Univeg sees growing potential in sales of Indian grapes

In March 2012 Univeg signed an agreement with Bayer CropScience, with the goal of improving the grape production in India. This Food Chain Partnership should guarantee the safety and traceability of the grapes, and win back the customers' trust in Indian grapes. This was said by Ben Horsbrugh, Quality Manager, Univeg Group. "The collaboration is going very well and is based on continual improvement. We want to create value for growers and our customers and we challenge ourselves every season to find ways in which to improve the quality and sustainability of the grapes within this Food Chain Partnership."

Ben Horsbrugh at the Grape Forum in Nasik (India), August last year. The Grape Forum 2013 was attended by 400 grape growers and emphasised the importance of the Food Chain Partnershop and informed the grape growers of the European market's quality demands.

Export volume increased tenfold
The parties developed production systems with the goals of increasing the production of Indian grapes. "Since we started the collaboration with Bayer the export volume has increased tenfold. We are convinced that there is even more growing potential here. The main importer of our Indian Grapes is Europe. Holland is at the top of the list, as most grapes come into Europe through Rotterdam. Germany, Austria and the UK are also important customers. Outside of Europe, Russia is a good buyer. We are also seeing an increase in interest from the Middle East and Asia."

1000 hectares
The project started with an area of 270 hectares and it has grown to 1000 hectares. The production area is continuing to grow and a couple of hundred growers are now connected. We believe it is important that our grapes meet the consumer's demand. Indian grapes are quality grapes with the right colour, brix and flavour. This quality is brought about by a production strategy which keeps the use of crop protection under control and therefore limits residue to a minimum. Customers are also increasingly concerned about the social and ecological condition in which grapes are produced and packaged."

Strong position
According to Horsbrugh the Indian grape sector has made huge improvement in checks at the source in recent year. "This has also been recognised by the food safety authorities in Europe. The Indian season is going well and the volumes heading to Europe have increased considerably. India is able to maintain a strong position in the European market because the quality and volumes are better than those of the grapes from other origins."

Univeg and Bayer CropScience have been collaborating on projects in India, Chile and Spain for the last three years. Bayer has developed a passport for the grape production in the local languages which helps the growers in sustainable producing. This should enable the retailers to have fresh fruit and vegetables that meet the strict European consumer demands in the area of food quality, safety, traceability and sustainability.

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