First Consignment of Nagpur Orange Flagged Off to Dubai

Speed Post News Network

New Delhi : First consignment of Nagpur oranges was flagged off to Dubai on February 13, 2020, from Vashi, Navi Mumbai. Total 1,500 crates were loaded in the refrigerated container from Vanguard Health Care (VHT) facility.

Nagpur mandarin is one of the best mandarins in the world. Production of this fruit crop in central and western part of India is increasing every year. Mrig crop (monsoon blossom), which matures in February – March, has great potential for export since arrivals of mandarin fruit in international market are less during this period.

According to Maharashtra State Agriculture Department, 40 lakh hectare. land is under orange cultivation in Nagpur District in Maharashtra and major orange growing pockets are Warud, Katol, Saoner, Kalameshwar, and Narkhed in Nagpur and Amravati districts. In the whole region only one variety Nagpur Mandarin is grown.

For the implementation of the Agriculture Export Policy (AEP), Nagpur District is being developed as a cluster for Nagpur Orange by Agriculture & Processed Food Products Export  Development Authority (APEDA). The APEDA officer in Mumbai has been nominated as a nodal officer for implementation of AEP and cluster development of Nagpur orange, according to a PIB release.

The first meeting was held on October 30, 2019, under the chairmanship of District Collector, Nagpur. After the meeting, a cluster development committee of stakeholders was constituted consisting of APEDA, National Research Centre for Citrus (NRC), Nagpur, Agri Department of Nagpur District, Vanamati Nagpur, Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), Dr Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi Vidyapeeth (Dr PDKV), Nagpur MSME, Plant Quarantine Nagpur, and MAHA Orange.

Subsequently a Buyer-Seller Meet cum Training programme on Nagpur Orange cluster was held on December 5, 2019, at Vanamati, Nagpur.  Around 150 farmers from Nagpur District, Farmer Producers companies, and seven exporters attended the training programme. Technical sessions and interactions between farmers and exporters was conducted in the training programme. The main focus of the training programme was to increase the exports of Nagpur orange in the Middle East countries and to brand Nagpur orange in the Middle East.

A field visit was organised on December 6, 2029, with APEDA, MCDC, State Agriculture Department, and exporters to orange growing area at Warud, Katol, Kalameshwar of Nagpur and Amravati districts. After the field visit exporters showed interest in exporting of Nagpur orange. The interested exporters again visited the same orange growing pockets in January 2020.

One of the exporter procured oranges directly from the farmers of Warud Taluka and brought them to APEDA funded VHT Facility at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. At VHT pack house, the oranges were graded and sorted. New plastic crates were designed and developed by the exporter to carry 10 kg per crate.

The International Trade in 2018 for orange was USD 10183 million. India produced 8,781 thousand tons of orange in 2018-19 (orange includes Mandarin, clementine).