“India wants to be recognized as one of the leading and reliable suppliers of agricultural and processed food products to the world,” says R. Ravindra, Deputy General Manager of the organisation. “In order to achieve this APEDA under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry was established by the Government of India.” The organisation has a mandate to work on 13 major product groups, one of these groups is fruit and vegetables.
With varied agro climatic zones, India has the right to be the fruit and vegetable garden of the world. “APEDA has as its goal promoting the export of agricultural products,” says Ravindra. To that end, APEDA has identified the best cultivation regions for certain crops in India. These regions resulted in 32 clusters spread over 15 states in which fruit and vegetables, among other products, could be properly cultivated for exports. “We analysed the entire value chain and identified the interventions required. Adequate and proper infrastructure was one of the critical interventions identified and this gap was plugged by establishing around 79 common infrastructure projects, with 31 more such projects are in the pipeline. The infrastructure is comprised of an Integrated Packhouse with cold chain facility, Irradiation, Vapor Heat Treatment, Ripening Chambers, Auction Center, Laboratory etc.”
R. Ravindra, Deputy General Manager of APEDA.
International fame
In addition to the investments to make export possible, ADEPA also offers financial support to exporters, and organises the presence of exporters at various fairs. For twenty years already, the organisation has been a permanent exhibitor at the Fruit Logistica in Berlin, this year with a stand of 200 square meters, where Indian exporters could display their products. Next to this APEDA can be found at Foodex (Japan), Gulf Food (Dubai), SIAL (Paris) and Bio Fach (Nuremburg) amongst others.
Mangoes, grapes and pomegranates are the most important export products. Other products are also exported in smaller volumes, for example papayas, bananas, bell pepper and exotic vegetables. However, the domestic market also demands products from abroad, mostly apples, citrus, kiwi, grapes, avocados, durian, dragon fruit and soft fruit. Last year, India signed up for an economic growth of nearly seven per cent. The agricultural sector grew by four per cent in total, a year previously this was only 1.8 per cent.
Export of baby bananas
“We see much potential for the export of the Yelakki bananas,” Ravindra says. However, negotiations are going on for development of a sea protocol with the National Research Center for Bananas. The development of sea protocol is critical for success, as air transportation is expensive and not commercially viable. “The Netherlands, Germany and the UK are our focus markets,” Ravindra says. Additionally, the country is looking at possibilities in the Middle East and the Far East for the export of Yelakki bananas. The total banana export amounted to 93,673 tonnes last year. The year before, that was still 63,274 tonnes.
European gate ajar
The Middle East is an attractive market for India in general, because it is relatively close-by and has little of its own production. In addition, markets in Asia, such as Singapore and Malaysia, are also fairly close. However, the country is searching the globe for premium markets, and that search resulted in Europe, Japan and the US. “For some years now we have exported mangoes to the US.”
Due to the import regulations set by the EU, the gates to the continents are ajar. India’s presence in EU market is still miniscule. The EU imports 63,415 million USD of fresh fruits and vegetables of which only 184.23 million USD is imported from India which constitutes only 0.29%. The major importers of fresh fruits and vegetables in the EU are the Netherlands (98.37 million USD), UK (73.12 million USD) and Germany (14.75 million USD).
“It would be an added value for export if those regulations were lifted,” Ravindra continues. “That is why we are negotiating with the EU about MRLs, for instance.” But the regulations for residues are not the only restriction. Import taxes are levied on various products. For example, for bell peppers, that levy is at 6.4 per cent. For pears it is eight per cent, but for products such as okra and gherkin, those tariffs are much higher at 12.8 and 14.5 per cent. “Europe is an important market for us. It is nearer than the US, and many expats live there. We want to increase our presence.”
More information:
APEDA
R. Ravindra
ravindra@apeda.gov.in
www.apeda.gov.in