The Indian state of Andhra Pradesh is now the country's leading banana exporter

In just a few years, the state of Andhra Pradesh has recorded an exponential growth in cultivated area, production and export of bananas. It is the first banana exporter in the country, having overtaken the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.

 

 

In the state of Andhra Pradesh, the area dedicated to the cultivation of bananas increased considerably, from 79,360 hectares in 2014-15 to 1.04 lakh (104,000 hectares) in 2019-20. In recent years, the state government has identified bananas as one of the engines of growth and has increased initiatives and measures to promote the cultivation, marketing and export of the fruit.

 

 

 

The state's exports increased from 246 tonnes of bananas for fiscal year 2016-17 to 45,000 tonnes for fiscal year 2019-20. For the current financial year, the volume exported is expected to reach 75,000 tonnes. Exports went to the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Iran.

 

 

 

Earlier this year and for the first time, 43 reefer containers were loaded onto a train at Tadipatri and sent to Mumbai for export to the Middle East.