Pomegranates are all the rage in many European countries — thanks to its perceived health benefits for diabetics and cancer patients — and the fruit is reaching there from farms around Bengaluru.

At least a tonne of freshly peeled pomegranates from areas around Bengaluru has been reaching European countries every day over the last few months.

“During our interaction with exporters and importers, we were informed about the increasing demand due to the fruit’s perceived health benefits,” said Venkata Reddy, Chief Executive Officer of Menzies Aviation Bobba (Bangalore), which is among the two cargo handlers at Kempegowda International Airport.

Among other destinations for peeled pomegranates from Bengaluru are the West Asia and South East Asia.

“One of the exporters is procuring pomegranates from nearby areas, bringing them to the cargo village in KIA where they are peeled and packed in small containers before being put in cold storage,” said an official of Bangalore International Airport Ltd. (BIAL), which operates KIA.

According to horticulture expert and former horticulture additional director S.V. Hittalmani, export of peeled pomegranate has increased since it does not have to undergo strict phytosanitary measures while it also gives better value to exporters. He said that big consignments were exported from Karnataka till 2004 when bacterial blight started destroying the crop in north Karnataka.

“The trend of cultivating pomegranates around Bengaluru is fairly new,” he said, adding that the fruit is now grown in about 3,000 hectares in Bengaluru Rural, Kolar, Shidlaghatta, Gowribidanur and Chikkaballapura besides Ananthpur, Cuddapah and Madanpalli in Andhra Pradesh.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Bengaluru / by Special Correspondent / November 23rd, 2017