India: “We’re producing 20 per cent more pomegranates than previous year”

The pomegranate has been accepted as a super fruit in the Indian market, with local consumption of the fruit growing consistently year after year. Now that Turkey and Morocco's pomegranate seasons are in full swing, how does the market fare in India?

GVK Naidu of Sam Agritech Ltd. States that the pomegranate is doing great, both locally as in their export markets. The company procures and processes pomegranates into ‘Ready to Eat’ pomegranate Arils: “We export these ‘Ready to Eat’ pomegranate Arils to over 40 customers spread across 15 countries around the globe. We produce these Arils all 12 months of the year with consistent quality from a single Indian variety called “Bhagwa” and have been supplying them for the past 12 years.”

Sam Agritech is increasing their production every year due to the growth of local production and the export markets: “We procure and process 5000 megatonnes of pomegranates every year and we’re seeing a growth of about 15 to 20 per cent compared to last year. We export these pomegranates to the UK and other European countries, the United States, the Middle-East and South East Asia.”

The Mediterranean countries also produce pomegranates, but unlike India these countries are bound to seasons. Naidu claims this is why India will always be a major player when it comes to pomegranates: “We’re able to produce fruits all twelve months of the year, which helps in remaining the largest supplier of the pomegranates. Prices in India fluctuate due to the frequency of rains, which causes the harvest amount to vary every month. Sam Agritech, being a year round processor and supplier, always goes with pricing based on the annual procurement prices.”

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