Cultivation of grapes is one of the most profitable farming occupations in India. India is one of the top exporters of grapes from which many countries import many varieties of grapes. Grapes are grown in different types of soil under different conditions.

The grapes are harvested in India all over the year therefore, the import of grapes from India continued throughout the year. If all the qualities are not present at a time it can be possible but it never happened that the grapes import stopped from India as at any time there is always one of the qualities is present.

Varieties of Grapes that India Export:

Being a top producer of grapes all over the world and a major country from which almost all of the world countries import grapes, India offers a variety of grapes having different appearances and senses of tastes. Following are some of the major types which are in most demand related to import from India:

• Anab-i-Shahi having seeds and white in color
• Bangalore Blue Syn Isabela having seeds and is black in color
• Bhokri, white in color, and seeds are present
• Flame is red in color and seedless
• Gulabi Syn Muscat Hamburg, purple in color, and seeds are present
• Perlette , white in color and seedless
• Sharad- it is basically a mutant of Kishmish Chomi, black in color and seedless
• Thomson and it is mutant, white in color, and seedless

Statics of Grapes Imported from India:

Due to the pandemic in 2020, the export of grapes is somehow affected but in 2019 import of grapes from India was at its peak. According to data from Fresh intelligence Consulting India in 2019, 804,640 tons of fresh fruit were exported from India. It was almost more than 32% import from India as compared to statics of 2018. Just three fruits account for the majority of imports of fruits from India and table grapes almost makeup 30% of all this export.

Major Countries Which Import Grapes from India:

The major markets for Indian grapes are:

• Bangladesh (35.42%)
• Netherland (21.5%)
• United Kingdom (15.1%)
• U.A.E (10.7%)
• Germany (3.1%)
• Others (15.35%)

These 5 countries count for almost more than 80% of the import of grapes from India. India stood among the top 10 countries that have a variety of grapes and are the top exporter of grapes and contributes for 1.46% of the world's top fresh grapes fruit.

Availability of Grapes Fruit:

Grapes fruit is cultivated at an area of more than 34000 hectares and the total production of grapes from this area is almost 1000000 tonnes.

Variety	Imported During Months
anab-e-shahi	February, May, July, November, December
Bangalore blue syn isabela	January, March, June-December
Bhokri	November-December, June-July
Gulaby syn muscat hamburg	January-March, June-December
perlette	June
thomson and its mutant	January-April

  

Packaging of Grapes For Purpose of Import:

Packaging is usually done in corrugated or cartons of the solid board of fibers. A  double pad layer or a liner is placed at the centre of cartons as protection of grapes from bruising and then a polyethylene lining is placed over it.

Storage Requirements for Fresh Grapes:

Temperature:

0 ± 0.5 degrees centigrade

Relative Humidity:

93 ± 2 %

Storage Period:

3-8 weeks

Freezing Point:

-1-degree centigrade

Sugar Level Requirements:

As the grapes are the product which is liable to most of the decay because of the importance of sugar level in grapes which lower during its import and export that is why it, not an easy job to import grapes as different safety factors are taken under consideration. The profit in importing grapes is ranging between 20-30% due to its nature of decay. The normal sugar level in grapes that are exported is ranging between 18 to 24 bricks. To measure the level of sugar in grapes, there is an instrument known as refractometry which is used to check the sugar level. Further for more advanced and accurate measurements, there is a laboratory test which is conducted for more specified results. It is usually the demand of buyers to provide them with a test report of the sugar concentration of grapes to understand that the quality of grapes is up to their standard.

Some Important facts and Uses of Grapes:

• Grapes contain powerful antioxidants.
• Grapes contain nutrients that are powerfully used against cancer, eye problems, as well as in many cardiovascular diseases and many other health conditions.
• The grapes contain fibers that are useful to increase the bulk size and in regulating the normal digestion procedures.
• It contains potassium that is an important source of the energy currency of cells i.e ATP. So grapes help us in the provision of potassium that helps us in making ATP and ATP provides us with energy that is used to drive us and perform any sort of task.
• Grapes contain many important vitamins and minerals too.
• Grapes have Resveratrol that helps combat Alzheimer’s disease, control the level of glucose in the blood, and against osteoarthritis.
• Grapes may boost the immune system.
• Another important use of grapes in Western Countries is making wine from grapes that is why the Western Countries are the biggest market place to import grapes from other countries especially from India.

Documents Required to export Grapes:

Following are the complete details related to all types of documents that are necessary for exporting grapes from India.

Documents Related to Goods (Required by Importer)

• Invoice
• Packing list
• Certificate of origin
• Inspection Certificate
• Insurance Certificate
• Bill of Lading or Airway bill

Documents Related to Payments:

• Letter of credit (L/C)
• Bill of exchange

Documents Related to the Quality of Goods:

• Phytosanitary certificate
• GLOBALGAP certificate
• Health certificate
• Lab test report certificate

Organic Certification:

A certificate that clearly shows that all the material produced is based on organic farming in the case of organic food production. See List of approved Labs by Apeda (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority)

Documents Related to Foreign Exchange Regulations: (Not required to Importer)

• Shipping Bill: Documents related to Custom conforming grapes export custom clearance from India
• Export Value Declaration: Export proceeds of goods must be realized within 9 Months from the date of shipments in S/B

Other Documents:

Bank realization certificate (BRC). This is advised by foreign exchange banks after the realization of money from the importer.

