Agar trade to boost Tripura economy: CM

AGARTALA, May 10 (PTI): Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Monday said agarwood-based trade will boost the state’s economy and fetch Rs 2,000-3000 crore turnover in the next three to four years.
A business delegation from Loas has come here to explore the feasibility of setting up agar-based industries in the state, he said.
According to a study, the north-eastern state has 70 lakh agar trees, and the government plans to utilise the resource for commercial purposes as it has great demand abroad.
“Recently, our chief secretary and principal chief conservator of forest (PCCF) have visited Laos and Vietnam to see the agar-based industries there. Today, a team from Laos arrived here to explore the feasibility of setting up such industries,” he said during a programme to mark the 161st birth anniversary of Nobel laureate Kabiguru Rabindranath Tagore.
Earlier, a huge quantity of agarwood was smuggled from Tripura as there was no permission for its trade from the state, Deb said.
“I have got permission from Prime Minister Narendra Modi to export 25,000 mt of agarwood. This will go a long way in boosting agar trade in the state.”
“It will fetch Rs 2,000-Rs 3,000 crore for the state in the next three to four years,” the chief minister told one of the agar traders, who have come here.
“The man, who is originally from Assam, has been staying in Laos permanently to promote agar business there and has an annual business turnover of Rs 5,000 crore. He wants to plant agar trees and set up an agar-based industrial unit in the state,” he said.
During the past four years, the state has made “tremendous progress in infrastructure building”, the CM claimed.