The first consignment of GI-tagged Joynagar Moa will leave Calcutta on Wednesday. Thirty kilos of moa will land in Bahrain after flying out of Calcutta in specially created packages.

Along with it will travel a little over 100 kilos of patali gur (date palm jaggery), another winter delicacy from Bengal.

“This is the first time GI-tagged Joynagar Moa will be exported from Bengal,” said Sandeep Saha of the Agricultural and Process Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Union ministry of commerce and industry.

“We have also received enquiries from Italy and Canada. We will wait for feedback about the first consignment and then take our next step.”

The origin of Joynagar Moa dates back more than a century. Ashutosh Das, a resident of Das Para of Sreepur village in Joynagar, had started the moa industry in Bengal in 1904.

But it was only in November 2014 that this delicate sweet made of khoi (popped rice) bagged a geographical indication tag for its uniqueness that would be only found across two blocks of Joynagar in South 24-Parganas.

“When APEDA officials reached us with the proposal, the challenge was to maintain the freshness of the product with right moisture content according to GI specifications,” said Ashok Kumar Kayal of Joynagar Moa Nirmankari Society. “We finally found a way and the moa has been sent in log box packets with a shelf life of five to six days.”