2,00,000 tonnes of grapes set to be exported

The outlook for grapes appears good this season, with exporters looking forward to exporting about 2,00,000 tonnes of grapes from January 2016 onwards. “Last year we exported about 1,10,000 tonnes of grapes collectively valued at Rs1,600 crore while this year we are looking forward to a bumper harvest,” said Jagannath Khapare, president of Grape Exporters Association of India on Thursday.

Mr Khapare, however, cautioned that the harvest would be subject to the vagaries of nature like hailstorms, unseasonal rain, cloudy climate and other factors. Since the last two days, hailstorms lashed parts of Nashik tehsil. There are few vineyards in Nashik compared to Dindori, Niphad, Satana and other tehsils of Nashik district. Hence, the hailstorms did have much impact.

However, the dreaded Downey disease has been detected in some vineyards and pesticides are being used. Mr Khapare said it would not affect crops badly because the berries were not ready.

Meanwhile, consumers from Delhi and Kolkata are already enjoying early season grapes that are currently being harvested in Satana and Malegaon, the Northern parts of Nashik district and in Sakri tehsil of Dhule district. Maharashtra Rajya Draksha Bagiatdar Sangh Pune president Subhash Arve said that 25 per cent of vineyards in the state were yet to complete their pruning process.