Food Safety:

Today in India for food safety and to ensure that properly packed food is being imported from India there has been established the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. Before the establishment of this institute issues related to food safety were not being considered properly. Now in India FSSAI is looking thoroughly and keenly towards all these issues to solve them properly to main a high standard of products being imported from India. In European Unions, the standards related to the safety of foods are very high. The MRL values of pesticides are the most important factors in the case of the export of grapes. Being a major grapes exporting country the compliance of food safety system in the grapes export chain is a very important and prime responsibility of India. In the case of India, the safety of table grapes is ensured by a monitoring system called Grapenet. It is a unique pre-harvest residue monitoring system. Grapenet is the first internet-based software in the country that is used for monitoring the level of pesticides in freshly produced grapes that are used for exporting to European Union Countries. This software is developed by APEDA (Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority) having input from all the stakeholders in the grape industries. This is the very first and very important initiative that took place in India that has put an end to end system for monitoring the pesticides level including agrochemical resides, to achieve the standard quality use for exporting, and facilitate tracing back from retail shelves to the farm of the Indian grower through various stages of sampling, testing, certification, and packing.

Verify Exporter that Minimize Pesticides Effects to Raise Grapes Standards:

To minimize pesticide residue in grapes following are the prescriptions from the Centre to reduce pesticides level:

• Exporter should only use recommended and approved pesticides that have registered with the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee, Union Ministry of Agriculture, and Government of India that these products can be used for grapes.
• Supplier must not spray such pesticides that are banned or restricted to be used against grapes
• Strictly adhere to the recommended dose of application for grapes including the recommended volume of water to be sprayed on per hectare or per acre
• Strictly adhere to recommended pre-harvest intervals to minimize consumer risk related to the detection of residues.
• Promoting integrated pest management
• Concerning persistence in the last two months sequence the pesticides before harvest
• Adoption of bio controlled measures during the last 30 days before the harvest

Minimum Requirements of Grapes That Are Being imported From India:

• Following details related to berries and bunhes should be followed:

• Should be clean, sound, and free of any visible factor
• Free of pest
• Free of damage caused by pests or any other factor
• Free of abnormal moistures
• Free of any foreign smell
• Free of all visible molds

• Berries should be intact and formed in well mannered
• Table grapes shall comply with residual levels of heavy metals, pesticides, and other parameters related to food safety.

Grading of Export Quality Grapes of India:

Extra Class:

In this class superior types of grapes are included. The bunches must be typical of variety in shapes, development, coloring and must not have any kind of defects. Berries must be firmly attached to the stalk and must be firm. Their bloom shoud be intact virtually.

Class 1:

Grapes must be of good quality. The bunches just like the extra class must be typical of variety in shapes, colors, development. Berries must be firmly adhered to the stalk and must be intact. As far as possible they should have their bloom intact. As compare to extra class they can be less evenly spaced along the stalk. Slight defects can be present in the case of class 1 grapes but they must not affect the general appearance of grapes and must not affect their quality. A slight defect in shape and a slight defect in coloring can be possible in the case of class 1 grade grapes.

Class 2:

The bunches in class 2 must show defects in their shapes, colors, and development, but they must not affect the essential characters of the variety. Like other classes, berries must be firmly and sufficiently attached and should be firm. They may be less evenly spaced along with the stalks as compared to other classes. Following defects may be there but they must not affect the general character of grapes and keep their quality up to standard. These defects may be defects in shape or defects in coloring. Slight sun scorch affecting the skin only and slight bruising. Slight skin defects can be present there.

Size Ranges of Different Export Qualities of Grapes:

• For extra class, large berries size is 200 g while small berries size is 150g
• For class 1 large berries size is 150g while small berries size is 100g
• For class 2 large berries size is 100g while small berries size is 75g

Measure for Enhancing the Competitiveness of Exporting Grapes:

• India is in high competition with countries like China, South Africa, and Israel for the production and export of grapes worldwide. Therefore. India must maintain highly superior quality of grapes by avoiding pesticides to keep the momentum of export
• There is a huge need for grapes in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, and Malaysia. India must avail of this opportunity by holding fruit shows, exhibitions, and seller-buyer meetings
• India needs to enhance its competition by making sure the availability of grapes during the period of Ramadan in Middle East Countries and Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. by altering the pruning time for fruiting to make sure its availability.
• India can further increase its competitiveness by economizing on logistics by exporting from eastern ports to South East Asian countries and by increasing production in Andhra Pradesh
• Similarly, grapes can be made available during many other important events and festivals occurring all over the world like in the period of Christmas by making suitable changes in pruning time for fruiting to make sure the availability of grapes during this period.

How Grapes Import Business Can Be A Profitable Business For You:

Importing grapes from India can be proved very beneficial and full of profit for buyers present in other countries as it can cause a huge benefit economically for you. You should start by importing 1 container of grapes of 40Ft size from India....

Introducing of New Product:

As presently many types of grapes are present in your country but India produces many new types so by importing from India you can introduce a new variety in the market and can earn a big profit.

Reducing Cost:

As compared to other countries India provides grapes at relatively low prices and good variety so you can import from India at a low price and should start selling it at a relatively low price as a result you can grab huge attention soon and can start doing your business of grapes market.

High-Quality Product:

As India is among the top producer and exporters of grapes so the quality of grapes provided from here can earn you huge respect in the market as your product will be above all.

Increasing Your Sale Potential:

You can increase your potential of sales by introducing new varieties from India and this will ultimately raise your standard in the market, as a result, your sale can be increased in the market as compare to other sellers.

Final Thoughts:

Keeping in view all above points one should start importing grapes from India and by following all above-mentioned points you can surely not only introduce new varieties in your country market but also can earn a big profit in form of huge revenue.