Patna, Jan. 7: Bihar's gorgon nut (makhana) is set to say hello to the world.

Four months after Patna-based industrialist Satyajeet Kumar Singh started selling his manufactured gorgon nuts online, he is ready to enter the international market.

In a talk with The Telegraph today, Singh, who owns Shakti Sudha Industries, said they would start taking international orders from January 15 onwards. The company began its e-commerce venture in September last year and several products made from gorgon nuts could be ordered online by just logging on to www.gorgonnut.com.

'We had been facing some logistic problems as far as our international operations are concerned. But then we had been trying to solve it and now we are ready for the world. The website will begun its international transactions from January 15 onwards. We have tied up with FedEx for the same and they have assured us there will be no problems when it comes to transportation,' Satyajeet said today.

He added that since the launch of the e-commerce initiative, there were several queries about the products from abroad.'There have been many queries from different parts of the world. Queries about our products have come to us from countries like US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Singapore, Indonesia, UK, Australia, Canada, Oman, Pakistan, New Zealand, Italy and others,' he said.

Satyajeet added: 'In the past four months, we have received calls from cities like Dubai, New Jersey, California, Venice and others. People know about the gorgon nut and its health benefits and want to buy it. Our domestic business is doing very well indeed and with so many queries from abroad, we do hope the response would be outstanding when we start on January 15.'

Authorities from FedEx said they too were ready.

'This would be the first food material from Bihar to be sent to different countries around the world. We have had detailed talks with Satyajeet and all the logistics have been worked out. When the website opens up to take international orders, the first order can come from any city of the world and FedEx will live up to its name,' Vishal Yadav, the territory manager of FedEx in Bihar, said.

Satyajeet said as far as the domestic market was concerned, the past four months had seen them dispatching 650 orders throughout the length and breadth of the country.

'The response in India has been terrific and on an average, we are getting six to seven orders each day. Until now, 650 orders have been dispatched and the average growth percentage rests at around 50 per cent each month. Bihar produces around 15,000 tonnes of gorgon nut, which is among the most popular snacks here. In cities and nations, it is sold at a very high price. We have done our homework before deciding to launch the initiative. The makhana product we would export is of a very good quality and cheap as well. In countries like US, makhana products are rare and sold at anything between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,000 per kg. Though our site, one can order a 250gm pack of a makhana product for just Rs 200,' Satyajeet said.