According to Apeda, 9,810 tons of grapes have left for Europe and as the season progresses, more containers are expected to be shipped.
Grape growers are aiming to increase exports this season by around 20%, despite the recent spell of colder conditions in Maharashtra. While exports to Europe have begun in a small way, exporters expect to ship around 250,000 tons of grapes to the European Union this season, an improvement of at least 50,000 tons over the previous season.
Jagannath Khapre, president of the Grape Exporters Association, said that some 5,526 tons have been shipped to Netherlands, followed by 1,901 tons for the UK and 1,781 tons for Germany, so far. India has shipped its first consignment of grapes to China and Australia, which have opened to the Indian market for the first time.
Most of the 4,800 tons of grapes have been sent to Russia and 5,861 tons have been sent to countries, other than Europe. A container of 18 tons has been sent to China. The first consignment of 33 tons of Indian grapes has already been dispatched to China and is expected to hit Chinese ports by January 15, according to senior officials.
Financialexpress.com reports that China has been a regular buyer of Indian grapes. During 2017-18, China had imported 827 tons of grapes worth $1.3 million from India. China does not produce grapes and meets its entire demand through imports from India and other grape-producing countries. So far, some eight containers had been sent to Australia, Khapre said.
