India's Fruit & Vegetable exports surge 47% in 5 years

India's fruit and vegetable exports have increased by 47.3% in volume between 2019-20 and 2023-24, according to the Ministry of Commerce & Industry.

This is due to financial support schemes under the Department of Commerce by Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA).

The Ministry in a statement said, "APEDA's financial assistance schemes has boosted 47.3 pc growth in India's fruit and vegetable exports".

APEDA is supporting exporters through various initiatives under Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme. It provides financial assistance in setting up export-oriented facilities like pack houses with grading and packing lines, pre-cooling units, cold storage, refrigerated transportation, and treatment facilities like irradiation, vapor heat treatment, and hot water dip treatment. This infrastructure ensures that the exported fruits and vegetables are internationally acceptable.

Improving the quality of products is done through financial support in purchasing laboratory testing equipment, installations of quality management systems, and using handheld devices to capture farm level data, among others. Testing for water, soil, and pesticide residue is also included to be able to overcome the rigid requirements of importing countries.

Participating in the international trade fair, organizing of buyer-seller meets and improved packaging standards through APEDA for exporters are the means to strengthen their market access. This improves the global competency of Indian farm produce.

2023-24: Fresh produce of fruits and vegetables from India was exported to 123 countries. In three years, there have been an entry into new markets of India with 17 markets, viz. Brazil, Georgia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Czech Republic, Ghana, etc.

The MoA&FW and APEDA have shortlisted the critical products and the target countries, with which to have focused negotiations.

APEDA is also in the process of formulating protocols for sea transportation of horticulture products. "Development of Sea protocols for horticulture products to reduce logistic costs and to enable larger volume of exports", it added.

Regular consultations are also being maintained with importing countries' authorities, facilitated by Indian diplomatic missions abroad. These discussions are on facility registration and compliance with phyto-sanitary regulations so that Indian fruits and vegetables comply with international safety and quality standards.

With these continuing efforts, APEDA is continuing to play a driving role in India's agricultural exports.