DARBHANGA, Aug. 9 -- Bihar's GI-tagged Mithila Makhana has achieved a significant export milestone with the first-ever commercial sea shipment of 18 metric tonnes (MT) of the prized crop being sent to Australia, with the consignment sourced directly from growers in Darbhanga district, officials aware of the Indian shipment to Down Under said. The shipment, facilitated by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), was flagged off from the BIADA Industrial Area in Bihta by Bihar agriculture minister Vijay Kumar Sinha. The event was attended by the state director of horticulture, APEDA officials, representatives of the exporter and logistics partners, and progressive makhana growers. Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal also highlighted the development in a post on X on Saturday, describing the export as another major achievement for GI-tagged Mithila Makhana in the global market. "India's GI-tagged Mithila Makhana has achieved another major milestone in the global market," Goyal said, adding that 18 MT of the product had been exported by sea from Bihar to Australia with APEDA's support. The consignment, comprising premium-quality raw GI-tagged Mithila Makhana, was sourced directly from farmers in Darbhanga and packed at the BIADA Industrial Area, Bihta. It was exported by M/s NIAD Green, with logistics support from Jitban Supply Chain Pvt Ltd, a startup supported under APEDA's BHARATI (Bharat's Hub for Agritech, Resilience, Advancement, and Incubation for Export Innovation) initiative....