India’s body Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) has asked Indian grape exporters to exercise caution when packing fruit this season following damaging hailstorms.
Hailstorms hit India’s prime grape producing region Maharastra mid-March, destroying as much as 50 per cent of the crop.
“We are given to understand that unseasonal hailstorm have hit the grape growing areas in Maharastra, which is likely to affect the quality of fruits. Hence, it is advised that extreme caution may be exercised while packing consignments for exports,” said R Ravinda, deputy general manager of Apeda, in a statement released 16 March.
Adepa has also urged the Directorate of Agricultural Marketing as well as the Indian National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO) to inspect all grape consignments before being shipped overseas to India’s grape export markets, which include the Netherlands, Russia, the UK, United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh and Saudi Arabia.
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