The National Research Centre for Grapes (NRC) plans to begin a huge branding effort this season onwards, telling domestic consumers that the grapes purchased by them are ‘residue free’ . This means that grapes which have been certified by the laboratories approved by Apeda will henceforth bear a logo on the box which says the product is residue-free, said SD Sawant, director, NRC. Until now, this effort was restricted to grapes meant for export. Indian grapes have to undergo around seven laboratory tests before being considered eligible for European markets.
“Several consumers are not happy eating grapes since they fear that a lot of pesticides have gone into production of the crop. We want to remove this stigma,” Sawant explained. Farmers are also realising that a certificate of this nature will help them get better returns, he said. NRC has written to Maharashtra State Grape Growers Association (MSGGA) seeking a tie-up on this effort and the association has responded positively.
According to Ashok Gaikwad, president of the association, the ?residue-free? logo will build up the image of farmers and enable them to make more money. The association has written to the Centre seeking subsidy on the certification process for a certain period, As of now, only farmers who export grapes get 50% subsidy on the certification process. While this is not mandatory, work can begin on a small percentage of the grape produce which can increase awareness among farmers. Gaikwad said work on the design of the logo has begun and the effort is likely to begin this harvest season, which starts from January.
Both NRC and the association have begun awareness programmes in Nashik, Satara, Sangli and Solapur, the main grape growing regions of Maharashtra, for farmers and will also tie up with Food Safety Standards Authority of India ( FSSAI). ” I want to tell people that grape is the first crop in the country for which residue monitoring is done. Apeda has put in place a process to help Indian exporters on this issue. However, the farmers selling grapes in the domestic market also need to tell consumers that the quality of their product is good,” Sawant said.
According to him, during a recent visit of UNIVEG Group, a worldwide supplier of fresh produce, Indian grapes were certified as superior to grapes produced by South Africa, Australia, Chile and Namibia. Only Peru is ahead of India and that is because they grow patented varieties of grapes, he said. Peru’s grape volumes are three times less than India. NRC is also making efforts to see if patented grape crop varieties can be brought into the country. Patented varieties are usually grown by private breeders.
It may be mentioned here that nearly four years after being rejected by the European Union on account of pesticide residue, Indian grapes have begun to find favour again with European buyers. For the 2014 season, a record 1.92 lakh tonne of grapes have been exported by Indian traders to around 94 countries, of which Europe and the UK together account for the largest share of 65,000 tonne. Last year, exports were around 1.72 lakh tonne. Grape export to the EU had come down to 22,000 tonne in 2010-11 due to the pesticide issue. Gradually, it increased, touching 56,000 tonne in 2012-13.
In 2010, the EU had stopped grape imports from India saying it found excessive chemicals in them. Around 40,000 tonne of grapes worth R300 crore shipped to European countries were halted as a chemical contaminant ? chlormequat chloride, a plant growth regulator ? was detected in excess of the prescribed maximum residue level.
Nashik district is the largest producer of grapes in India, with nearly 1.75 lakh acres under vineyards, while total acreage in Maharashtra is around 2.50 lakh acres. The National Research Centre for Grapes was established to undertake mission oriented programmes. It comes under the aegis of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research.
