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technologist from Chile who has advised on correct
orchard management and growing techniques Dutch importer in deal with
Impo.,ers have also been vwodking with supphers to
develop new cold storage and packing house facilities as Indian multi-nationals
well as refrigerated trucking, "Pressure on the port
authorities ii the port of Bombay has Plso paid off",
Christopher Sims of J O.Sims Ltd told Eurofruit Mark Four to increase supply of Indian grapes
Magaz'.-e 'They have agreed to receive containers after
the vessel has docked which means that they are loaded NONLY its second year as a Duldi-based Importc . Mark
much more quickly than before" "N Ons Iporoean
Meanwhile, -ew plantings by some of the larger compa Four plans to Increase substantially supplies to European
nies suggest that substantially larger volumes of grapes customers of fresh Thompson Seediilss and other grape variwill
come through quickly in the seasons to follow eties from India.
Frumar Ltd's supplier, Kalyani Agro, sees now export on- The company will receive fruit Including grapes and manented
plantings as th,, future for India and together with goes, from a group of five suppliers Incorporating some of
other suppliers is planting new, larger vineyards across India's leading multi-national companies like Godrej and the
the state ITCGroup.
Interestingly, Mack Fruit and at least one other importer Since these companies will be exporting to Europe for the
have plans to source grapes from Hyderabad, the east second consecutive season, it Is expected that the quality of
coast city, where the wider diversity of plantings and
larger production capacity allows growers to push avail- this year's fruit will be much improved, sald Mark Four
ability through June This expansion of fruit exports has Director Vikram Prasad. Mr Prasad also claimed that yields
been encouraged by the Indian government Although the will be higher than last season.
authorities in Delhi have yet to remove a 0 5 per cent This season Mark Four has targeted to receive arount 80 to
duty on exports, there has been some financial assistance 100 containers of Indian grapes.
as well as duty concessions for capital goods imported in Mr Prasad said that cold weather had damaged crops in the
connection with the pioduction of goods to be exported Nasik region, but explained that Mark Four has suppliers In
It has resulted in the construction of large numbers of other parts of India and thus expects a reasonably good per.
new pro-cooling and cold storage facilities in the state formance this season.
which, importers say, will help maintain fruit quality
through the shipping season U
Eurofruit Magazine March 1994
19.