A little over two weeks after European Union (EU) authorities rejected a 52,000-tonne export consignment of Indian grapes worth Rs 300 crore, the issue is yet to be resolved.
The grapes are docked at various European ports, after EU authorities said the consignment was too toxic to be allowed in. The Union Ministry of Commerce and the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Development Authority (Apeda) took up the matter. After several rounds of talks, there has been some progress.
Said RK Boyal, general manager, Apeda, “Only the UK has accepted a few containers and talks are going on between the ministry, Apeda and EU. But, no concrete solution has been found.” Asked how long this would take and the status of the containers, Boyal refused to give any details, saying he lacked information.
Jagannath Khapre, president, National Association of Grape Growers and Exporters, told Business Standard that Britain and Sweden were now ready to accept the containers and the decision of other countries was expected shortly.
The period for grape exports is barely six to seven weeks. Of this, the exporters have already lost two weeks. Some exporters have diverted some containers to Russia, which has meant an increase in costs.
Said Khapre, “This year, grape exporters and farmers were expecting good returns, as there is a shortfall of grapes in Europe due to the earthquake in Chile. This is all a game of demand and supply. Every year, we export around 3,000 containers to Europe. This year, the demand was more, so we exported 4,000 containers and were expecting good rates. But, due to the delay, the rates are going to fall.”
Adding, “Maharashtra is the major exporter from India, along with Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka. The Netherlands is the biggest market for Indian exporters. Most of the containers are lying at Rotterdam (Netherlands) port.”
There are 140 farmers in Maharashtra registered for exports. State agricultural department’s Govind Hande told Business Standard there was an online system, called Grapenet, catering to the needs of exporters. Farmers have to register with Grapenet and are then authorised to export grapes.
