India, April 17 -- In a major boost to the horticulture sector, the Ladakh Administration on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding with LuLu Retail to export 1,000 tonnes of premium Ladakhi apricots to international markets this season.

The agreement marks a dramatic scale-up from just 1,500 kg (1.5 tonnes) of apricots exported over the last two years, signalling a new phase of market access, value addition and global visibility for the region's produce, an official said.

Consequent to a major push by Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, for promoting the branding and export of Ladakh's GI-tagged "Raktsey Karpo" apricot variety, as well as the region-specific "Halman variety", the Union Territory Administration signed the MoU with gl...