1. E XPORT POTENTIAL OF
POMEGRANATE
EXPORT POTENTIAL OF
POMEGRANATE
BY:- SHREYAS N.

2. W ORLD S CENARIO
 Popular in Eastern as well as Western Western parts of the
world.
 The crop is also cultivated in the Mediterranean region.
Pomegranates thrive well in regions with semi-arid to sub-
tropical climatic conditions.
 The crop is cultivated in Spain, Iran, India, Turkey, South East
Asia, Afghanistan, tropical Africa, parts of USA etc.
 It is grown for its fully luscious grains called ‘Arils’; the fruits are
very attractive with sweet acidic taste.
 The fruits are mainly used for dessert purposes.
 The fruits are also processed to make juice, syrup, jam, jelly,
wine, to flavour cakes, baked apples, etc.
 Of late, its nutritional and medicinal values are given ample
importance.

3. P OMEGRANATE C ULTIVATION IN I NDIA
Area - About 63,000 Hectares.
Production - About 5.00 lakh tons/annum
Comparative Advantage -
 Production of Pomegranate almost throughout the year.
 Supply of Pomegranates even during off - season to the European Countries.
 Cultivation in Arid and Semi-arid tracts of the states – Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat,
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Tamil Nadu
 Maharastra is the largest producer.
Farmers Cultivate the crop by :
 Carefully selecting varieties.
 Adopting advanced technologies.
 Spurt in cultivation and trading of Pomegranate in India from the last two decades.
 Important varieties cultivated are Ganesh, Dholka, Seedless(Bedana), Bhagwa, Araktha.
 Seedless verities such as Paper Shell, Spanish Ruby, Mascut Red and Velladu show great potential
 Peak harvest – January to April

5. C ONSUMER P REFERENCE
 Consumer preference - changing from time to
time and from country to country.
 Earlier, Ganesh variety with big sized fruits was
the preferred one, and the fruits were exported
to the Gulf countries.
 Now, in Europe and other parts of the world,
varieties such as Bhagwa (Kesar), Mridula are
the suitable and accepted ones.
 Soft seeded, coloured varieties with high per
cent of juice with easy to remove arils are
preferred.
 Fruits weighing more than 500 gms with
superior qualities - immediate and ready
acceptance in the international markets.

8. T HE DESIRABLE FRUIT CHARACTERS OF FRESH
POMEGRANATE FOR EXPORT PURPOSE
 Dark rose pink colour of the fruit.
 Fruit weight around 500 gms.
 Round shape of the fruit.
 Uniform size and shape of the fruit in a pack or
box.
 Dark rose pink arils.
 Softness of the seeds.
 Higher sugars near about 16-170 Brix.
 Free from scars, russetting, disease spots, insect
injury, scratches, etc.
 Smooth cutting at the stem end.
 Bracts/calyx without any damage and having
freshness.
 Pleasant flavour and aroma.

9. M ARKETING AND E XPORT P OTENTIAL
 No organized marketing systems for
pomegranate.
 Domestic marketing for pomegranate is fairly
balanced as of now.
 Farmers normally dispose their produce to
contractors who take the responsibility of
transport to far off markets.
 Some progressive farmers who have developed
contacts in urban areas despatch them on their
own and are able to get a reasonable price for
their produce.

10. Fruits ready for Packing for Export

12.  Changes in varietal selection and in cultivation
practices.
 Pest and disease incidence, fall in demand and
price - effect on the cultivation of pomegranate
in the state.
 Cultivation for export purpose - improved due
to exploring of market potentialities.
 Farmers of Bijapur and Bagalkot districts –
exporting pomegranate through their
associations to Gulf and European Union for
the last 5 years.
 Koppal district - New entrant – Exports began
in 2004.

13. E XPORT P OTENTIAL
 The pomegranate fruit is considered an exotic in
European and Middle East countries.
 There is scope for exporting Indian pomegranates to
Bangladesh, Bahrain, Canada, Germany, United
Kingdom, Japan, Kuwait, Sri Lanka, Omen, Pakistan,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Switzerland, U.A.E.
and U.S.A.
 The other potential markets are, Belgaum, Spain,
France, Italy, Netherlands, Philippines, South Africa,
Brazil and Mexico.

14. P OMEGRANATE IN K ARNATAKA
 Advent of Ganesh variety revolutionized
pomegranate cultivation in Northern
Karnataka especially in the districts of Bijapur,
Bagalkot, Koppal and Raichur.
 In the initial years, big sized fruits with TSS 15
Brix were exported mainly to the Gulf
countries.

15. S UCCESS S TORY
 Kustagi and Yelburga taluks of Koppal district –
remote and most backward areas of the State.
 Poor rainfall, frequent droughts, high
temperature, soils are also either calcarious or sodic.
 Low precipitation levels and distribution of rainfall
have added to the crop failures.
 Predominant crop – Agricultural crops and onion and
chillies.
 Horticultural crops –
Grapes, Pomegranate, Banana, Mango, Ber, Sweet
orange have been grown since the last two decades.
 Cultivation of Pomegranate – Farmers have been
pro-active in adopting new technology for cultivation
and post harvest handling of Pomegranate.

