Dragon fruit is an exotic fruit that is mainly grown in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, the USA and Vietnam. In a first, Maharashtra exported a consignment of this exotic fruit to Dubai. The first consignment of dragon fruit was sourced from the farmers of Tadasar village in the Sangli district. Tt was processed and packed at APEDA recognized exporter – M/s Kay Bee.
In India, Dragon Fruit is also referred to as Kamalam and is a rich source of vitamins and mineral. The Indian farmers started to grow this from the early 1990s in home gardens. Over the years, the fruit has grown in popularity. Given its demand across the country now many farmers are taken to grow it across the country.
Dragon Fruit can be grown with very less water. Furthermore, there are no specific soil requirements for this exotic fruit. States such as Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and Andaman and Nicobar Islands are currently growing Dragon Fruit.
It is for the first time that a consignment of Dragon Fruit has been exported from India. It is expected that this move will give a major boost to India's Agri export. This move is even more significant as this batch of Kamalam was grown at a drought-prone area of land and thus gives new hope to farmers in this area. Dragon Fruit is rich in fibre, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants and is also known for repairing cell damage caused by oxidative stress.
Dragon fruit goes to Dubai: In a major boost to export of exotic fruits, a consignment of the fibre & mineral rich Dragon Fruit (Kamalam) sourced from farmers of Sangli, Maharashtra has been exported to Dubai.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) June 26, 2021
📖 https://t.co/WEwqSm5LMt pic.twitter.com/xW6c9vTQR4
There are three main varieties of dragon fruit: white flesh with pink skin, red flesh with pink skin, and white flesh with yellow skin. The batch that has been exported to Dubai had pink skin with white flesh. Prime Minister Narendra Modi in ‘Mann Ki Baat’ programme in July 2020 had mentioned dragon fruit farming in the arid Kutch region of Gujarat. He had congratulated the farmers of Kutch for the cultivation of fruit for ensuring India’s self-sufficiency in the production.
Mango, Grape, Pomegranate, Mandarin, Banana, Papaya, Fig, Custard Apple are other fruits that are exported from Maharashtra.
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