North Eastern States are small and are in the developing stages which have a long way to go in economic development and trade. Region contributes three per cent of India’s gross domestic product. Barely one per cent of the region’s agri-output is exported, with a lack of infrastructure for long-term storage. These states have factor endowments and skills which are quite amenable to trade and be further developed and promoted for the purpose of exports and create an international /ASEAN trade image of north east. While the prospects of NE-ASEAN trade are good, the problem to develop them is also quite formidable.

Agribusiness and Food Processing has emerged as a high growth, high profit sector. The vast availability of natural raw material, favourable policy matters and numerous economic incentives & benefits offered by the Central Government have made India and even north east an attractive destination for investment in agro& food processing. Though the sector has huge potential, it is somehow unfortunate that it has remained relatively under developed, due to which enormous quantities of valued farm produces worth INR 95000 Cr are wasted annually. In order to arrest this colossal national loss, application of improved modern technology to develop integrated food supply chain from farm to the fork of the consumer is of utmost importance for both the north east& the country as a whole.

 NE region has a quantum of marketable surplus in a number of perishable commodities which are rated as Immune boosters. Being the hub of organic & exotic agro-horticultural produces, spices & herbs; north east offers basket full of opportunities for the unusual. With its proximity to south East Asian markets, being home to diverse & exotic variety of fruits & spices, region can be major Centre of agribusiness & can command a high price in domestic & export market. Many of these produces are having GI tags (Picture I: GI Tagged Pineapple from Tripura), thus triggering huge possibilities for branded marketing. Presently around 26 agro-horticultural products are having GI tag from north eastern region.

 A dedicated marketing and visibility campaign with proper packaging & branding for products from Northeast needs to be implemented, which will help in increasing the awareness in target customer segments (Picture II: Assorted Processed Product Photos of North East). These could range from large to small enterprises / start-ups or directly to customers. Further, the agricultural and horticultural produce value chains are marred by several challenges such as inadequacy of infrastructure, unavailability of processing industries, production and aggregation issues, etc.

 In the north east, large losses from farm to plate are mainly attributed to poor handling, distribution, storage, and proper packaging. Valued resources that could otherwise be spent on more productive activities go into producing & transporting goods that only go to waste for the want of appropriate primary or secondary processing /packaging. Losses at every stage of the food chain can be reduced by using appropriate processing & packaging. It is estimated that more than 40% of fresh produces are wasted due to various reasons in the region resulting in loss of nutritional value. Monitory loss on that count is also very high. Appropriate processing, packaging with proper branding, labelling and publicity can pave the way to a great extent. Training & skill development on packaging can facilitate the first- generation entrepreneurs of north east in making a dent in marketing of produces.