Time is ripe for banana export – Part 3
Whilst the export of fresh fruits increased from 3 lakh metric tons in 2017-2018 to 5.07 lakh metric tons between 2020 and 2021, banana exports increased from 1.01 lakh metric tons in 2018 to 1.95 lakh metric last year, according to a report released by the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). India’s closest neighbour Nepal and Iraq combined consumed over 50 percent of the bananas that were exported from India, followed closely by China and Philippines, the two biggest competitors vying for a share in the international export market. Since the pandemic caused unprecedented local demands in China and Philippines, they were forced to meet the growing demands and cut down on the exports. This invariably created a big gap in the market. According to most…