India grows about 90% of the world's makhana, most of it harvested by hand from the ponds and wetlands of north and east Bihar.
NEW DELHI: A one-tonne consignment of popped makhana from Belouri in Bihar’s Purnea district has been flagged off to Greece, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and APEDA announced on 2 October 2026. Officials described it as the first direct commercial shipment of Bihar makhana to Greece under APEDA’s export diversification programme. The cargo will travel from Mundra Port in Gujarat through the Suez Canal to Piraeus, Greece’s main gateway to Southern and Eastern Europe.
From Belouri to Piraeus
The shipment links a small rural aggregator with an established exporter. Indo Global Export, based in Belouri, sourced and aggregated the makhana, while New Delhi-based S. S. Foods Exports, an APEDA-registered merchant exporter, handled customs and dispatch. Notably, APEDA announced it alongside a 24-tonne shipment of frozen peas and samosas from Sonipat to Canada, signalling a wider push to take regional foods into newer markets.
Piraeus offers a useful entry point. It serves as a transshipment hub for Central and Eastern Europe, with lower port turnaround costs than Rotterdam or Antwerp. Meanwhile, European demand comes from both the Indian diaspora and mainstream buyers seeking plant-based, gluten-free snacks.
A crop India almost owns
Makhana, the seed of the aquatic plant Euryale ferox, grows in shallow ponds and wetlands. India produces about 90% of global output, and Bihar accounts for 80% to 85% of India’s share. Cultivation covers over 35,000 hectares across ten districts, including Darbhanga, Madhubani, Purnea and Katihar. Additionally, “Mithila Makhana” received a Geographical Indication tag in April 2022.
The crop sustains tens of thousands of smallholder families and traditional fishing communities such as the Mallah, whose members dive into muddy ponds to gather the seeds by hand. After harvest, seeds are washed, sun-dried, graded and then roasted and struck to pop the white kernel.
India already exports makhana at a modest scale. In FY 2025–26, it shipped over 7,000 tonnes worth about $22 million to more than 20 countries, led by the US, the UAE, the UK and Canada.
Why grade and moisture matter
Europe rewards quality and punishes lapses. Makhana is graded by size on the traditional “Suta” scale, and the large, white 6 to 7 Suta kernels used for export can fetch a 40% to 60% premium over standard grades. However, popped makhana absorbs moisture quickly, risking staleness and fungal aflatoxins. Consequently, exporters must keep moisture below roughly 8% to 10%, provide aflatoxin-free lab certificates and use nitrogen-flushed multi-layer packs. Facilities also need FSSAI and APEDA registrations, along with phytosanitary certificates for each batch.
Who earns what
The economics remain uneven. Harvesters have long depended on local traders for credit and sold through layers of middlemen. Moreover, manual popping causes high losses, and the lack of local processing units forces many farmers to sell raw seeds cheaply to processors outside the state. Branded retail packs, by contrast, sell for ₹120 to ₹350 per 100 grams. Direct aggregation, as in the Belouri model, aims to narrow that gap.
A policy push behind the crop
Institutional support has grown sharply. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National Makhana Board in Purnea on 15 September 2025, with a ₹476.03 crore central scheme running until 2030–31. The board focuses on seed research, mechanisation, farmer producer organisations and global branding. Similarly, the Bihar Makhana Vikas Yojana offers a 75% subsidy for improved seeds and pond restoration, while the PMFME scheme supports small processing units. Research bodies, including the ICAR-National Research Centre for Makhana in Darbhanga, are developing high-yield varieties such as Swarna Vaidehi and semi-automated popping machines.
A pilot, not yet a corridor
The shipment’s size calls for perspective. A full container of popped makhana typically holds 8 to 10 tonnes, so one tonne travels as part-load cargo at a higher cost per kilogram. As a result, the consignment works best as a pilot to test the route, clear Greek port checks and put samples before buyers.
Turning it into a steady channel will require several things. Exporters must deliver uniform premium grades in every batch and move to full-container orders. Furthermore, shipping unflavoured makhana in bulk leaves much of the margin with overseas re-packers, so branded retail packs made in Bihar could capture more value. Finally, the GI label holds value only if origin tracing keeps non-Mithila produce from diluting the brand.
What to watch
Several indicators will show whether this becomes a trend. APEDA data on repeat consignments to Greece or other EU ports over the next year will be the first test. Equally important is whether export prices raise incomes for Mallah harvesters and FPO members above local mandi rates. The rollout of the board’s packhouses and processing hubs in Seemanchal will also matter. Meanwhile, any EU food safety alerts on Indian makhana would flag compliance gaps early.
For now, one tonne of makhana is heading for Europe. Encouragingly, the policy, research and export machinery behind it is larger than the shipment itself and the next few orders will reveal whether Bihar’s wetland crop can claim a lasting place on European shelves.
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