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India US Trade: The United States is India’s largest trading partner, a title it retained for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25 with bilateral trade between the two nations valued at $131.84 billion, and recently India shipped its first commercial sea shipment of Indian pomegranates from Maharashtra to the US east coast.
In a statement on Saturday, the Union Ministry of Commerce & Industry said the 14-tonne shipment has arrived in New York, and was well received for its excellent quality and rich appearance. “In a historic initiative towards introducing Indian Pomegranates to distant markets, a landmark commercial sea shipment of the prized Indian Bhagwa variety of Pomegranate has successfully arrived in New York,” the ministry said.
India first began exporting pomegranates to the US in 2013 in collaboration with National Pomegranate Research Center, Solapur. Until recently, the pomegranates were exported to the US via the aerial route, however, the recent shipment was sent by sea, which is a more cost-effective and sustainable option.
According to the ministry, the sea shipment proves that Indian fruits can maintain their quality even during long journeys, adding that APEDA flagged off the sea consignment of 4,620 boxes (14 tons) in February 2024, following trial shipments and successful static trials that extended shelf life of the fruit to 60 days.
“The export was made possible with support from the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), in collaboration with USDA-APHIS, NPPO (India), and ICAR-National Research Centre for Pomegranate, Solapur,” said the ministry.
As per details provided by the Commerce ministry, the consignment was sent by Kay Bee Exports from Mumbai and sourced directly from farms, helping farmers benefit from global trade. APEDA’s pre-clearance program with the USDA played a key role in easing export procedures.
“The Government of India has been at the forefront in promoting Indian fresh fruits for the global market. APEDA has been supporting the export of Indian fruits like Mangoes and Pomegranates to the USA by funding the pre-clearance program. Indian farmers will achieve better realisation when their fruit gets exported to premium international markets like the USA. Indian mangoes have already reached annual exports of around 3500 tons and we hope that Pomegranates will also reach such strong numbers in the years to come,” said Abhishek Dev, Chairman APEDA.
Notably, India is the second-largest producer of horticultural crops, with states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Andhra Pradesh being major producers of pomegranate. According to the commerce ministry India exported 72,011 metric tons of Pomegranates worth $69.08 million in financial year 2023-24, with Pomegranate exports from India witnessing a significant 21 percent growth to the tune of $59.76 million in the period April – January, 2024-2025.
Key export destinations for Indian Pomegranates include the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Bangladesh, Nepal, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bahrain, Oman and the USA, the ministry revealed.
(With ANI inputs)
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