VIJAYAWADA: For the first time, a consignment of 12 tonnes of Banganapalli variety of mangoes was exported to London via sea route on Friday. The Department of Horticulture is exporting the King of Fruits to London through Visakhapatnam Port from the Vapour Heat Treatment (VHT) plant at Nuzvid in Krishna district.
Sea transport is highly challenging as mangoes have to be harvested at the right stage, packed appropriately, besides maintaining the cold chain to ensure freshness of the fruit for about 35-40 days in transit, said Horticulture Commissioner Chiranjiv Choudhary. The success of the initiative will boost mango exports from Andhra Pradesh, he said.
Despite lockdown, the department has taken the initiative and conducted Buyer-Seller Meets to promote the fruit exports. About 49 metric tonnes of mangoes have been exported to the Middle-East, New Zealand and other countries from VHT plants at Tirupati and Nuzid.
As part of its efforts to boost mango exports from AP, it is encouraging farmers to register themselves on the HORTINET website of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), Government of India, and providing support to growers from production to marketing. As of now, 9,686 farmers have registered themselves on the HORTINET website.
The department has also taken measures to improve the quality of fruit, besides establishing post harvest infrastructure facilities for Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and individual entrepreneurs for domestic and foreign exports.
Mango is predominantly grown in Krishna, Chittoor, Kurnool, Kadapa, Vizianagaram, East Godavari and West Godavari districts in the State. Banganapalli mango has received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag, making AP the proprietor of the variety known for its sweetness.