.
(The author is Chairman, APEDA .Press Information Bureau-PIB Srinagar has mailed this article to “Kashmir Horozon” for publication in this newspaper. The views, opinions, facts, assumptions, presumptions and conclusions expressed in this article are those of the author and aren’t necessarily in accord with the views of “Kashmir Horizon”.)