Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Thursday, Feb 21, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Thursday, Feb 21, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables Apeda plans big to boost mango abroad Our Bureau
NEW DELHI, Feb. 20 THE Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) will be concentrating on launching the Indian mango in a big way at the 13th Asian International Exhibition of Food and Hospitality, Food & Hotel Asia 2002 (FHA 2002), being held during April 9-12 in Singapore. At an FHA 2002 press conference, Mr S.S. Nayyar, Deputy Director, and Mr Tarun Bajaj, Manager, Apeda, said this year the organisation's thrust area would be mangoes and mango products such as pulp, concentrates and pickles. Apart from the Alphonso variety, which earned export revenue worth Rs 70 crore last year, the organisation will also be introducing varieties such as Banganapalli, Suvarnarekha, Kesar and Chausa in the export market in a phased manner. Apart from Singapore, Apeda will also be introducing the other mango varieties and mango products in the UK, France and West Asia. Apeda hopes exports to touch Rs 100 crore this year. ``India has 53 per cent of the world's mango exports share, which is roughly 10 per cent of what we grow. However, 20-30 per cent of mangoes grown in the country are lost due to improper pre and post harvest care. It is this wasted segment that we are trying to tap. For this, we do not need to increase the harvest or tap the domestic market. All it needs is doing a bit of homework,'' said Mr Bajaj. Apeda, in fact, is in the process of developing technology that will through storage give the mango a longer life so that it can be shipped instead of flown to export destinations. At FHA 2002, Apeda will also be showcasing rice, honey, groundnuts and ethnic foods and will take up 78 sq metres at the exhibition along with 18 other domestic companies. About 2,650 companies from 66 countries, including India, will participate in FHA 2002. It expects to host 35,000 trade buyers and already has 5,186 pre-registered visitors with a purchasing budget of $1.9 billion. ``FHA 2002 is on the growth path and appears to be recession proof, said Mr Stephen Tan, Chief Executive Singapore Exhibition Services PTE Ltd as he explained the concept of the exhibition which includes specialised sections for wine and spirits, bakery, fresh products, dairy products, food service equipment and service technology. The Singapore Expo is expecting an even larger turn out this year, for post September 11 a lot of Asian companies prefer to tap markets in their own region instead of America and Europe.
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