The bananas dispatched for Iran from Lucknow on October 14 have reached Mumbai and will reach the destination in the next few days. If the shipment meets the quality compliance parameters on reaching Iran, it will open new markets for bananas-growers of UP.
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) AGM CB Singh said the shipment is being tracked at every step.
“The outcome of the first-ever export of bananas from the state will help us formulate the strategy and standard operating procedure (SOP) for banana export which will then be adopted in all banana-producing districts,” Singh said.
Two containers carrying 40 metric tonnes of bananas sourced from farmers in Lakhimpur Kheri were sent for export from Malihabad pack house last week. APEDA has already started training banana growers in Kushinagar, Gorakhpur, Varanasi and Barabanki to grow export quality fruit as in Lakhimpur Kheri.
“We will have export quality bananas ready by July next year,” said Singh.
Apart from quality compliance, cost effectiveness will also be reviewed by APEDA for the trial shipment of bananas. The cost of exporting a container of bananas from UP works out between Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh, which is higher than that of big banana exporting states like Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.
The banana largely grown in UP is the G-9 (Grand Naine) variety, which is internationally approved for export.
The variety is grown in other states also but the one in UP is more viable given various agro-climatic factors and longer shelf life. The shipment of the raw bananas exported to Iran was of the same variety and had a shelf life of more than 20 days and is expected to reach in 15 days.
“The bananas should remain raw till they reach the destination. That’s a challenge and test of quality. If it ripens, it will spoil,” said Singh. “A special packaging, Modified Atmospheric Packaging (MAP), which does not let the fruit ripen, was used. Before packaging, it was duly treated to prevent any infection,” he added.
