The European Union (EU) which had imposed a ban on the import of five types of fruits and vegetables from India has lifted the embargo, Horticulture Minister Shamanur Shivashankarappa said on Wednesday.
The EU had recently decided to ban mangoes and some vegetables from India due to concerns over pests in consignments arriving from India. He told reporters that the government had received a communication from the authorities regarding the EU’s decision. The ban was lifted a couple of days ago, he said.
‘New Horticulture Export Policy’
He said the government is working on a horticulture produce export policy, and inputs were being collected from various stakeholders. “A comprehensive policy document would be put in place in three months,” he said.
He said that for the first time the state had conducted a horticulture census in 11 districts - Bagalkot, Belgaum, Bellary, Chitradurga, Davanagere, Gulbarga, Hassan, Kolar, Mysore, Shimoga and Tumkur - to collect information regarding the area and production of horticulture crops. It would be done in the remaining 19 districts in the second phase this year, he said.
Rs 2.45 Cr for Nutritional Garden
To overcome malnutrition among children and women in the Hyderabad-Karnataka region, Rs 2.45 crore has been released to establish a nutritional garden in the region, he said.
Fruits and vegetables containing Vitamin A and C would be grown in the kitchen garden, school and community grounds and distributed among school children, he said.
As a result of globalisation of trade and liberalisation of Indian economy, there is immense scope for export of high value flowers and vegetables from the country, he said.
He said the department is implementing the centrally sponsored scheme ‘Protected Cultivation of flowers and vegetables’.