India starts heeng production through CSIR’s efforts

Asafoetida is known for its medicinal value. It is extracted from the roots of the Ferula assa-foetida plant, which takes about five years to produce the resin used as heeng. India currently imports about 1,200 tonnes of raw asafoetida every year from countries like Afghanistan, Iran, and Uzbekistan, costing around USD 100 million.

Asafoetida has not been cultivated in India yet due to absence of proper planting material. To overcome this issues, IHBT imported six types of seeds from Iran through the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources. The first sapling was planted in Kwaring village of Lahaul valley in October 2020.

To support farmers and use vast unused land in cold desert areas, IHBT also developed special farming techniques for asafoetida. A Heeng Seed Production Centre was set up in February 2024. This initiative must reduce India’s dependence on other countries for the heeng import. It is a major breakthrough in India’s journey to the production of value-added spice crop within the country. It means other spices can also be produced in bulk in the country.