AP grape exports likely to dip 30%

Grape exports from the state are slated to drop by 30 per cent, according to the Andhra Pradesh Grape Growers Association. A long spell of drought in the last three years, unseasonal rains and pest attacks have taken a severe toll on the grape production in the state.

Speaking to Business Standard, Andhra Pradesh Grape Growers Association president C Kanaka Reddy said that the situation was causing serious concern to grape growers, as production costs have increased by around Rs 40,000 to Rs 1 lakh per acre due to the adherence to various global quality standards mandated by EurepGap and other foreign bodies.

Last year, the grape exports from Andhra Pradesh recorded a growth of over 87 per cent at 2,250 tonne as against 1,200 tonne in the preceding year. The international prices too had touched a high at 9 pounds for a carton of 4.5 kg of grapes as against 8.5 pounds the year before.

This year, the prices in the international markets may hardly touch 8 pounds a carton, Reddy said. Domestic prices at present also are depressed at Rs 13 a kg as against Rs 15 a kg last year.

Export grapes are of the 'Thomson' seedless variety. Among the exports around 80 per cent is usually destined for European markets, with the rest accounted for by the Middle East and the Southeast Asia.

Reddy said that the 80-odd grape exporters from the state had to strictly abide by EurepGap standards following the rejection of some containers by importers owing to pesticide residues.

As the cost of certification was high at Rs 70,000, the exporters have urged the National Horticulture Board to raise subsidy levels from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.

Besides adherence to global standards, exporters are also required to go in for sample testing at certified laboratories like Vimta Labs in the city.

Sampling needs to be carried out for chemical/ residues with cost for the tests pegged around Rs 8,000 per hectare, he said. With exporters starting to use bio-pesticides, production costs have started to spiral, Reddy said.

Grapes are grown in around 10,000 acres in the state in the districts of Ranga Reddy, Medak and parts of Mahbubnagar districts as compared to approximately one lakh acre in Maharashtra.

Though grapes are grown in Chittoor and Anantapur districts also, the seed variety, Dilkush or Sharad, or seedless Taj Ganesh are mainly meant for domestic consumption.

On the agri export zone (AEZ), specially set up a year ago for grapes in the three grape-growing districts, Reddy said that save for a cold storage linkage in the area, there was no perceptible benefit from carving out a special zone for grapes.

The other two AEZs in the state are AEZ for mangoes in Krishna district and Chittoor AEZ for processed food and vegetables.