Jan 8, 2020
Meeting the international quality and standards, the demand of Indian grapes export soared by 21 percent between April and October 2019. The major export consignment was exported to European countries. This export happened due to the strict code that was maintained by Indian exporters which ensured quality and traceability with improvement in their farm practices.
In comparison with 36,180 tons of grapes exported in 2018, India’s fresh grapes exports stood at 43,622 tons from April to October of 2019.
According to the data compiled by the Directorate General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics (DGCI&S) under the Ministry of Commerce showed various exports of mango and other seasonal fresh fruits, have also risen by 12.3 per cent and 37 per cent in volume terms.
“There is a huge demand of Indian fruits in European countries. Exporters have joined farmers to adopt better farm practices which ensure quality as prescribed by importing countries. Farmers have developed skills for better post-harvest management of fruits by up-scaling storage facilities, transportation and market linkages. This has started yielding positive results,” said Sharad Bhalerao, managing director, Ajinkya Agro Exports, a fruit exporter from Nashik, Maharashtra.
Despite an increase in overall shipment, Indian exporters’ greatest fear is untimely rains that could lead to crop loss. The exporters are worried about the availability of fruits due to reports of massive crop damage by unseasonal rainfalls this year. According to some experts, they predict 10-15 per cent of grape plants have been damaged during December rainfall in Nasik.