Agartala, June 23 Like previous years, as a goodwill gesture, Tripura Chief Minister Manik Saha on Sunday sent 500 kg pineapples as a 'gift' to Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina through the Agartala-Akhaura Integrated Check Post (ICP), an official said.
Tripura Horticulture Department Assistant Director Dipak Baidya said that as a part of the goodwill gesture, Tripura Chief Minister sent the state's queen variety pineapples -- considered the most delicious -- to the Bangladeshi Prime Minister.
He said that the 500 kg pineapples -- with each pineapple weighing around 750 gm -- have been stored in 100 containers .
"The queen variety pineapples are the best pineapple variety in the world. It earlier got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag," Baidya told the media at Agartala-Akhaura ICP, adjoining Tripura's capital city of Agartala.
He asserted that the traditional bond between India and Bangladesh in general, especially with the state of Tripura, has always been excellent and deep-rooted.
"Sending pineapples from our Chief Minister to the Bangladesh Prime Minister is just a token gift as part of our friendship," the official said.
Previously, as well, most of the Tripura Chief Ministers had sent pineapples to the Bangladeshi PMs, who in return gifted delicious mangoes from that country.
Tripura has occasionally exported the queen variety pineapples to Dubai, Qatar and Bangladesh, facilitating crores of trade for the state's farmers.
Officials said that besides pineapples, Tripura also exported various other fruits, including lemon and horticultural products to the UK, Germany and many other countries.
Tripura annually produces 1.28 lakh tonnes of two major varieties -- Kew and Queen -- of pineapples in 8,800 hectares of mountainous orchards across the state and for many years, exporting the pineapples and lemons to many countries and many Indian states as well.
Former President Ram Nath Kovind, at a function in Agartala in 2018, announced the "Queen" variety of pineapple as Tripura's state fruit.
Besides pineapples, Tripura also exported a large quantity of jackfruit, tamarind, stone apple, betel leaf, ginger to the UK, Germany, Dubai, Bangladesh and other countries, as well as various Indian states.
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