As Trump’s tariffs hit Indian fox nuts, the superfood eyes new markets

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Katihar, India – Ravjit Singh, a leather garment trader who lives successful Denver, Colorado, has started to consciousness the pinch of 50 percent tariffs imposed by United States President Donald Trump connected Indian goods successful caller months.

The 50-year-old, primitively from Kolkata successful eastbound India, told Al Jazeera that rising market prices person sent his household fund haywire, successful particular, affecting a favourite household snack – fox nuts, popularly known arsenic makhana.

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“The monthly fund has changeable up to $900, which was $500 earlier the pandemic, and tariffs person made things worse,” helium said.

A battalion of fox nuts weighing astir 25 grammes (0.9 ounces), which utilized to outgo $2, has successful caller months doubled to $4, on with terms increases of different household staples, similar lentils and basmati rice, helium added.

Fox nuts are the popped kernels of h2o lily seeds, and are recovered successful tropical and subtropical regions of South and East Asia, with a sizeable beingness successful India, China, Nepal and Japan. Packed with protein, calcium, antioxidants and vitamins, the nuts person rapidly gained a estimation arsenic large immunity boosters.

But they haven’t been immune to the effects of Trump’s tariffs: The US president archetypal deed Indian goods with a 25 percent levy, past doubled that to 50 percent connected relationship of Indian imports of Russian oil, which helium said were helping substance Russia’s warfare connected Ukraine. The tariffs person deed businesses crossed respective sectors successful India for whom the US has been a large export market, including those dealing with shrimp, diamonds and textiles.

Exporters of fox nuts person seen income to the US slump by arsenic overmuch arsenic 40 percent.

Still, amid the crisis, immoderate are besides spotting a ray of anticipation – Indian fox nuts are uncovering new, alternate markets and a increasing appetite for the superfood successful India.

‘Nascent stage’

In India, fox nuts are grown successful low-lying areas, peculiarly successful the eastbound Bihar state, and are a root of income to astir 150,000 farmers. The state dominates 90 percent of the planetary production.

The authorities produces 120,000 metric tonnes of seeds and 40,000 tonnes of popped fox nuts annually crossed 40,000 hectares (99,000 acres) of land.

The cultivation is done successful shallow cultivation fields with a extent of astir 1.3 to 1.8 metres (4 to 6 feet). It is not expensive, arsenic caller plants easy germinate from older seeds.

The harvesting play starts from mid-July and continues until the extremity of November, during which labourers expanse the full assemblage of h2o collected connected fields for seeds with accepted tools similar horn-shaped divided bamboo and nets, depending connected the seeds’ size.

The collected seeds are archetypal sun-dried, and past heated successful a clay oregon robust cookware to marque the outer shells brittle. The seeds are yet hammered to merchandise the whiter edible makhana puff, which is again roasted for a last crunch.

In 2024-25, India exported astir 800 metric tonnes of fox nuts to countries similar Germany, China, the US and the Middle East. But the US – wherever 50 percent of India’s exported fox nuts spell – dominates the market, said Satyajit Singh, whose company, Shakti Sudha Agro Ventures, controls fractional of India’s full exports of the wellness food.

The full manufacture turnover – including the home marketplace – is astir 3.6 cardinal rupees ($40m), Singh told Al Jazeera.

“But the assemblage has immense opportunities, arsenic it is inactive successful a nascent signifier and constricted to [the] Indian diaspora successful [the] planetary market, and we request to dispersed much consciousness astir it some domestically and abroad,” helium added.

He is already seeing request from caller markets, similar Spain and South Africa, driven by the Indian diaspora and consciousness of the wellness benefits of fox nuts, helium said.

Ketan Bengani, 28, a Kolkata-based fox seed exporter, told Al Jazeera that the home request for fox nuts has besides been doubling each twelvemonth since the COVID-19 pandemic, erstwhile radical became alert of the nuts’ wellness benefits.

His exports to the US of astir 46 metric tonnes person dropped by 40 percent owed to the tariffs. But helium is not excessively worried, and expects to marque that up with the rising request successful India, helium said.

In fact, the precocious request has attracted respective budding entrepreneurs.

Among them is Md Gulfaraz, 27, a fox seed shaper and exporter based successful Charkhi colony successful the Purnea territory of Bihar.

Gulfaraz told Al Jazeera that this company’s income person jumped from 5.4 cardinal rupees ($60,000) successful 2019 to 45 cardinal rupees ($500,00) successful the fiscal twelvemonth ending March 2025, acknowledgment to burgeoning home demand.

Strong home market

Makhanas, arsenic fox nuts are popularly known successful India, utilized to beryllium communal successful Indian kitchens historically, but similar galore accepted foods, mislaid retired to the slick selling campaigns, branding and flavours of Western and much modern Indian snacks.

The pandemic served arsenic a blessing successful disguise, bringing fox nuts backmost successful favour due to the fact that of their immunity benefits. Now, makhanas enactment Indian supermarket shelves, with flavours ranging from peri peri to tangy tomato, food to bulb and cream.

Sujay Verma, 43, a bundle technologist successful Kolkata, who is simply a autochthonal of Bihar and grew up eating fox nuts, told Al Jazeera that helium gives a sheet to his 2 daughters each time astatine breakfast.

“We were rushing aft the packed nutrient items that were costly and creating a spread successful my pocket. But fox nuts are not lone cheap, but besides bully for health,” helium said.

The Indian authorities has besides seen the concern imaginable of fox nuts. Earlier this year, it announced the enactment of a makhana committee astatine an archetypal outlay of 1 cardinal rupees ($11m) to institutionalise the worth concatenation and supply training, method support, prime regularisation and export facilitation to businesses.

The thrust from the Indian authorities comes from the top: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said successful a rally earlier this twelvemonth that helium eats fox nuts astir days, and that it was clip that India took the ace nutrient to the world.

Farmers and labourers are besides switching to fox seed accumulation from different crops owed to higher returns.

Anil Kumar, adjunct prof astatine Bhola Paswan Shastri Agricultural College successful Purnia successful Bihar, told Al Jazeera that the labourers who cod seeds gain astir 2,000 rupees ($22) per time for each 50kg (110lbs) collected. This is much than treble the 700 to 900 rupees ($8-$10) paid usually to unskilled labourers successful India.

The accumulation of fox nuts was constricted to 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) of onshore successful 2010, and farmers were paid 81 rupees ($0.90) per kilogramme, helium said. Now, astir 40,000 (99,000 acres) hectares of onshore are being utilized to cultivate fox nuts, portion farmers get 450 rupees ($5) per kilogramme.

“The tariffs won’t wounded us, arsenic the request is expanding globally,” said Satyajit, from Shakti Sudha Agro Ventures.

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