New Delhi: A pack of foxnuts (Makhana) weighing about 25 grams, which used to cost $2, has doubled to $4 in recent months in the US, due to tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump squeezing household budgets, a report has said.
A report from Al Jazeera said that the 50 per cent tariffs on Indian imports have hit sales, with exporters to the US seeing shipments slump by as much as 40 per cent.
Indian foxnut exporters, however, have found alternate markets, it added.
The report cited Denver-based leather garment trader, originally hailing from Kolkata, saying that his monthly grocery budget rose to $900 from $500 before the pandemic, specifically mentioning price rise in foxnuts or Makhana.
“Still, amid the crisis, some are also spotting a ray of hope – Indian fox nuts are finding new, alternative markets and a growing appetite for the superfood in India,” the report said.
Foxnut exporters are “seeing demand from new markets, like Spain and South Africa, driven by the Indian diaspora and awareness of the health benefits of fox nuts,” it added.
India exported about 800 metric tonnes of foxnuts in 2024–25 to markets including Germany, China, the US and the Middle East, with the US accounting for half of those exports.
“The sector has huge opportunities, as it is still in a nascent stage and limited to Indian diaspora in international market, and we need to spread more awareness about it both domestically and abroad,” the report cited Satyajit Singh, whose company, Shakti Sudha Agro Ventures, controls half of India’s total exports of the health food, as saying.
The Indian government has recently announced a Makhana Board with an initial outlay of Rs 1 billion to institutionalise the value chain and provide training, quality regulation and export facilitation.
India is the largest producer of makhana in the world, accounting for nearly 80 per cent of global production, the Parliament was informed earlier this month. Bihar remains the backbone of the country’s makhana output, contributing around 85 per cent of national production, with Darbhanga emerging as one of the key hubs for cultivation and processing.
(IANS)
