Officials said the first shipment of 4,620 pomegranate boxes arrived on the U.S. east coast from Maharashtra last month. Traditionally, air freight is the main mode of transportation.
“We want India’s fresh fruits, including pomegranates, to reach far-reaching markets,” an official said.
The cargo is meaningful as India and the United States aim to double bilateral trade by 2030 and work on BTA, which will end its first by September to October and achieve early harvests in July. Washington granted Indian pomegranates a market access for the 2023 season and has since been sent to the United States via air.
With the success of the trial, the shelf life of pomegranates increased for up to 60 days, and then New Delhi marked the trial in the first trial of 4,200 boxes or 12.6 tons of U.S. fruit in February 2024.
For marine transport, the Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Agency (APEDA) promoted the USDA’s pre-agricultural cleanup program last December to ensure smooth and timely arrival of fruits.
Apeda Chairman Abhishek Dev said: “Indian mangoes have reached an annual export of about 3,500 tons and we hope that pomegranates will also reach such strong quantities in the next few years.”
India’s pomegranate exports grew 21% annually, from April to January 25 to US$59.76 million. The main export destinations include the UAE, Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bahrain, Oman and the United States.
