Due to the diverse climatic conditions in India, the country is able to produce several varieties of fresh fruits and vegetables. In fact, the country ranks second in fruits and vegetables production globally, after China.
India exported around USD 668 million fruits and vegetables in 2019-20, as per the figures released by the Agricultural & Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), an authority established by the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.
The country largely exports fruits such as bananas, grapes and mangoes to worldwide retailers and wholesalers, and others at competitive price point. Some of the major destinations for Indian fruits and vegetables are Bangladesh, UAE, Netherland, Nepal, Malaysia, UK, Sri Lanka, Oman and Qatar.
However, as India’s share in the global market is only 1 per cent presently, it has a great potential to expand its market share in the near future. With several fruits and vegetables market players in India offering quality produce, the country has an edge over its competitions, especially in the following parameters:
- Quality: Indian fruits and vegetables, especially flagship products such as banana and mangos, are known in the international market for its quality and transparent process for procuring organic and healthy produce.
- Pricing: Indian exporters are also able to provide affordable and competitive pricing to the global buyers due to use of innovative and latest technology at mass scale.
- Logistics / Value-added services: Not only quality produce, Indian exporters also stress on good supply chain and logistics to undertake exports of the products seamlessly. Further, they focus on value-added services such as re-packaging, ripening, etc. that helps them provide an edge over other countries.
Along with the efforts and investments of the private sector, the government is also taking several initiatives, such as developing state-of-the-art cold chain infrastructure, undertaking stringent quality assurance measures, providing integrated post-harvest handling facilities, for the advancement of the fruits and vegetables sector in India.