India opens market to Uzbek chilli, pomegranate after Modi visit, with strict plant-health curbs
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India has opened its market to Uzbek chilli and pomegranate following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Uzbekistan on August 29-30, but the imports will be allowed only under strict phytosanitary conditions, the Indian Express reported.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare issued a notification on August 31 allowing the import of fresh chilli and pomegranate from Uzbekistan under a phytosanitary risk-management system.
According to the specified requirements, Uzbek fresh chilli must be free from Aculops lycopersici, commonly called the tomato russet mite, and Tomato brown rugose fruit virus. The shipments must also be free of plant debris and soil.
Pomegranate shipments from Uzbekistan must be free of plant debris, weed seeds and soil. They must also be certified free of Euzophera bigella, or quince moth; Lobesia botrana, also known as the European grapevine moth; Pseudococcus comstocki, or Comstock mealybug; and Botrytis cinerea, commonly known as grey mold.
The decision is intended to deepen bilateral cooperation in agriculture and food security, while also encouraging agricultural value chains, export potential and trade between India and Uzbekistan.
Uzbek chilli is expected to stay a niche item in the Indian market, while access for Uzbek pomegranates could heighten competition for domestic growers in major producing states such as Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh.
India is the world’s largest producer, consumer and exporter of chilli. About 70 per cent of the country’s chilli output is consumed at home, while the rest is exported. Chilli makes up about 31 per cent of India’s spice exports.
The import approvals were granted soon after Modi’s visit to Uzbekistan, during which the two countries aimed to strengthen bilateral economic and agricultural relations.