The shift of cultivating guava in India has moved towards larger jumbo fruits, says Kaushal Khakhar, CEO of Indian fresh produce exporter Kay Bee Exports: “The cultivation of guava in India is a dynamic one with farmers introducing different, bigger varieties on the Indian market. While the previous variety was of a small size, weighing in average 150g to 250g, the now preferred variety offers jumbo size fruits ranging from 400g to 700g. Moreover, it also has a very good shelf-life of 15 to 18 days and offers customers a superior eating experience with a juicy and sweet flesh.
"Over the past few years, the Indian domestic market has favoured this new variety, which is also ideal for export. While at the moment the white flesh guava is predominantly present, the pink/red flesh one is gaining popularity and thus, we expect the local production to increase proportionally.”
It’s currently the peak season for India, although Khakhar states that the guavas are harvested year-round. “Our guavas are packed in our BRC Grade AA+ certified, which we were the first to receive in our industry in India. This ensures that we offer fruits of prime quality in line with the most stringent food safety and quality standards to our consumers. While guava is harvested all through the year in India, its peak season volume and quality-wise is from the month of November to July. A major challenge is the fact that the phyto-sanitary requirements pertaining to guava differs from one country to another. To overcome this difficulty, we trained our farmers to the various regulatory requirements of our current customers, ensuring that we deliver safe, compliant and fresh guavas anywhere.”
Although the Middle-East is the main market that Kay Bee focuses on with guava, European clients are showing more and more interest in the fruit, Khakhar explains: “India faced several off-seasons and exceptional episodes of rains in the months of September and October, which led to a drop in the guava volume harvested. However, since October the weather has significantly improved and the winter temperatures are not as low as expected. The quality and the volumes available are very satisfactory and we look forward to a promising season. Currently, our largest market is the Middle-East, but our customers in the EU are showing strong interest. Although our ethnic customers present in Europe are already selling Indian guava to specialised retail stores and wholesales markets, we aim at developing our sales in the European retail sector on a larger scale.”
With Christmas around the corner, Khakhar doesn’t think demand for guava will slow down. Due to the health benefits, orders will probably not slow down at all, he says. “Following the rich diet of the end of the year’s festivities, we often see a surge of fresh fruits and vegetables consumption in European markets. Guava having many health benefits and being widely available will be a good addition to retailers’ shelves. We do expect orders from our regular customers in the UK for example. Guava offers a complete array of health benefits and is known to help lower blood sugar levels and insulin resistance. Two qualities particularly important for people suffering from diabetes. It’s also a rich source of Vitamin C in comparison with other fruits, which is a natural immunity booster.”
For more information:
Kay Bee Exports
Tel: +91 8879 000 973
Email: [email protected]
www.kaybeeexports.com