16.  Benefited from the efforts of the State
Department of Horticulture in training the
farmers in export oriented production.
 Training Programmes – conducted in the
farmers’ fields in six steps, in collaboration with
the Agricultural and Processed Food Products
Export Development Authority (APEDA) during
2003.
 Farmers given suitable guidance regarding
cultivation and care of regulating the number
of fruits, irrigation with fertigation, plant
protection schedule and care in harvesting.
 Out of 50 farmers trained, nearly 30 farmers
were successful and 20 farmers exported the
produce.
 Exports started in 2004.

17.  About 250 tons of pomegranate were exported from this
small area and volume of trade was in the tune of Rs.8.50
crores.
 The produce fetched a price of Rs.35,000/- (750 $) per
ton.
 On an average, they have exported 7.5 – 10 tons of fruits
per hectare remaining 10 – 12. 5 tons were sold locally.
 Farmers have earned about Rs.4.5 lakhs to 5.75 lakhs per
hectare (9600 – 12300 $.
 Incurred an expenditure of Rs.75,000/- per hectare (1600
$).
 Net Profit - Rs.3.75 lakhs to Rs.5.00 lakhs per hectare
(8000 – 10700 $); in some cases, it has crossed Rs.6.25
lakhs per hectare (13400 $).
 Farmers convinced about- profitability of pomegranate
cultivation as there is considerable demand for the
pomegranate grown in the region.

18.  India’s contribution to the export is less than 5%,
although we are in first position in production of
Pomegranate.
 Scope for diversified use of pomegranate and
hence value added products can be promoted.
 Consumer preference, colour,TSS and demand for
crop are important aspects to be focused upon.
 Time of export, choice of variety, quality
maintenance and regulation of fruit size are
important aspects in the production of
pomegranate for export.

19. P OMEGRANATE – I NTERNATIONAL
S CENARIO
The technical sessions during the International
Symposium on Pomegranate and Minor Mediterranean
Fruits held at Adana, Turkey, from October 16– 19, 2006
comprised of -
 Orchard Culture and Management – Countries of focus
were Bangladesh, Israel, Iran, Turkey and India.
 Genetic Conservation and Germplasm.
 Physiology.
 Breeding and Genetics.
 Nutrition and Health.
 Plant Protection.
 Post Harvest Technology.
 Processing, Marketing & Economy.

20.  Israel and Turkey have taken up varietal trials on
Pomegranate.
 Iran too has been in the forefront with regard to
research on Pomegranate.
 There is a lot of germplasm / breeding collection in Iran,
Israel and also Turkey.
 Exchange of germplasm between countries if not
available in research stations will go a long way in
developing new varieties.
 Most of the varieties in the Mediterranean region are
sour with few sweet varieties.
 Sweet sour varieties with good colour are not common.

21.  Bacterial Blight (Xanthomonas sp.) and Wilt are not a
major problem in other pomegranate growing
countries as the same was not presented / discussed
by scientists (Pathologists) in the symposium.
 Our Sweet sour variety Bhagwa (Kesar) and Wonderful
variety of U.S in Italy found appreciation in general
and are suited for marketing in the international
market. One of the findings presented was that
sweetness in pomegranates is not only due to sugar
content but also due to low acidic content.
 Nutritional aspects of pomegranate were discussed
and it is felt that it can enhance its utility. Value
addition is also important to increase the acceptability
of pomegranates by consumers.

22.  Of late, Indian Pomegranates have penetrated into the
European Union since suitable varieties conforming to
international standards are being produced. Karnataka
has exported about 2000 MT to other countries during
the last few years. There is potential for export to the
United State of America also. Diseases such as Bacterial
Blight, Wilt, etc., have created problems in obtaining
economic yields.
 In view of the scope for value addition in pomegranate
for alternative use, medicinal uses of
pomegranate, better shelf life, and the export
potential, its cultivation in the semi-arid areas under
protected irrigation needs to be encouraged.
 Proper varietal selection, crop and post harvest
management, infrastructure such as cold
chain, facilities for marketing etc, will augment the
cultivation of quality pomegranate and will help in
increasing the exports to a tune of about 20,000 –
30,000 MT tons.
 In this background, India can definitely make a dent in
pomegranate trade in the world market.

23.  India has a very good potential provided we
meet the quality standards of the importing
countries. The exports can be enhanced from
the present 3000 – 4000 MT tons to about
20,000 – 30,000 tons.
 A presentation was made regarding aril
separating machine for pomegranates in Israel
– which separates arils to different grades.
Similar mechanization may be tried in India
also.
 A presentation was also made by a firm based
in United Kingdom regarding different
packaging films to enhance the shelf life of
fruits under normal temperature.

24.  Different grades of films suitable for other fruits,
vegetables, flowers are also available. Such grades of
films can be tried for packing traditional flowers / loose
flowers like jasmine, etc.
 Dubai Airport has developed an extensive cargo system
to handle perishable cargos in an area of 34,000 Sq.Mtr.
with a capacity of 1.80 lakh tons per year.
 Alstemier Airport and Dubai Airport are mainly
providing facilities for C & F agents for downloading and
uploading cargos.