1st commercial sea shipment of unique Indian pomegranates reaches US: Centre

New Delhi, April 19 (IANS) The Centre on Saturday informed that a landmark commercial sea shipment of the “prized Indian Bhagwa variety of pomegranate” has successfully arrived in the US, marking a key milestone for the country's fresh fruits exports.

The inaugural sea shipment of 4,620 boxes of Indian pomegranates, weighing approximately 14 tonnes, reached New York in the second week of March — well within five weeks of the point of departure from Ahilyanagar in Maharashtra.

The shipment was met with exceptional enthusiasm in the US state. The arrival quality was reported as "excellent" and customers were captivated by the remarkable visual appeal and the superior eating quality of the “Indian Bhagwa variety of pomegranates”.

The arrival of this shipment heralds the potential of Indian pomegranates becoming a preferred choice in the competitive US market, according to a Commerce Ministry statement.

“The government has been at the forefront in promoting Indian fresh fruits for the global market. APEDA has been supporting the export of Indian fruits like mangoes and pomegranates to USA by funding the pre-clearance programme,” said APEDA Chairman Abhishek Dev.

Indian farmers will achieve better realisation when their fruit gets exported to premium international markets like USA. Indian mangoes have already reached annual exports of around 3,500 tonnes and we hope that Pomegranates will also reach such strong numbers in the years to come, he added.

In the financial year 2023-24, India exported 72,011 metric tonnes of pomegranates worth $69.08 million.

This year, there has been a significant growth in pomegranate exports from India registering a growth of 21 per cent with a value of $59.76 million in the period April–January, 2024-2025.

Key export destinations include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bahrain, Oman and the US.

Due to the success of the static trial to enhance the shelf life of pomegranates for up to 60 days by APEDA, in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Pomegranate, India successfully flagged off its first trial commercial sea shipment of pomegranates comprising of 4,200 boxes (12.6 tonnes) to the US — in collaboration with InI Farms from Irradiation Facility Center (IFC), Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), Vashi, Navi Mumbai in February, 2024.

APEDA facilitated the USDA pre-clearance programme for pomegranates in December, 2024 which played a pivotal role in easing the logistical and regulatory hurdles for Indian agriculture exporters and enabled them to enter the US market.

After India had been granted market access by the US for pomegranates, during the season in 2023, APEDA, in collaboration with United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO - India) and National Research Centre for Pomegranate, Solapur (NRCP), successfully conducted the trial shipment of pomegranate to the US by air.

—IANS

na/