India’s export value of grapes to EU registers 23% growth in three years

The Dollar Business Bureau | @TheDollarBiz

The Unit Value Realisation (UVR) of export of fresh grapes from India to European Union (EU) has increased by around 23% during the last three years. India’s Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed the Parliament last week that the UVR of grape exports to the EU market has grown from $1.62 per kilogram in FY2011-12 to $1.78 per kilogram in FY2012-13, and to $1.99 per kilogram in FY2013-14. Grape exports to EU in quantitative terms have increased to around 72,307 tonnes in FY2013-14, up sharply from around 28,945 tonnes in FY2011-12. This has partly to do with the changes in EU, where grape production is on the decline due to unfavourable weather conditions, shrinking margins and policy changes. According to the USDA, grape production in EU declined to around 19.7 lakh tonnes in 2012-13, down about 73,000 tonnes from around 20.43 lakh tonnes in the previous year. During the same period, India’s overall grape exports increased sharply by around 60% (or about 64,000 tonnes to around 1.72 lakh tonnes), with EU accounting for around 45% of the increase. In FY2013-14, India’s grape exports to EU increased again to around 72,307 tonnes, which is up about 25% from around 58,024 tonnes in the previous year.

Source - Ministry of Commerce

  The momentum to likely to continue and top private players are gearing-up meet growing demand for Indian grapes in EU. Recently, India’s largest grape exporter, Mahindra ShubhLaabh, told The Dollar Business that it plans to export 10,000 tonnes of grapes to Europe in the next season, up about 27% from the previous one. Grape production in India stands at around 10 lakh tonnes annually, of which around 80% is consumed within the country. During 2010-11, European countries had reduced grape imports from India over phytosanitary concerns, but exports recovered in the following years after the Indian government addressed those concerns and due to increasing popularity of Indian grapes in the European supermarkets.