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Export of Grapes: Issues and strategies

Article · December 2012

DOI: 10.13140/2.1.1005.7608

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Ajay Kumar Sharma Kaushik Banerjee

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 Export of Grapes: Issues and strategies

Dr. Ajay Kumar Sharma Dr. P. G. Adsule and Dr. K. Banerjee

National Research Centre for Grapes,
Pune-412307

Among the fruit crops, table grapes have acquired important position in the export arena.
Commercial table grape cultivation in India is restricted to tropical belt comprising
Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamilnadu and Andhra Pradesh states. About 94 per cent grape is
cultivated in this belt. Other than these states few pockets of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram are also growing grapes. The
current area and production under grapes in India is estimated at 84000 ha with an annual
production of 1878000 tonnes. While 74.5 per cent of grape produced is available for table
purpose, nearly 22.5 per cent is dried for raisin production, 1.5 per cent for winemaking and
0.5 per cent is used for juice. The grape export from India started in 1991 with the initiation
of economic liberalisation. The major importers of Indian grapes are UK, The Netherlands,
Germany, USA, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Quatar, Oman, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh,
Mauritius, Singapore and Hongkong.
Table 1: Country wise grape production during 2009-10
S. No. Country Production Share (%)

1 Italy 82,42,500.00 13.53

2 China 73,84,656.00 12.12

3 USA 64,11,660.00 10.52

4 France 60,00,000.00 9.85

5 Spain 52,86,300.00 8.68

6 Turkey 42,64,720.00 7.00

7 Argentina 29,00,000.00 4.76

8 Chile 25,00,000.00 4.10

9 India 18,78,000.00 3.08

10 Australia 17,97,012.00 2.95

Source: Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO)

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Table 2: Trend of grape export from India

Year Quantity (t) Value (million `)

2007-08 96,963.57 31,78.252
2008-09 1,24,627.98 40,86.127
2009-10 1,31,153.64 54,53.386

Table 3: Major grape growing pockets in different states

Fig.1: Harvesting period of grapes in various states (NHB)

Standards:
AGMARK: The Directorate of Marketing and Inspection gives this designation to
agricultural and processed foods who comply the standards. AGMARK standards are
available for fresh grapes also. Compliance of AGMARK standards is mandatory for export
of grapes.

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GRADE DESIGNATION AND QUALITY OF TABLE GRAPES
1. Table Grapes shall be fruits obtained from varieties (cultivars) of Vitis vinifera L.

2. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS:

(i) Bunches and berries of Table grapes shall be:

(a) Clean, sound, free of any visible foreign matter;
(b) Free of pests, affecting the general appearance of the produce;
(c) Free of damage caused by pests or diseases;
(d) Free of abnormal external moisture;
(e) Free of any foreign smell and/or taste;
(f) Free of all visible traces of moulds;
(ii) Berries shall be intact, well-formed and normally developed;
(iii) Table grapes shall comply with the residue levels of heavy metals, pesticides and other
food safety parameters as laid down by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for Exports.
(iv) Table grapes shall have minimum soluble solids of 16 degrees Brix.
(v) Table grapes shall have minimum sugar/ acid ratio of 20:1.
Foot Note: Pigmentation due to sun is not a defect.
Table. 4: Criteria and description of grades
According to Agmark standards grapes are classified into following classes:

Grade Grade requirements Provision Grade tolerances

designation concerning
sizing
Extra class Grapes must be of superior quality. The As per 5% by weight of
bunches must be typical of variety in table ‘5’ bunches not satisfying
shape, development and coloring and the requirements of the
have no defects. Berries must be firm, grade, but meeting those
firmly attached to the stalk, evenly of class I grade or
spaced long the stalk and have their exceptionally coming
bloom virtually intact. within the tolerances of
that grade.

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Class I Grapes must be of good quality. The -do- 10% by weight of
bunches must be typical of variety in bunches not satisfying
shape, development and coloring. the requirements of the
Berries must be firm, firmly attached to grade, but meeting those
the stalk and, as far as possible, have of class II grade or
their bloom intact. They may, however, exceptionally coming
be less evenly spaced along the stalk within the tolerance of
than in the extra class. Following slight that grade.
defects may be there, providing these do
not affect the general appearance of the
produce and keeping quality of the
package.
- a slight defect in shape.
- a slight defect in coloring
Class II The bunches may show defects in -do- 10% by weight of
shape, development and coloring bunches not satisfying
provided these do not impair the the requirements of the
essential characteristics of the variety. grade, but meeting the
The berries must be sufficiently firm minimum requirements.
and sufficiently attached. They may be
less evenly spaced along the stalk than
Class I grade. Following defects may be
there, provided these do not affect the
general appearance of the produce and
keeping quality of the package.
- defects in shape
- defects in coloring
- slight sun scorch affecting the skin
only,
- slight bruising,
- slight skin defects

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PROVISION CONCERNING SIZING
Size is determined by the weight of bunches (in g). The following minimum (in g)
requirements per bunch are laid down for large and small berries grapes.
Table 5: Provision concerning size

Grade Large Small

Berries (g) Berries (g)
Extra class 200 150
Class I 150 100
Class II 100 75

Size tolerance:
Extra Class, Class I, Class II: 10% by weight of bunches not satisfying the size requirements
for the grade, but meeting the size requirements for the grade immediately below.

