THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Though the Nipah outbreak has almost been brought under control by the swift intervention of the authorities in Kerala, the panic spread through misinformation campaigns on social media has started to take a toll on the vegetable and fruits exports from the state. The vegetable and fruits export to West Asia from Kerala fell around 60 per cent after Bahrain and the UAE banned vegetables and fruits from Kerala, resulting in exporters losing around Rs 90 lakh in daily revenue.
Veggie ban burns a hole in exporters’ kitty
Though the Nipah outbreak has almost been brought under control in Kerala, the panic spread through misinformation campaigns on social media has started to take a toll on the vegetable and fruits exports from the state. The vegetable and fruits export to West Asia from Kerala fell around 60 per cent after Bahrain and the UAE banned vegetables and fruits from Kerala, resulting in exporters losing around `90 lakh in daily revenue. Abraham Thomas, president of the apex body of exports in the state (APPEXA), told Express the ban has hit the export market severely as the UAE alone accounts for more than 50 per cent of the vegetable and fruits exported from Kerala. The state exports around 130 tonnes of vegetables and fruits to the West Asia on a daily basis from three airports.
Cochin International Airport authorities said the airport has been handling around 100-150 tonne of perishable cargo to the West Asia and European countries daily. After the ban, there has been a decline of around 50 tonne of vegetable and fruits exported to various destination in the West Asia countries, they said.
Exporters said though Kerala is one of the main agri-exporters from the South India, veggies and fruits from here hardly find a place in the export consignment as 90 per cent of perishable goods are sourced from neighbouring states like Tamil Nadu and Karanataka. Around 80 per cent of the export comprises fruits and vegetables constitutes only 20 percent, they said.
“I have been sourcing vegetables from Karnataka to export as we do not have enough locally-cultivated vegetables for export,” said Ashokan, owner of Varsha & Varna Exporters, Kodungallur. “If the ban is not lifted soon, exporters from countries like Sri Lanka would naturally replace the exporters from the state,” he said.