The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry has facilitated export of bananas from India to Russia through sea route. Mumbai based exporter of fruits and vegetables M/s Gurukripa Corporation Pvt. Ltd. regularly exports fresh fruits and vegetables to the European Union and the Middle East. Dated 17 February 2024, a consignment of 20 metric tons (1540 boxes) of bananas from Maharashtra was flagged off by APEDA Chairman Shri Abhishek Dev. Central Institute of Subtropical Horticulture supported this work. APEDA followed the Maritime Protocol, International Convention on Maritime Regulations employed by the Institute for this shipment to maintain the quality of the fruits in transit.
Recently, Russia has shown keen interest in purchasing tropical fruits from India, one of which is banana. Bananas are mainly imported from India to Russia. Earlier, Russia used to import bananas from Ecuador in Latin America. Major export destinations of Indian bananas include Iran, Iraq, UAE, Oman, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia, Nepal, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Afghanistan and Maldives. Additionally, the US, Russia, Japan, Germany, China, Netherlands, UK and France provide abundant export opportunities to India.
This consignment was dispatched under the banner of M/s Gurukripa Corporation Private Limited. This women enterprise is a major registered exporter with APEDA. Gurukripa Corporation purchased bananas directly from farmers in Andhra Pradesh. After harvesting, the bananas are brought to APEDA approved packhouses in Maharashtra, divided into categories, graded and packed. The containers were then loaded into containers and moved from Jawahar Lal Nehru Port to Novorossiysk Port in Russia for shipment to Moscow in Russia. Andhra Pradesh is the largest banana producing state in India. The main crop here is banana. After this there are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. These five states collectively contributed about 67 percent of India's banana production in the financial year 2022-2023.
Despite being the largest global producer of bananas, India does not export large quantities of bananas to the world. India's export share in the global market is only one percent, while the country's share in world banana production (35.36 million metric tons) is 26.45 percent. In the financial year 2022-23, India exported bananas worth USD 176 million, equivalent to 0.36 million metric tons.
India is expected to achieve a target of US$ 1 billion in banana exports in the next five years. This achievement will ensure increase in farmers' income and improve the livelihood of more than 25,000 farmers. This is expected to generate employment for more than 50,000 aggregators directly or indirectly associated with the supply chain.
The increase in exports of agricultural and processed food products is the result of various initiatives taken by APEDA to promote agricultural and processed food product exports. These initiatives include organizing B2B exhibitions in various countries, exploring new potential markets through product-specific and general marketing campaigns, active engagement of Indian embassies with a special focus on natural, organic and Geographical Indication (GI) tagged agricultural products. Efforts have been made with participation.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is making continuous efforts to promote the export of fresh fruits and vegetables. Maintaining the quality and characteristics of fruits and vegetables, especially for long distance destinations, and development of maritime protocols are the major focus areas of APEDA.