India Exports First Commercial Pomegranates to US

Thane, Mar 1 (PTI) India has flagged off the first commercial trial shipment of pomegranates to the US via sea, agri export body APEDA said on Friday.

The shipment comprising 4,200 boxes (12.6 tonnes) was sent by INI Farms from the IFC facility, MSAMB, Vashi (Navi Mumbai) on February 28, APEDA said in a statement. INI Farms has also established a value chain for pomegranates by working directly with farmers in Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The fruit was sourced from Anarnet registered farmers from Sangola in Maharashtra. Significantly, the premium received by farmers was 20 per cent compared to other export markets and 35 per cent compared to domestic market. India is one of the largest producers of pomegranates in the world.

Pomegranate production in recent years has been growing at a healthy rate of 20-25 per cent. In India, the major pomegranate-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh with Maharashtra contributing to more than 50 per cent of the production share.

APEDA has facilitated Pomegranates exports worth USD 58.36 million in 2022-23 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bahrain, and Oman.

It has also been actively working on improving the supply chain bottlenecks for pomegranates export and establishment of Export Promotion Forums (EPF) for pomegranates. The initiative taken by APEDA for the sea consignment will build trust between Indian exporters and foreign importers in regards to quality assurance.