KOCHI: The Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) has signed an MoU with Flipkart to market various forest products, becoming the latest state government undertaking to sign up with the e-commerce major. Recently, Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board had tied up with Flipkart to sell khadi products via the e-commerce platform. The KFDC products will be made available through ‘Vanopahar’ tag to customers all over the world. According to A K Saseendran, Forest Minister, the MoU was signed as a part of promoting and increasing the market reach of forest products.
“These products are brought in by the Vanasamrakshana Samithi. The products are collected by KFDC, which then markets it,” he said. “Tying up with Flipkart will open up a wider market for various forest produce. For example, sandalwood oil. The sandalwood oil produced in Kerala is of the top quality in the world. A 2 gm bottle of sandalwood oil sells for Rs 1,600,” he said.
According to Lathika Subash, chairperson, KFDC, the other products that will be sold on the e-commerce platform include coffee, cardamom and black pepper. “All our products are organic and wildlife friendly. These products will be sold in resealable packets on the platform. This will enable us to sell the products anywhere in the country or the world,” she said. The chairperson said, “The amount obtained from the sale of the products will be used for the uplift and welfare of the forest community associating with KFDC.”