Grape farmers gearing up for global market

The Grape Growers' Federation of India(GGFI) has undertaken a slew of initiatives to prepare the domestic grape growers for the global market. The federation will inform the farmers about the latest developments in harvesting and processing.

The federation expects a lot of competition for the growers from domestic and international markets in future.

"The domestic grape growers will have to arm themselves with efective soil management methods of harvesting and post havest care to offer their produce at a competitive price without compromising with the quality," said Sopan Kanchan, chairman, GGFI.

"The grape growers in the country face problems such as climatic variations, paucity of varietal clones and insect attacks etc. This leads to a loss of quality and yield," said Kanchan.

He also said that new and better varients of the existing varieties would be needed as demand for grapes depends on size, length and colour. The development of 'clones' with inherent strength to fight disease and other risks should be encouraged in the county.

"We can not leave this development to chance as happened in the case of Thomson Seedless variety," he said. Indian farmers need to be taught harvesting and pruning, use of fertilisers and managing the insect attack, he added.

Grape processing is another matter of concern as domestic raisin is facing tough competition from internation markets. Also, Indian wines have low and inconsistent acidity levels.

GGFI also intends to rope in the grape growers from Asia for an apex body for the Asia.

GGFI has planned is an international symposium on grape producing and processing to be held between 8 and 11 February at Baramati in Maharashtra. The event will have intensive interactions between the grape growers and senior scientists from across the world. Over 20 world experts from the US, Germany, France, Brazil and China will attend the function talk about grapes, root stock, paste management or organic grape farming.

A significant achievement for the GGFI is the support of International Society for Horticulture Science to the symposium. The Israel-based organisation has also agreed to publish the presentations in its journal.

"The total area under grape cultivation in the country is around 2 lakh acre. Maharashtra has 80 per cent of this area. Also, the country's grape exports earned foreign exchange worth Rs 100 crore last year," he said.