In a new first, Sujanpur’s litchis have made it to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, with an additional exotic touch of the scent of rose.
With the country’s horticulture sector growing at a fast pace, it is no surprise that amongst a horde of luscious fruits – mangoes, jamuns, bananas, grapes, oranges and cherries – litchis too have made it to the list of exports to international markets.
In Pathankot’s Sujanpur, a farmer named Prabhat Singh took the initiative of growing litchis that smell like rose. After one metric tonne of this special produce was procured by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to send to Dubai in the UAE and Qatar, another 600 kg also made its way to the Middle-eastern buyers.
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Under a new collaboration between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the Punjab government to expand national horticulture exports with fruits that find favour in Pathankot’s weather and water, more consignments are expected to bulk up exports.
The Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), the apex body handling horticulture commerce, said they bought the special litchi for nearly ₹175 a kg, a sharp increase from the ₹90 a kg that they had paid Singh last year.
The export value of the produce in Doha and Dubai is over ₹375 a kg, added APEDA, adding that the crop is also fetching as much as 18 pound per two kg.
"The success of farmers like Prabhat Singh also mirrors the potential of Pathankot which has favourable agro-climatic conditions and is an emerging hub for quality litchi cultivation and exports," APEDA said.
The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, said Punjab had crossed a horticulture milestone.
"India's commerce is growing with Punjab's litchi from Sujanpur in Pathankot reaching Qatar's markets for the first time," said Goyal.
Punjab’s litchi production for FY 2023-24 was 71,490 metric tonnes, contributing 12.39 pc to India’s total litchi output, shows government data. The country exported 639.53 metric tonnes of litchi in the same fiscal. The area under cultivation was 4,327 hectares with an average yield of 16,523 kg/ha.
During FY 2024-25 (April–March), India’s export of fruits and vegetables touched 3.87 billion, registering a 5.67 pc growth over the previous year.
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