Following the rising demand for Indian bananas in European and Middle East market, the banana exports have registered a growth of 89% in April-January 2008-09 fiscal. According to the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda), the country's banana exports have shot up by 89% to 25,013 tonnes during April-January period of 2008-09 fiscal, compared to 13,207 tonnes in the corresponding period previous year.
An Apeda official said that it was for the first time that Indian bananas were in great demand abroad because of improved quality of the fruit. The increase in the shipment of bananas in 2008-09 clearly showed that there was a renewed demand for the fruit. Bananas were largely shipped to the European Union and the Middle East countries.
"Exporters have taken extra care at every phase of cultivation to harvest the export-quality fruit. Some of them have tried contract farming, used organic inputs and have followed proper pre-harvesting procedures," an official said. Currently, India is the largest banana producer in the world with an annual production of over 17 million tonnes accounting for about 16.47 lakh hectares of land under banana cultivation. Maharashtra, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Bihar are the major producing states in the country.
Source : Fnbnews.com