Bihar’s Shahi litchi fruit gets GI tag

Context:

  • Bihar’s Shahi litchi has received the geographical indication tag, the director of the National Research Centre on Litchi confirmed to IANS.
  • The fruit is mostly grown in Muzaffarpur and its neighbouring districts of East Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and Begusarai.

More details:

  • The tag, awarded by the India Patent Office, allows a state or a geographical region to lay an exclusive claim over a product, gives an assurance of quality, and is often used as a reason to increase product rates.
  • A few other products with a geographical indication tag are Darjeeling tea, Mahabaleshwar strawberry, Jaipur blue pottery, Banarasi sarees and Tirupati laddus.
  • The tag will improve demand for the fruit and reduce the fear of fake and poor quality litchis, said Nath.
  • The GI tag for the fruit will help and benefit thousands of litchi growers who will gain access to more markets and get better price in the country and abroad.
  • The registration was done in the name of the Muzaffarpur-based Litchi Growers Association of Bihar, which had applied for the tag.
  • The state produces 40% of the litchis grown in India on 38% of the area.

Source: TOI

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