Few Indians may have heard of persimmon or horned melons, but they could soon savour these delicious Spanish and New Zealander fruits, to be imported and launched by leading fruits firm IG International Pvt Ltd, which introduced New Zealand’s famed Avanza avocado in India last year.
“Most of us do not even know that apple alone, the most popular fruit globally, has over 300 commercial varieties across the world. All we know about are just 20-25 of them. So, we are also launching an awareness campaign, “Fruits-as-New-Junk” to make Indians aware of how many options they have,” Tarun Arora, Director, told BusinessLine.
On January 11, the Mumbai-based IG International signed an MoU with the Andhra Pradesh Government committing to invest Rs. 16.5 crore to set up a cold chain project to give a fillip to this sector. This year, the firm has exported 650 tons of kinnow, grapes, potatoes and pomegranates to six countries.
In 2015, the company had signed a Rs. 15 crore deal with Crown Orchard Company of Virginia, USA, for importing 1,000 metric tons of apples in a year. “We are currently importing fruits from nearly 30 countries into India where the market size in this segment is about USD 550 million per annum.”
In 2014-15, IG International’s turnover was Rs 300 crore, with a 30% growth. This year, it hopes to export fruits worth Rs 400 crore and imports worth Rs 60-80 crore, he added.
The company handles an annual volume of over 1,500 refrigerated 40-feet containers from 20 countries and distributes these through its 27 wholesale outlets across India.
IG Supply Chain Pvt. Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary, has a temperature-controlled warehousing capacity of 25,000 pallets with facilities in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Jaipur and Amravati. It plans to expand this capacity to 45,000 pallets and double the fleet of refrigerated trucks to 100, besides setting up a packing line for grading and sizing of fruits to global standards.
In FY 2014, IG International imported 30,000 MT of fresh fruits comprising of apples, cherries, kiwis, oranges, plums, pears, sweet tamarind, etc.
The company is a major exporter of potatoes and table grapes to Russia, Europe and South East Asia and has set up offices in USA, China, Hong Kong and the Czech Republic. It is a market leader in imported cherries with 60% market share. For kiwis, IGI is one of the few exclusive partners to Zespri Kiwi and accounts for more than 33% of the fruit sold in India. IGI is also one of the largest players in apples with a market share of 16% and a dominant player in oranges (citrus), plums, pears, sweet tamarind and other fresh fruits.