After a deceptive good start, grape exports to Europe this year have dwindled by nearly 30 per cent compared to last year. The loss in exports was not only in quantity, but also in prices, due to the fall of Euro and Rouble currencies.

Though statistics of exports to Russia, Bangladesh and China are not available, the percentage is less, said Jagannath Khapare, president of Grape Exporters Association of India (GEAI).

“The Russian market was available, but it was not viable to export so the percentage came down. This year Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka did not export,” Mr Khapare said on Tuesday.

“This was the worst season of my life. Overall, the grape farmer has been severely affected by nature, politics and economics,” said Draksha Bagiatdar Sangh (grape growers’ association) chairman Kailas Bhosale.

“Last year we exported about 10,000 shipping containers or 1,92,000 tonnes to European markets. This year, till now we have exported 35,000 tonnes.

We have also had to cope with the fall in the prices of Euro and Rouble. This fall in currency contributed to nearly 30 per cent loss in prices,” Mr Bhosale added.

In India, the grape season and exports began early — end of November last year, while the usual dates are from January 15 to first week of February. Indian grapes have a high export market because grapes are not available from any country early in the year.

So far, most of the vineyards in Nashik, Sangli, Solapur and Pune have already been harvested. So any exports during this week will not make much of a difference in export quantity. Most of the exports of around 32,000 tonnes this year are from Nashik, while other districts contributed about 3,000 tonnes.

In January this year, Mr Khapare had said that despite inclement weather which affected vineyards, they were projecting grape exports to touch 2,00,000 tonnes. However, hailstorms took a toll on the crop later and most of the vineyards on the brink of harvest were shredded.

Source:freshplaza.com