Guwahati, Jan 24: Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) and Communications Jyotiraditya Scindia on Saturday laid the foundation stone of a ₹80-crore Agarwood Value Chain Development Scheme in North Fulkabari, Tripura, aimed at strengthening the region’s agarwood economy and linking farmers directly with global markets.
The project, launched during the Minister’s three-day visit to Tripura and Assam, seeks to develop the entire agarwood value chain—from cultivation and processing to branding and exports—while eliminating middlemen.
Addressing the gathering, Scindia said the agarwood sector could become a flagship example of ‘Local to Global’ under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership, adding that Tripura and Assam together form the core of India’s agarwood production base.
Under the scheme, two Central Processing Centres (CPCs) will be established—one in Tripura and another in Golaghat, Assam. These centres will handle processing, value addition, branding, and marketing, enabling farmers to receive full value for their produce.
“The objective is clear: remove intermediaries and ensure that farmers benefit directly from international demand,” Scindia said.
The Union Minister said several measures are already in motion to make the agarwood sector globally competitive. These include initiation of the Geographical Indication (GI) tagging process, a six-fold increase in export quotas, expansion of agarwood chip exports from 25,000 kg to 1.5 lakh kg, increase in agarwood oil exports from 1,500 kg to 7,500 kg and integration of permissions and approvals on a digital platform to enable direct farmer–buyer linkages.
Scindia said Tripura’s agarwood production capacity is expected to increase by up to 50% under the scheme. India currently has an estimated 150 million agarwood trees, nearly 90% of them located in the Northeastern states, he noted.
Calling Fulkabari’s agarwood ecosystem a model of ‘One District One Product (ODOP)’, the Minister said the sector has the potential to transform rural livelihoods.
The Union Minister projected that Tripura’s agarwood market alone could achieve an annual turnover of ₹2,000 crore within the next 3–4 years, driven by value addition and direct access to international buyers. Buyer–seller meets are already being organised, including recent interactions with purchasers from Qatar, where farmers were linked directly to overseas buyers.
Scindia said the agarwood project is part of a broader development push in Tripura. On Friday, he laid foundation stones and inaugurated projects worth ₹220 crore, reviewed the Agartala Government Inter College project (₹192 crore) and the Maternal and Child Health Hospital (₹200 crore). On Sunday, he is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the ₹280-crore Matabari Tourism Circuit.
He expressed confidence that, in partnership with the Tripura government led by Chief Minister Manik Saha, the agarwood sector would gain global recognition and contribute to the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
