The Hindu Business Line : India seen among top 5 buyers of California prunes

The President of the California Prune Board (CPB), Mr Rich Peterson, told presspersons here on Tuesday that India last year imported about 80 tonnes of prunes in containers directly from California, as against only 12 tonnes in 2002.

"The 80 tonnes is in addition to the 250-300 tonnes that is estimated to have been imported through consolidated shipments from Singapore, Hong Kong and Dubai," he said.

According to Mr Peterson, the increase in volumes would lead to higher direct imports, "which we expect to touch 1,000 tonnes in the next couple of years". Once this threshold level is reached, "we see the figure crossing 5,000 tonnes soon, making India among the top five importers".

The US annually produces about 175,000 tonnes of prunes, of which about 77,000 tonnes are exported, fetching nearly $200 million (around Rs 897.6 crore).

The major markets now include Japan (19,000 tonnes), Germany (13,000 tonnes), UK and Italy (7,000 tonnes each), with Hong Kong, Taiwan and China together adding up to another 5,000 tonnes. "We are focussing on India, which we see as an important market over the next 4-5 years," Mr Paterson added.

To promote awareness about prunes, the CPB - which is a self-governing industry body comprising 1,250 growers and 23 packers in California - has been undertaking a consumer-cum-trade promotion campaign in the country.

"Initially, we were targeting the upwardly mobile, health-conscious and educated consumers in the four metros and a couple of mini-metros. But now, we are looking at markets adjoining the metros, such as Pune, Chandigarh and Ludhiana," said Mr Keith Sunderlal, President of The SCS Group, which represents CPB in India.

Mr Peterson said that a 340 gram pack of Califonina prunes typically sells at about $2.5 (around Rs 90) in the US. Initially, packs were being sold in the country for around Rs 125-130, whereas they are now available for as low as Rs 85, "which is comparable to what consumers in the US pay". He said that the gradual reduction in import duty to 25 per cent had led to higher imports and improved availability.

Prunes are basically dried plums with moisture content of around 20 per cent (three tonnes of fresh plum yield one tonne of prune after drying). Roughly 70 per cent of the world's prunes and 99 per cent of that of US are grown in and around 80,000 acres of California.

Interestingly, of the 1,250-odd growers in California, a third of them are Indians, mainly Sikhs.

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