EU holds potential for grape exports: study

India holds an immense growth-potential in grapes-exports to western markets, especially the European Union, according to the Rabobank study.

India has the potential to export 3,000 containers of grapes a year (around 40,000 tonne) to the European Union (EU).

However, in order to achieve this, the study calls for a focus by the exporters and APEDA (the Agricultural Products Export Development Authority) on initiatives directed at the grapes growers.

These initiatives would include "full assistance with the documentation and systems required for EurepGap implementation, sensitising the farmer community to food-safety-related issues in European markets, providing technical input on the judicious use of crop-protection products, arranging for expert interaction with farmer-groups on vineyard disease management and organising bench-marking visits to international vineyards for selected farmers."

Over 60 per cent of India's exports are to the EU. In 2004, India exported 1,200 containers, 14 tonne each, of grapes to the EU and the figure is likely to exceed 1,800 containers in 2005.

Exports of Indian grapes to the EU enjoy a natural window at the end of the Chilean season that lasts about two months (April and May), the study says. After the Indian season, grapes from Egypt, Israel and Mexico are exported to the EU.

Currently, Indian grapes are not as cost-competitive as those of other leading producers such as Chile, where the costs are 30-40 per cent lower than that of India.

This is mainly due to the average farm sizes of other countries (100 acres), being larger in comparison to India's farm sizes (5 acres). So, though India has one of the highest crop-yields, it can't make use of the benefits of mechanisation.

Also, in India, growers tend to focus on increasing the yields of low-quality grapes, whereas in Chile, focus is on producing export-quality yields, often at lower yields.

The study also calls for a focus on the development of dedicated, long-term, trust-based relationships with importers to replace short-term opportunistic deals.

Further, sustained efforts are required to promote Indian produce in East European countries, the Middle East and China.

Currently, India exports grapes mainly to importers in various countries, who in turn sell to the retail chains. Few larger exporters have been successful themselves in selling directly to large retail chains.

Global grape-production in calendar year 2004 was around 655 lakh tonne, with the leading producers being Italy, France, Spain, the US, China and Turkey.

India produces around 12 lakh tonne of grapes annually and thus, accounts for around 29 per cent of global production of the commodity.

However in India, grapes account for a miniscule 3 per cent of the total production of fruits.

The average grapes yield in India is 20 tonne a hectare, one of the highest in the world. The major varieties grown are Thomson Seedless, Sonaka, Anab-e-Shahi, Perlette, Bangalore Blue, Pusa Seedless.

Maharahsta is the leading grapes-producing state with an output of over 6 lakh tonne a year followed by Karnataka. Other states growing grapes are Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Haryana and Delhi.

The study adds that approximately 85 per cent of the produce in the country is consumed fresh, 12 per cent are dried for making raisins, 1-2 per cent crushed to make juice and the balance is crushed for wine-making.