India sends first consignment of dragon fruits to Dubai

In a major boost to export of exotic fruits from India, a consignment of fibre and mineral rich dragon fruit has been exported to Dubai. This is the first ever consignment of home grown dragon fruit that has been shipped abroad, writes ETV Bharat's Deputy News Editor Krishnanand Tripathi.

New Delhi:In a major boost to export of exotic fruits from India, a consignment of fibre and mineral rich dragon fruit, also referred as Kamalam, has been exported to Dubai, said the ministry of commerce on Saturday. This is the first ever consignment of home grown dragon fruit that has been shipped abroad. The consignment was sourced from the farmers of Tadasar village in Sangli district of Maharashtra. Dragon fruits were processed and packed by an APEDA recognized exporter - Kay Bee.

Dragon fruit, scientifically referred to as Hylocereus Undatus, is grown in east Asian countries countries such as Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and also in the USA. In India, the production of dragon fruit started in the early 1990s but it was grown in home gardens. However, in recent years, the dragon fruit has become increasingly popular and its cultivation has been taken by farmers in several states.

According to officials, dragon fruit is grown mostly in Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. “The cultivation requires less water and can be grown in various kinds of soils. There are three main varieties of dragon fruit: white flesh with pink skin, red flesh with pink skin, and white flesh with yellow skin,” they said.

The fruit contains fibres, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. It can help in repairing the cell damage caused by oxidative stress and reduce inflammation, and also improves the digestive system. The fruit has spikes and petals, giving it a resemblance of lotus, which is why it is sometimes referred as Kamalam in the country.

Rising demand for Indian fruits

This month, farmers of Jalagaon in Maharashtra exported Geographical Indications (GI) certified consignment of Banana to Dubai. In the first 10 months of FY 2020-21, India exported 1.91 lakh tonne bananas worth over Rs 619 crores. On June 14, India also shipped the first consignment of GI certified Jardalu mango grown in Bihar to the United Kingdom.

In May this year, season’s first consignment of Shahi Litchi from Bihar was exported to the United Kingdom, while the first consignment of organically certified and gluten free jackfruit powder and retort packed jackfruit cubes were exported to Germany from India’s IT capital Bengaluru. In the same month, Tripura farmers also shipped fresh organic jackfruits to London.

Farm export at $41 billion

In order to double the farmer’s income, the government announced the country’s first farm export policy in December 2018 with the aim to increase the agriculture export to $60 billion by 2022. As per the latest official data released early this month, in FY 2020-21, India’s farm export was $41.25 billion, an increase of over 17% in comparison with the farm shipments in the previous fiscal.

In order to achieve the target of $60 billion agriculture export by next year, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) is promoting the export of agricultural and processed food products. APEDA provides assistance to the exporters under various components such as infrastructure development, quality development and market development.

In addition to this, the department of commerce also supports exports through various schemes like trade infrastructure for export schemes and market access initiatives.