Vijayapura district is known for cultivating tasty grapes and producing sweet raisins that are exported to many parts of India and West Asian countries; but now this fruit will be tasted even by the Chinese as one of the grapes and raisins traders of the city is participating in an international export trade exhibition to be held in China between November 5 and 10.

The event, which is being organised by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, is being held at Shanghai city of China in association with Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority.

The young trader, who has an opportunity to participate and represent Vijayapura, is Aquib Almelkar. He would go to Shanghai to tell the Chinese about the quality and taste of grapes and raisins from the district.

“I am elated to be participating in the exhibition and represent India, and more importantly Vijayapura district, which is known for growing sweet and tasty varieties of grapes and raisins with a great demand in the domestic and international markets. As a representative, my job would be spread awareness among the Chinese about quality of our grape and Chinese to make sure that they show interest in the trade of this fruit”, he said.

He said that a stall has been allotted to him at the exhibition where he would be displaying produce that are packed in a special way that their quality is not affected.

Already, grapes and raisins from Vijayapura are already being exported to England and the West Asian countries. It may be noted that varieties such as Thomson and Super Sonaka are exported.

Grapes are cultivated in around 11,000 hectares of land in the district. Soil and the climatic conditions are considered to be suitable for cultivating grapes.

Meanwhile, the event is being organised to promote and popularise Indian produce with an objective of increasing exports to China.

The exhibition, which is expected to boost trade between the two countries, would be held for six days where 30 delegates of the authority would be participating from India, according to sources.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> States> Karnataka / by Special Correspondent / Vijayapura – November 05th, 2019