The weather in India has posed a major challenge for the current pomegranate season, says Saad Mobin Farooqui, directing manager for Indian pomegranate exporter Saad AgroBiz: "The production of pomegranates has been quite decent this year, when compared to the previous seasons. The weather has been a challenge this time, though. Rainfall has been at a record high, which resulted in what we call the 'boiling' of the fruit. The pomegranate, apart from being known for its nutritional value, holds a significant religious importance here. We have a culture of gifting it to our 'to-be' in-laws in marriage functions, for example. So the demands are pretty high during marriages and religious events."
© Saad AgroBiz
Saad AgroBiz is mostly active in the Middle East, but wouldn't mind expanding its clientele to other regions as well, Farooqui emphasizes. "In terms of exporting the pomegranates, our firm has been able to provide the fruit to countries in the Middle East. We were in contact with a buyer from the US at some point, but this specific company did not seem trustworthy. We'd be more than happy to expand into this market, though. We are looking forward to entering the European and Western countries, both for export and import."
© Saad AgroBiz
The rain also had some side effects on the post-harvest process, but there are hopes the coming weeks will be much better: "Rainfall has really been the largest problem this year; it really gave us a tough time. The fruit gets spoiled before it reaches its destination as a result. We had to spread the fruits out inside our shed and dry them completely before being able to pack them. Hopefully, in the coming weeks and months, we'll see better prices for the pomegranates. The color and sizes will definitely be good in the time to come," Farooqui concludes.
For more information:
Saad Mobin Farooqui
Saad AgroBiz
Tel: +91 898 31 70 646
[email protected]
www.saadagrobiz.in
