US apples likely to be imported

Mumbai, April 17

Washington Apple Commission, a body of apple growers and packers from the US, expects to export around 2-2.5 million boxes of the fruit to India in the coming season starting September.

The shipments, however, would be lower than last year (September-August) when apple imports from Washington were at 5.7 million boxes of 20 kg each.

“Apple production will be lesser than last year, so we are expecting to export 2-2.5 million boxes Washington apples to India,” Washington Apple Commission (WAC) president Todd Fryhover told PTI.

Apple production is expected at 116 million boxes this year against 142 million boxes in the last marketing year. “We are expecting the production to be more than 150 million boxes next year,” Fryhover said. WAC is an industry-initiated self-governing body of apple growers and packers from Washington.

As per WAC data available till March 2016, India is the fourth largest export market for Washington apples after Canada, Mexico and Taiwan.

Fryhover said that after witnessing the growing demand for Washington apples in India, WAC plans to target tier II and -III cities to push growth. “We have moved from the big and metro cities, where the Washington apples are quite in demand. Now we are seeing a lot of potential in smaller cities for good quality imported fruits. We want to capture the potential market for imported apples in tier-II and -III cities in India,” he added.

The WAC is also planning to conduct roadshows to promote Washington apples in India in over 70 smaller cities.

“Washington apples are available almost everywhere in the country, except the North-East. However, next year we are planning to penetrate the seven sisters in India,” he added. — PTI