Andhra banana to be in Canada soon

Vijayawada: Andhra banana is all set to hit the Canadian market now with the agreement reached between the Indian government and the Canadian authorities in New Delhi on Saturday. The negotiations between National Plant Protection Organisations of India and Canada on market access for Indian banana and baby corn resulted in Canadian market access for these commodities, the Union government said on Saturday.

Andhra Pradesh stands to gain in this segment of horticulture export as it is India's numero uno state as far as banana production is concerned. Last year, its output was 68.85 lakh metric tonne. AP's bananas are most sought after abroad due to their quality. In fact, the Centre had chosen Ananantpur district to establish one of its two clusters in the country to extensively research on it further.

Theni in Tamil Nadu is the other district where such a research centre is established. Last year, exports of Andhra banana touched 75,000 MT, 66.67 per cent more than that of its previous year (45,000 MT). The boost given to banana export in the country by Andhra Pradesh is significant in recent times. India is the largest producer of bananas in the world, with a production of 297 lakh MT on 8.4 lakh hectares of land. According to an estimate, 290 lakh MT (97 per cent) is consumed domestically, while another 5 lakh MT or so is lost due to banana's perishability.

Even during the height of the coronavirus pandemic during 2019-20, India exported 1.96 lakh MT, almost 50 per cent more than in 2018-19.