Early season rain has failed to dampen the enthusiasm of Indian table grape exporters.International sales programmes got underway in late November, with the industry targeting the Russian market with early volumes.
“With Russia putting a blockade on grapes from the EU, the US and Australia, there is more demand from this market,” explained Nagesh Shetty from leading exporter Deccan Produce. “Our exchange rate with Russia could be better, and there has been some small crop loss because of rain in the early regions, but overall exports have started reasonably well.”
European markets will continue to be a focus for Indian exporters in 2014/15, although Shetty notes that Western European importers are now approaching early season Indian varieties with caution, preferring to wait until mid-to-late December when grape volumes and quality improve.
This trend is presenting exporters with a plethora of options over the Christmas and New Year period, as demand for Indian grapes grows across nearby nations.
“While our core markets continued to be Europe and the UK, we clearly experienced increased interest in our brand from South East Asian markets over 2013/14,” said Nitin Agrawal, managing director of Mumbai-based exporter Euro Fruits. “As for the 2014/15 season, we are keen to leverage off this growing interest from our present clients in Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan.”
Shetty agreed new opportunities are opening up across both Asia and Europe, particularly as Indian growers look to expand the varietal profile of their crops.“Thompson will continue to be an important variety for the industry but we will become a much bigger exporter of coloured varieties over the coming years,” Shetty told Asiafruit.
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