India’s fruit and vegetable exports surge 47.3 pc in last 5 years

New Delhi, Feb 5
The financial assistance schemes of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) have helped India’s fruit and vegetable exports surge by 47.3 per cent in the last five years, according to the government.

According to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the exports of fresh fruits and vegetables reached 123 countries in FY2023-24.

In the last three years, Indian fresh produce entered 17 new markets, some of which are Brazil, Georgia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, Czech Republic, Uganda and Ghana, etc.

This has been achieved through a host of measures such as participation in international trade fairs, actively pursuing market access negotiations and organising buyer seller meets, etc, according to the ministry.

The Department of Commerce, through APEDA, provides financial assistance to its member exporters of APEDA from across the country, for export promotion of its Scheduled products, including for fruits and vegetables, under Agriculture and Processed Foods Export Promotion Scheme of APEDA for the 15th Finance Commission Cycle (2021-22 to 2025-26).

“As a result of these initiatives, there has been a growth of 47.3 per cent in the volume of exports of fruits and vegetables between the period 2019-20 to 2023-24,” the ministry informed.

The growth in terms of value in the last five years stands at 41.50 per cent.

The major states producing fruits and vegetables are Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Bihar, Tamil Nadu, Odisha and Karnataka.

The Department of Commerce is working in close coordination with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare in prioritising agriculture products for market access negotiations to reach new markets. As a result, India has achieved new market access in several commodities in the last three years.

There are Indian potatoes and onions in Serbia; baby corn and fresh banana in Canada; pomegranate arils in Australia, USA, Serbia and New Zealand; and whole pomegranates in Australia via irradiation treatment.