Grape exports triple in spite of nature’s vagaries

Grape exports have increased this year despite the vagaries of nature, and 1,400 containers were exported to Europe and UK and about 1,200 containers to other countries till Wednesday. Export prices hover between Rs 70 to Rs 90 per kg.

Giving this information, Manikrao Gangadhar Patil, divisional president of Draksha Bagiatdar Sangh, Maharashtra, said that, last year the number of containers to Europe was 400. “Till date, exports have increased threefold. The average capacity of each container sent to Russia is 16 tonnes while for other places it is 12 tonnes,” Mr Patil said.

India’s export market looks excellent due to lower exports from Chile. Chile is one of the major exporters of grapes to European countries, but due to unseasonal rainfall, its grape quality has deteriorated. The markets then turn towards India for their supply. Grape exports to European countries begin late in January; while exports to Russia, Far East, Dubai, Sri Lanka, China, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong and other places began in December and so far 1,200 containers have been sent.

However, as there is no online record, as is available for European countries and UK through Grapenet registration, it is difficult to give exact statistics for other countries. “Exporters hope to export over 2,00,000 tonnes of grapes this season (2015-2016), as so far only 20 per cent grapes have been harvested so far. If nature sides with vineyard owners, we will definitely break all export records,” Mr Patil said.

Grape Exporters Association of India (GEAI) president Jagannath Khapare said that if nature would be kind now, they would be able to break the record of 2013-14 in which they exported 1,92,616.92 tonnes grapes. “This time, we expect exports of over 2,00,000 tonnes,” he said. Nashik is the largest producer of grapes and onions in the country.