Maersk to aid banana exports

Mihir Shah (name changed), till now a traditional banana farmer in Gujarat's Bharuch region in Gujarat, is all set to become an exporter. This farmer has also hired a Philippines national for banana farming and storage expertise.

Shah understands that though India is the largest producer of bananas in the world, with a whopping 23 per cent share, the country's international banana exports are negligible. But what made Shah opt for exports?

Aiming big in the $4.7 billion global banana trade, international shipping giants are now offering to help farmers like Shah across the country. For instance, the Danish shipping giant Maersk India has started the refrigerated container initiative for banana exporters. The company's specialised containers would enable farmers to transport the produce from farms to international destinations.

Maersk has started this initiative in Tamil Nadu and Gujarat, the two leading banana producing states of the country.

Other than providing proper storage, the containers will increase the shelf life of bananas for three weeks. Currently, the key markets targeted by banana exporters are Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

According to sources, leading Japanese and Chinese shipping companies have approached farmers by offering reefer containers which will increase the shelf life of bananas for 3 weeks.

The average transit time is seven days to Saudi Arabia and three to the UAE.

Pointing to the need of the container service, R K Mondal, regional in-charge of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), said, "Farmers in India have not been adopting the scientific method of production, storage and distribution to increase the shelf life of their produce and find international markets. Unlike the Philippines or Ecuador, there are no scientific post-harvest and supply chain management for banana farming in the country."

Mondal also said the APEDA was assisting the Maharashtra government to set up a scientific banana processing plant with the help of the state marketing federation.

Maersk's Director (sales-South Asia) Nigel Goode said: "Reefer containers provide a cost-effective logistics solution for fruits and other perishables. We are also providing research on banana production, harvesting, warehousing and packaging. Besides end-to-end logistics support, the company will also provide marketing support in foreign countries apart from training exporters in cold-chain management."

Maersk will soon expand its operations to other areas, including Maharashtra, which is the largest banana producing state in the country.

Ecuador, Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, Honduras and Philippines are the leading banana producing countries.

Anindya Chakraborty, trade manager, Line Commercial- Reefers of Maersk India said transporting the produce in reefer containers was typically 1.2 to 1.5 time more costlier than ordinary containers. Five to six such reefer forty-feet containers are transported every week from India.

Air tariffs for banana are also very high, industry sources said, adding reefer transportation would extend shelf life.