APEDA facilitates India’s first commercial trial shipment of Sangola pomegranates to the US via sea

The first trial shipment of pomegranates was facilitated by the Agricultural Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) by InI Farms from the IFC facility, MSAMB, Vashi (Navi Mumbai).

Commerce and Industry Additional Secretary Rajesh Aggarwal and APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev flagged off the pomegranate shipment of 4200 boxes (12.6 tons).

Last year, APEDA successfully carried out an air shipment of pomegranates with irradiation treatment and static trial in association with ICAR-NRC Pomegranate Solapur as a technical partner.

Based on the successful result of the static trial, APEDA aimed for a successful sign-off for this consignment via sea-opening trade relations to potential markets for Indian Pomegranates.

India, one of the largest producers of pomegranates in the world and is also now aiming to be amongst the top pomegranate exporting countries in the World.

India is a key player growing in the EU, Middle East and Asian markets.

The trial air shipment, static sea trial and the sea container were executed by APEDA-registered InI Farms - a top exporter of fruits and vegetables from India with their produce being exported to over 25 countries worldwide.

Over the years, the firm has made extensive efforts to enhance the quality and shelf life of Pomegranates to meet the strict standards of the global markets.

As part of the Agrostar group, InI Farms has established a value chain for Pomegranates by working directly with farmers in the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan.

The fruit was sourced from Anarnet registered farmers from Sangola in Maharashtra.

Significantly, the premium received by farmers was 20% compared to other export markets and 35% compared to the domestic market.

Pomegranate is an important agri-produce of India, the rich history associated with fruit and its nutritional value contribute to its popular demand.

India produces some of the best varieties of Pomegranate in terms of quality with soft fleshy seeds, low acidity and attractive colour.

Bhagwa Pomegranate is considered amongst the best varieties around the world. In the last decade, India has increased the area as well as the production of Pomegranate and seen an increase in exports.

In the pomegranate market, India holds a significant advantage of being able to supply the fruit throughout the year with trained farmers for expert quality products.

Pomegranate production in recent years has been growing at a healthy rate of 20-25%.

In India, the major pomegranate-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh with Maharashtra contributing to more than 50% of the production share.

APEDA has facilitated Pomegranates exports worth $58.36 Million in 2022-23 to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bahrain, and Oman.

APEDA has been actively working on improving the supply chain bottlenecks for pomegranates export; the establishment of Export Promotion Forums (EPF) for pomegranates is an impetus to export the fruit.

The EPF has representatives of the Department of Commerce, Department of Agriculture, state governments, national referral laboratories, and the top ten leading exporters of the product.

The initiative taken by APEDA for sea consignment will build trust between Indian exporters and foreign importers regarding quality assurance.