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Latha Venkatraman

MUMBAI, June 3

THERE is a huge export potential in mangoes and other fresh produce but the possibilities will hinge on agronomy practices in the orchards, according to a study done by Rabo India Finance Pvt Ltd.

``The fact that there is a lack of market development of mangoes by any player in the world, opens a large untapped opportunity for India to make an organised entry in the mango market,'' the study said.

Although India is the second largest producer of fruits at 46 million tonnes, the domestic fruit industry is fraught with the massive problem of wastage caused by the woefully inadequate post harvest facilities and other supportive infrastructure including cold chain.

Besides, a large number of intermediaries in the system results in further wastages. Between the farmer and the retailer are local retailer, transporter, wholesale market and distributor. In this scenario, reduction in wastage becomes critical, says the study.

Even as the fruit and vegetable production as well as the fruit-processing sector in the country have been growing, the continuing wastage of fresh produce is indicative of the ills facing the industry.

In India, the per capita availability of fruits is very low, partly because of the wastages in the system. Other factors such as productivity and processing efficiencies also contribute to low per capita availability.

Currently, productivity of most horticultural crops is quite low. ``The low productivity is due to poor quality planting material, preponderance of old, senile, unproductive trees and poor management practices,'' the study says.

At two per cent, the country's processing level compares extremely poorly to other countries including Israel at 50 per cent, the US at 70 per cent and Malaysia at 83 per cent.

According to the study, production should shift to demand driven rather than supply driven. ``Most of the time farmers do not base their decisions on forecast market demand. This could leave them saddled with produce which they would then be pushing to the consumers.''

The country's competitiveness is in mangoes, therefore its focus should be on this crop. ``The export potential of mango can be gauged from the fact that India produces 46 per cent of world's mango produce,'' the study says. Mango accounts for 42 per cent of the land under fruit crop in India with a harvest of 12 million tonnes of mangoes. The Alphonso accounts for 35-40 per cent of the Rs 75-crore mango export market.

Other producers of the mango include China, Mexico, Thailand and Indonesia.

Although, India is the world's largest producer of mangoes, its yield is at the lowest. Low yield is one among many problems identified by the study, others being post harvest damage, size of orchards not amenable and absence of brands.

India's mango export is about 16 per cent of the total global trade. Fifty per cent of export head to the West Asian region.

``One of the principal reasons for Indian mangoes not having a large share of the export segment is the absence of any marketing,'' the study says.

Among the factors that would facilitate exports of fresh produce are, the study highlights, education about correct agronomic practices to farmers, yield improvement and post-harvest management.

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