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20,000 metric tons of Jalgaon Banana, grown in the Maharashtra state of India, exported to Dubai
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Fibre-rich fruit is grown by progressive farmers of a village under India’s new Agri Export Policy
Dubai: The first consignment of 20,000 metric tons of Jalgaon Banana, a fiber- and mineral-rich fruit from Jalgaon district of India’s Maharashtra, was exported to Dubai on Wednesday, according to Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Jalgaon Banana is grown by progressive farmers of Tandalwadi village in Jalgaon district whose link with Dubai has been rolled out under India’s recently announced Agri Export Policy, which is designed to “enable farmers to get the benefits of export opportunities in overseas markets”.
A progressive farmer is someone “qualified and able to move his farming business into the future”.
The unique qualities of Jalgaon bananas have earned the fruit the Geographical Indications (GI) certificate prescribed by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).
The GI tag is described by WIPO as belonging to products “that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin”.
Jalgaon Banana got GI certification five years ago. Since then, the banana-growing farmers of Tandalwadi village have been looking for suitable export markets until India’s new Agri Export Policy brought together buyers in Dubai and exporters in Maharashtra.
The new policy aims to “provide farm good exporters an institutional mechanism for pursuing market access and to diversify their export basket and destinations”.
India is a leading producer of bananas in the world with a global market share of around 25 percent, according to the Ministry of Commerce here.
