India–UAE bilateral trade relations have witnessed a significant upgrade following the CEPA of 2022. How has this impacted India's agricultural exports, particularly for GI-tagged produce? Illustrate with recent examples.

The India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), signed in February 2022 and operational from May 2022, is India's first trade pact with a West Asian nation and targets USD 100 billion in goods trade [1]. For agriculture, its impact lies less in volume alone and more in shifting India from bulk commodity supply to premium, identity-branded exports.

Market access and tariff advantage

• CEPA's tariff concessions and simplified access have made the UAE India's top mango export destination — over 12,000 MT worth about USD 20 million in 2024 [2].
• Institutional deepening continues: both sides are pursuing an APEDA–UAE Ministry of Climate Change food-safety MoU to lower technical barriers, alongside APEDA's BHARATI initiative for agri-food exports [3].

Boost to GI-tagged produce

• Rewa Sundarja mango (Madhya Pradesh): first commercial consignment of 1 MT exported to the UAE in June 2026 [4].
• Tezpur Litchi (Assam): first GI-tagged consignment airlifted to Dubai in June 2026, opening the North-East to Gulf markets [5].
• These build on APEDA's UAE promotion events such as 'Indian Mango Mania 2025' in Abu Dhabi with the Indian Embassy and LuLu Group [2].

Farmer-level and structural gains

• Rewa farmers received ₹150/kg against a local price of ₹100–110/kg, a direct premium of ₹40–50/kg [4].
• FPOs (Seondha and Trisagar Farmer Producer Companies) aggregated and packed the produce, showing how GI plus collectivisation lets smallholders meet export standards [4].

Persisting constraints

• The MP consignment was packed in Bhadohi, Uttar Pradesh, exposing gaps in state-level pack house and cold-chain infrastructure [4].
• Consignments remain small and air-freighted, raising cost and carbon concerns; Tezpur growers gained only a modest premium over domestic rates [5].

CEPA has thus converted market access into measurable farmer income and given GI produce a credible global identity. Scaling this demands decentralised pack houses, sea-freight protocols for perishables, and wider mutual recognition of standards — aligning agri-trade diplomacy with doubling farmers' incomes and SDG-2 on sustainable food systems.