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The first consignment of Kashmiri walnuts was recently flagged off from Budgam in the valley by truck to Bengaluru in Karnataka under the Centre&rsquo;s One District, One Product (ODOP) Initiative, according to information provided by the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.</p>
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The first truck carrying 2,000 kg of walnuts was flagged off by the officials of the Centre and the Kashmir government and the price of the walnuts is just a fraction of the cost of the imported walnuts that the Bengaluru company was selling to local consumers.</p>
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Kashmir accounts for 90% of India&rsquo;s walnut production. With their superior quality and taste, the Kashmiri walnuts are a great source of nutrients and hence widely in demand across the globe. There is immense potential for this product to make its place in the local and global markets.</p>
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Recognizing that walnuts were being imported into India on a large scale despite the availability of Kashmir walnuts, the &#39;ODOP&#39; team began an in-depth market analysis and stakeholder consultations in Kashmir.</p>
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Further, importers of walnuts in India were contacted and through dedicated handholding at both ends, the ODOP team was able to facilitate the procurement. Such efforts also give a boost to the AatmaNirbhar Bharat campaign as, for instance, in this case the Bangalore-based importer, who was previously sourcing walnuts from the US, is now able to distribute quality walnuts at a fraction of the import cost, the official statement said.</p>
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On the sidelines of the flag off event, a roundtable conference was organised in Budgam wherein inputs were sought from industry representatives. The government&rsquo;s consultations with horticulturists and trade representatives concluded that the way forward includes domestic and international marketing through Buyer-Seller Meets, e-commerce onboarding of more agricultural and handicraft/handloom products as well as creating product/scheme awareness for products from each district which will be supported by the ODOP initiative under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.</p>
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