Madurai milestone achievement in Moringa Export – a TN Govt initiative
MADURAI : India fulfills 80% of the global demand for moringa, with Tamil Nadu leading in moringa cultivation within the country. According to the 2023-24 data from the Department of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, moringa is cultivated in an area of 20,741 hectares, producing 841,807 metric tons, making it the top producer in India.
To increase moringa exports from Tamil Nadu and develop the necessary infrastructure, the Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare declared the “Moringa Export Zone” as part of the 2021-22 Agricultural Budget. This zone, comprising nine districts, with the establishment of “Moringa Special Export Service Center” at Madurai, which is administered by the Tamil Nadu Food Processing and Agricultural Export Development Corporation (TNAPEx) under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Department.
According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the global moringa export market is estimated to be worth 1,000 crore USD in 2025. This includes products like moringa leaf powder, oil & seeds, and moringa tea, in which moringa leaf powder contributing 600 crore USD.
To meet the global demand for moringa leaf powder, approximately 11,000 acres of unique moringa leaf cultivation are required. Organically grown moringa leaf powder has significant market potential.
Currently, around 35 export companies in Tamil Nadu cultivate unique moringa leaves over 600 to 800 acres, producing about 720 metric tons of moringa leaf powder annually, valued at approximately ₹30 crore.
The moringa leaf cultivation faces challenges such as unique cultivation methods, world-class processing centers, export market linkage, and local market opportunities. To address these challenges, the Tamil Nadu government’s Moringa Special Export Facilitation Center has implemented various initiatives, including awareness meetings, technical training, market linkage, and financial assistance through several
schemes etc., On 10.09.2024, a meeting was held in Navvaladi village, Thisayanvilai block, Tirunelveli district, to establish market linkage between farmers of the Thamiraparani Farmers Producers Organization and a private company. As a result, market linkage was established for organic moringa leaf
cultivation over 20 acres, and 60 metric tons of fresh moringa leaves were procured from farmers at a stable price, producing 6 metric tons of moringa leaf powder for export, valued at ₹20 lakh.
On March 24, 2025, a small gratitude meeting was held at a private company premises in Rosmiyapuram village, Radhapuram taluk, Tirunelveli district, to celebrate the success of market linkage done by Moringa Export Facilitation Centre, Maduari. The meeting was presided by Dr. K. Alagusundaram, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of TNAPEx.
In that meeting, Thiru. Ilango, Deputy Director of Horticulture from Directorate of Horticulture and Plantation Crops, Thiru. Deline, Assistant Director of Horticulture, Thiru. Anandan, Chief Executive Officer, Thamiraparani Farmer Producer Organization, Thiru. Vijaya perumal and Thiru sudarsan, Private firm Proprietor of Green Health Industries.
Thiru. Bastin Raj Leading Exporter, Benefitted Farmers, Thiru M. Suresh Kumar, Export Consultant, Moringa Export Facilitation centre, Madurai and Thiru S. Oliyarasan, technical Coordinator are participated.
Additionally, a request was submitted to establish market linkage for 50 metric tons of organically grown moringa leaf powder for the 2025-26 year. Furthermore, TNAPEx has received requests from other private companies for market linkage for approximately 200 tons of moringa leaf powder annually. These market linkages will be implemented through a tripartite agreement between TNAPEx, private companies, and farmers.
Hence. Tamil Nadu Government is warmly welcome all Farmer Producer Organizations, Progressive Farmers and private processing companies interested in organic moringa leaf cultivation and Processing to contact the TNAPEx Chennai office at [email protected] and the Moringa Special Export
Facilitation Center, Madurai office at [email protected] to get assured market linkage and stable income for throughout the year.