APEDA backs maiden Varanasi biscuit shipment to Oman

India has exported its first consignment of biscuits from Varanasi to Oman, in a shipment facilitated by APEDA and enabled by the India–Oman CEPA. The move is being highlighted as a milestone for processed food exports from eastern Uttar Pradesh and a signal of growing export potential from non-traditional agri–food hubs.

Key shipment details

The inaugural consignment comprises 40 metric tonnes of biscuits manufactured by Shree Tirupati Balajee Industries, a Varanasi-based exporter. APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority), under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, has supported the exporter through promotion activities and facilitation under its processed food export programmes.

The shipment starts from Varanasi, moves to the Inland Container Depot (ICD) at Kanpur for customs clearance, and is then routed via Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Mumbai for onward carriage to Oman. This routing underlines the logistics chain now connecting an inland production centre in eastern UP to Gulf markets through India’s containerized export corridors.

Role of India–Oman CEPA

Officials and APEDA have linked this first biscuit export directly to opportunities created by the India–Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). The agreement is expected to improve market access for Indian agricultural and processed food products, including value-added items such as biscuits, in Oman and the wider Gulf region.

By leveraging CEPA preferences, the consignment showcases how trade agreements can be used to push processed food exports beyond traditional hubs like western India. It also supports the government’s broader narrative of using FTAs/CEPAs to diversify export baskets and encourage participation from tier‑II and tier‑III manufacturing locations.

Implications for eastern UP’s food sector

APEDA and government messaging describe this shipment as a “notable achievement” for the processed food sector in eastern Uttar Pradesh. The visibility gained from the Oman shipment is expected to help local firms explore new export markets and move higher in the value chain from raw or minimally processed goods to branded, packaged food products.

The consignment also indicates that food processing capacity in regions like Varanasi is now competitive enough to meet international quality and packaging standards. APEDA has signalled that more processed food shipments to Oman are planned in the coming months, pointing to sustained demand and potential scale-up of exports from the region.

Logistics and trade ecosystem

The routing via ICD Kanpur and JNPT Mumbai underscores the role of inland container depots and major ports in enabling exports from landlocked production centres. Efficient multimodal links from factory to ICD to gateway port are critical for time-sensitive processed food shipments, especially where shelf life and packaging integrity are important.

Government and APEDA support – through certifications, export promotion schemes and participation in trade fairs – is seen as a key factor in helping smaller manufacturers like Shree Tirupati Balajee Industries enter Gulf markets. This aligns with the wider policy focus on building agri‑export clusters and integrating them with global value chains.