Fruit production: India
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2015: India world’s 2nd largest producer
The Times of India, Jan 18 2016
Vishwa Mohan
India 2nd largest fruit producer in world
The green revolution of the 1960s and 1970s ended chronic food deficit, and while cereals still command the attention of policy makers, fruit production has surged impressively , making India the second largest global producer behind China. The annual upswing in horticulture has seen fruit production grow faster than that of vegetables, though the latter constitute the largest segment of this sector of agriculture. “Grapes occupy the premier position in exports with 107.3 thousand tonnes valued at Rs 1,086 crore in 2014-15. Other fruits which attained significant position in exports are banana and mango,“ the agriculture ministry has noted in a handbook called `horticultural statistics at a glance 2015'.
The handbook, published by Oxford University Press, points out that significant progress has been made in increasing the area under horticulture crops, resulting in higher production. “Over the last decade, the area under horticulture crops grew by about 2.7% per annum and annual production increased by 7%,“ it said.
However, even though India is second in the list of major fruit producers ahead of the US, Brazil, Spain, Mexico, Italy, Indonesia, the Philippines and Turkey , there is scope for higher production as its productivity lags behind that of most of these countries.
Fruit-topper China produced 154.364 million tonnes (MT) in 2013, followed by India (82.631 MT), Brazil (37.774 MT), US (26.986 MT), Spain (17.699 MT), Mexico (17.553 MT), Italy (16.371 MT), and Indonesia (16.003 MT). Surprisingly , despite being weak, India's productivity is better than China's and Spain's.
India's success in horticulture can be traced to small towns and districts. In 2012-13, Chittoor and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Baramulla in Jammu and Kashmir, Nalgonda in Telangana, Sagar and Shahdol in Madhya Pradesh, Darjeeling in West Bengal, and Pune, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Sangli in Maharashtra shone on India's fruit map.
State-wise, Maharashtra topped the list, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
