February 3: The orange export business is at its peak. In Gomdar gewog in Samdrup Jongkhar, the farmers are busy. In this obscure gewog, orange has become the most important cash crop ever since a Farmer’s Marketing Group was formed in 2004.

Earlier farmers were confronted by numerous problems. Their biggest problem was transporting oranges to the auction yard in Samdrup Jongkhar town. They had to carry the oranges on their back till the road point at Tokorong, walking for about five long hours.

Most often than not, the lion’s share of the profits went to the middlemen and exporters. Things have changed now. The Gomdae Armshing Tshogpa takes care of the transportation as well as the marketing.

Their bargaining power has also increased. They now get better price. This season, on average they received Nu. 80 for every 100 pieces of oranges. Last year they were able to export close to 2,500 pon of oranges.

There are 80 oranges in a pon. The Tshogpa also provides temporary jobs to students, employing them for grading and packaging oranges.

The Gomdae Armshing Tshogpa started with 15 members in 2004.