Serbia has granted market access to Indian horticultural products such as onion, potato, pomegranate and pomegranate arils.

The Authority for the Development of Agricultural and Processed Food Exports (APEDA), in a notice, said that for exports to Serbia, the phytosanitary certificate is not required for shipments of onion bulbs, fruits of pomegranate and pomegranate arils from India.

However, for potato exports, the phytosanitary certificate was required, APEDA said. “There are also specific phytosanitary requirements for potato shipments which must be met and should be mentioned on the phytosanitary certificate as an additional declaration,” the Apeda notice said.

The Serbian market is open, but not that big, said Ajit Shah, president of the Association of Horticultural Exporters in Mumbai.

India’s exports of fresh fruits and vegetables grew 6% to $ 1.48 billion for the fiscal year ended March 2021 from the previous year. Exports of fresh vegetables increased in volume to 2.32 million tonnes (1.93 million tonnes last year), while fresh fruit shipments increased to 9.56 lakh tonnes (8.34 lakh tonnes )

According to the latest data from the Ministry of Agriculture, total horticultural production in 2020-2021 is estimated at 326.58 million tonnes, an increase of about 5.81 million tonnes or 1.81% over the ‘last year.