Indian Consumers Embrace South African Apples and Pears, 2021 Ends on a Great Note for Hortgro India

Hortgro India ended 2021 on a positive note with a remarkable upsurge in demand for South African Apples & Pears in the Indian market. Promoting the excellent produce from South Africa in India, Hortgro conducted multiple marketing activities in 2021, reaching out to key stakeholders to increase awareness and affinity about the beautiful fruits from the beautiful country. The robust campaign spanned across the year supported easy access to delicious South African produce to Indian consumers.

In the last two years, Hortgro has seen an exponential rise in India’s demand for these fruits. Riding on a very high growth rate, South African produce trended amongst the traders and consumers in 2021. A variety of apples and pears ranging from Pink Lady Apples, Royal Gala, and Granny Smith to Vermont Beauty, Forelle, and Packham Pears adorned the Indian markets.

Sachin Khurana, India Representative, Hortgro said, “The South African pome fruit growers, packers, and exporters are extremely delighted with the love Indian conusmers have showered on South African Apples & Pears. 2021 has seen a phenomenal growth in terms of imports from South Africa and we are committed to supplying Indian consumers with excellent quality and great tasting products. I see a lot of interest and enthusiasm from large importers and retailers from India about the business possibility that South African produce brings.”

According to industry data, almost 768,900 boxes or 9,610 tonnes of Apples and 1,574,000 boxes or 19,675 tonnes of Pears were imported to India in 2021. In Apples, the Royal Gala variety dominated the market share with 69% of total imports, followed by Granny Smith (6%) and Topred/Starking (5.50%). In Pears, the Packham’s Triumph variety dominated the market share with 46% of total imports, followed by Forelle (25%) and Vermont Beauty (23%).

South African Apples and Pears are now easily available at modern retailers, neighbourhood stores, local pushcart vendors as well as leading online stores.