Description

Indias diverse climate ensures availability of all varieties of fresh fruits & vegetables. It ranks second in fruits and vegetables production in the world, after China. The area under cultivation of fruits stood at 6.*6 million hectares while vegetables were cultivated at *0.*5 million hectares.

According to FAO (***9), India is the largest producer of ginger and okra amongst vegetables and ranks second in production of potatoes, onions, cauliflowers, brinjal, Cabbages, etc. Amongst fruits, the country ranks first in production of Bananas (*6.*8%), Papayas (*4.*5%) and Mangoes (including mangosteens and guavas) (*5.*9%). Grapes, Pomegranates, Mangoes , Bananas, Oranges account for a larger portion of fruits exported from the country while Onions, Mixed Vegetables, Potatoes, Tomatoes, and Green Chilly contribute largely to the vegetable export basket.