India seeks market access for 10 agricultural products from Israel

India has requested Israel to provide market access for 10 agricultural commodities during a bilateral meeting between Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his Israeli counterpart Avi Dichter on Tuesday here.

The products India is seeking access to include onion, potato, garlic, green chilies, turmeric, pineapple, mango, pomegranate, grapes, and okra seeds.

"On day-to-day trade, we are going to communicate to both Plant Protection Indian Israel Services (PPIS) in order to make sure that we shall be able to increase merchandise shipments from one side to the other," Dichter told the media after the meeting.

The two countries also signed a bilateral pact to extend cooperation in agriculture, with a work plan discussed for 2024-26.

India expressed particular interest in exporting onions and green chilies to Israel and will send technical information soon, according to sources.

India also requested Israel to expedite the process and grant market access to the other eight commodities at the earliest, sources added.

A joint working group will be formed to develop a roadmap focusing on research and development activities with the Israeli agency Mashav to develop climate-resilient seeds and improve seed quality for farmers.

"We discussed many different issues. A MoU was also signed with Israel. The deliberations were fruitful," Chouhan said, noting that 35 Centers of Excellence (CoEs) are currently operational across India.

Dichter emphasised addressing climate change: "We just decided to translate the agreement into actionable items by creating working groups and focusing on improving seeds for wheat and other issues."

Prior to the meeting, the Israeli delegation visited the Indian Agricultural Research Institute complex, where they learned about the Indo-Israel project on R&D and demonstration farms established in 1996.