Strawberry farmers from the Indian city of Mahabaleshwar have applied for geographical identification (GI) status for their strawberries.
"We are seeking to brand the strawberry, which will help us fetch better prices for our fruit in the domestic and overseas markets," vice president of the All India Strawberry Growers Association Krishna Bhilare told Food and Beverage News.
"We want GI status for the Mahabaleshwar strawberries based on the quality of our produce. It is juicier and healthier than the strawberries that grow in Nashik, Satara, Wai, Ahmednagar, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
"We are expecting it to come in three to four months. If the GI status is approved, every box of original Mahabaleshwar strawberries will have a hologram assuring its authenticity," Mr Bhilare said.
Last year Mahabaleshwar harvested over 13,000 tonnes of strawberries on about 810ha of land, and this year farmers are aiming for a similar yield.
Mahabaleshwar farmers are also planning to increase raspberry, blackberry and blueberry plantations in the city.
Currently there is only about 4-6ha of land devoted to these berry types and Mr Bhilare said he hopes this number will increase.
"We are planning to import berry seeds from Holland and California soon," he said.
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