“We are developing the planting material and strengthening the planting-material supply chain so that these crops can reach farmers. This is particularly important for fruit crops because they require a gestation period of three, four, or even five years before they start producing commercially. Therefore, after another four or five years, imports of these fruits are likely to reduce significantly. Once sufficient quantities of domestically grown fruits become available in the market, our dependence on imports should naturally come down,” Behera added.
In value terms, India’s imports of fruits and vegetables has more than doubled from $1.78 billion in 2016-17 to $3.82 billion in 2025-26, over the past decade as per the Commerce Ministry data. After edible oils, fruits and vegetables were the second largest food products imported into the country during 2025-26 in value terms, followed by pulses. India’s exports of fruits and vegetables grew 1.46 per cent during 2025-26 over previous year at $3.93 billion.
Growing demand
“The imports are increasing because of the growing demand for different crops. At the same time, our exports are also on the rise. Today people are much more health-conscious and are interested in trying new fruits and vegetables. Many horticultural crops are being imported because they were not traditionally produced in India, but we are emphasising that these crops can also be cultivated domestically instead of depending on imports,” Behera said.Citing the example of dragon fruit and avocado, Behera said “dragon fruit was almost 100 per cent imported about five years ago. Today, in most cases, we no longer need to import it, except in certain situations or during particular seasons. We have also developed technologies that allow farmers to cultivate more effectively,” Behera added.
Besides dragon fruit and avocado, other crops for which production technologies have been localised include rambutan, mangosteen and water apple among others, which farmers have started growing in parts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh among others, he said.
“People knew about avocados to some extent earlier, but now almost everybody wants to consume them, and the demand is increasing rapidly. We have therefore started working on production as well as the development of different varieties. Two varieties, Arka Supreme and Arka Coorg Ravi, have been developed, and planting material has been supplied to various organizations, particularly in the north-eastern hill regions and eastern India, where the high humidity and suitable temperatures are conducive to avocado cultivation. As a result, fruits that were previously not well recognised in India are now becoming more popular, and farmers have started cultivating several under-utilized crops as well,” he added.
Published on September 10, 2026