In the Maharashtra state of India, growers are preparing for the upcoming pomegranate season, which will start at the end of July. Good sizes with soft seeds are expected, which would make for a very successful season.

For Indian exporting company Kalya Exports the grape season has finished, with the employees of the company still busy with the closing work. However there isn’t much time to waste, as the time for harvesting pomegranates is already upon them: “The grape season lasted until May, however in the Maharashtra state of India the pomegranate harvest starts at the end of July. This means we’ll have to shift focus fairly soon. Kalya Exports mainly deals with the Bhagwa variety of pomegranates, the rainy season has just started in our region and temperature had gradually decreased over July. We expect this will result in good size fruit with soft seeds and high T.S.S., which stands for Total Soluble Solids.” Amit Kalya, owner of Kalya Exports explains.

Kalya Exports is trying to switch from the traditional markets: “We’d normally export our pomegranates to the U.A.E., Bangladesh, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. This year we’re concentrating on different areas though. Our focus will be on China, Russia and South Asian markets this season. The explanation for this can be found in the demand. We’ve seen the demand in these regions rise, mainly due to the juicy arils and sweet and sour mixed taste of the Indian pomegranate.”

The culture of pomegranate cultivation is changing. According to Kalya more and more farmers are adopting Good Agricultural Practices, or GAP. “Besides farms getting their certificates, we also see more timely control of pests and diseases by adopting IPM practices. Our integrated nutrient and water management has gradually improved the quality of the Indian pomegranates, along with the taste and the shelf life. This has helped penetrate more European markets as well as the North American one. Overall we see a good quantity of great quality fruit coming up from India this season.” Kalya concludes.