Documents required for export:

 Documents related to goods: -
a) Invoice b) Packing List c) Certificate of origin
 Documents related to shipment: -
a) Mate Receipt b) Shipping Bill c) Bill of handing d) Airway Bill
 Documents related to Payment: -
a) Letter of Credit (L/C) b) Bill of Exchange
 Documents related to quality of goods: -
a) Phytosanitary Certificate b) GLOBALGAP Certification c) Health Certificate
 Organic Certification: -
a) Certificate indicating material produce is based on organic farming in case of organic
produce.
 Documents related to Foreign Exchange Regulations: -
a) GR Form: Documents required by RBI which assures to RBI that the exporter will
realize
b) the proceeds of goods within 180 days from the date of Shipment.
 Other Document:

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 a) Bank Realization Certification (BRC): This is the advice given by Foreign Exchange
Bank after the realization of money from Importer.

Food Safety Issues:

Before establishment of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India, the issues related with
food safety were not addressed in organized manner. Now FSSAI is looking these aspects
very keenly. But in European Union food laws are very strict. The MRL values of pesticides
are most important factor for grape export. Being a exporting country, the compliance of food
safety system in grape export chain is primary responsibility. In India, the food safety in table
grapes is ensured through a unique pre-harvest residue monitoring system called Grapenet.
Grapenet is the first internet based residue traceability software system established in the
country, for monitoring of pesticides in fresh table grapes for export to the European Union
countries. This software was developed by APEDA with inputs from all the stakeholders in
grape industry. This is first of its kind initiative in India that has put in place an end-to-end
system for monitoring agrochemical residues, achieve product quality standardization and
facilitate tracing back from retail shelves to the farm of the Indian grower through various
stages of sampling, testing, certification and packing.

National Research Centre for Grapes – Leader in agrochemical residue management in

the country:
Since its establishment in 1997, the National Research Centre for Grapes is actively
monitoring the residue dynamics of various agrochemicals in grapes and environment to
ensure their safe usage in viticulture in the country. In 2003-2004, this institute was
designated by APEDA, Ministry of Commerce, Government of India as the National Referral
Laboratory (NRL) for monitoring of pesticide residues in table grapes to be exported to
European Union countries. Initially the mandate pertained to pesticides for the management
of diseases and insect pests, which were subsequently expanded in 2010 to monitor the
residues of plant growth regulators also. Apart from the recommended agrochemicals in table
grape, other chemicals listed under the Central Insecticide Board, Govt. of India are also
tested to check their misuse or as contaminant in this crop. Besides conducting the residue
trials on new generation agro-chemicals, this Centre also surveys the table grapes from local
markets, pack-houses, etc. and screens their status with regards to residue contamination. A
field level representative sampling technique has also been standardized by this institute for
residue monitoring which is unique in its approach. In this, it was found that 5 kg samples

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comprising of small bunchlets drawn randomly from all over a vineyard area of 1 ha resulted
in sampling imposed variations in residue contents with relative standard deviation of \<12%,
which was satisfactory considering natural variations. This could minimize lab-to-lab
variation during the monitoring results for any specific farm.
After the establishment of this Centre, the quality of Indian grapes has improved
significantly. The extent of export as well as price realization by the growers also improved
with the implementation of Grapenet traceability system. The export realization increased
from US $ 78.54 (2007-08) to 115.03 (2009-2010). To minimize pesticide residues in grapes,
this Centre prescribes the followings.
 Use only the recommended and approved pesticides that has label claim for usage in
grapes as per the registration with the Central Insecticide Board and Registration
Committee, Union Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India
 Do not spray banned as well as non-recommended chemicals
 Strictly adhere to the recommended dose of application including the recommended
volume of water to be sprayed on per hectare or per acre basis based on canopy of
vine.
 Strictly maintain recommended Pre-Harvest Interval to minimize consumer risk
regarding detection of residues.
 Promoting Integrated Pest Management
 Sequencing the pesticides in relation to their persistence particularly in the last 2
months period before harvest.
 Adoption of Bio-control measures during last 30 days before harvest
 Managing the usage of pesticides and PGRs very carefully in last 60 days before
harvest to ensure the MRL compliance of EU countries.

Measures for enhancing competitiveness for exporting grapes

Following measures need to be adopted for enhancing competitiveness for exporting grapes.
 Competition of India is with countries like Chile, South Africa and Israel, which
produce quality grapes. Therefore, India must maintain superior quality free from
pesticide residues etc. for keeping up momentum of exports.
 There is huge demand of grapes in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia etc., India needs
to exploit this opportunity, by holding fruit shows, exhibitions and buyer- seller meets
frequently.

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  India needs to enhance its competitiveness by making grapes available during
Ramzan period in Middle East countries and in Malaysia, Indonesia etc., by altering
pruning time for fruiting.
 India can further enhance its competitiveness by economizing on logistics by
exporting from eastern port to South East Asian countries and by intensifying
production in Andhra Pradesh.
 Similarly, grapes can be made available during Christmas period by changing pruning
time for fruiting.

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