According to the handbook, published by the Oxford University, the upswing in fruit production makes India the second largest global producer behind China. Though horticulture has seen fruit production grow faster than vegetables but still 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.
- During the period of 2001-02 to 2014.15, area under horticulture crops globally ↑ from 16.5 mn hectares to 4 mn hectares.
The Toppers:
China tops the list of fruit production with 154.364 million tonnes (MT) in 2013 followed by India (82.631 MT), Brazil (37.774 MT), USA (26.986 MT), Spain (17.699 MT), Mexico (17.553 MT), Italy (16.371 MT) and Indonesia (16.003 MT).
Toppers in India:
State-wise, Maharashtra topped the list followed by Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Madhya Pradesh. Mainly India’s success in horticulture lies in small towns and districts.
- In 2012-13, Chittoor and Anantapur in Andhra Pradesh, Baramula 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.
The handbook points out that significant progress has been made in increasing area under horticulture resulting in higher production. Over the last decade, the area under horticulture grew by about 2.7% per annum and annual production increased by 7%.
