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Alka Kshirsagar

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Pune Feb. 11 With raisin production showing every sign of flying into an air pocket, farmers from the raisin belt of the country are awaiting the arrival of marketing gurus to help them catch the thermal.

The Tasgaon-Sangli-Pandharpur belt of Maharashtra is where over 90 per cent of the country's annual production of 50,000 tonnes of raisins comes from. With all of this pumped into the domestic market, imports from Turkey, China and Iran have dropped drastically. But, with the current saturation in the Indian market, and no immediate export options available, production over the last three years has hit a plateau.

Says, Mr V.S. Pawar, Executive Secretary, Maharashtra State Grape Growers' Association, "Earlier, only the left-over fruit was converted to raisins. Now, entire gardens are dedicated to raisins. In fact, even now, though the grape season has just begun, farmers in the drier areas have already begun to process the fruit."

Saturation

The project of converting grapes to raisins began around 10 years ago. It gained momentum at the turn of the century, but over the last three years, the production has been virtually stagnating at 45,000-50,000 tonnes per annum.

The two qualities of raisins — golden yellow, and low-on sugar, and the darker, sweeter type — fetch the farmer an average return of Rs 80 and Rs 55 per kg respectively.

Potential markets

Though Europe and the Gulf have been identified as potential markets, regional palate preferences make the former a more feasible option, Mr Pawar explains. The glitch, however, is that there is no body dedicated to the task of developing newer markets.

More Stories on : Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables | Retailing

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