The export of fruits and vegetables to West Asia through the three airports in the State has come to a standstill with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Bahrain banning perishables of “Kerala origin” following theNipah outbreak.
Tonnes of fruits and vegetables that reached these countries on Saturday evening and early Sunday were rejected at the airports and had to be ferried back the State, exporters say.
Though the Agricultural Products and Processed Food Exporters Association has not received any official communication, buyers have informed the exporters that supermarkets and wholesale vegetable vendors in the seven emirates of the UAE and Kuwait have been told not to procure vegetables and fruits from Kerala from Saturday.
With the restrictions, the daily uplift of 150 tonnes of perishables via 50-odd scheduled flights from the Thiruvananthapuram, Cochin, and Karipur international airports has been hit.
A ban on curry leaves procured from Kerala has been in force for the past two years in Kuwait following detection of pesticide residue in the leaves.
Hundreds of Non-Resident Keralites in the Gulf will have to purchase fruits and vegetables from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh, South Africa.
Ramzan period
Of the exports to the Gulf, 70% are fruits, including banana, plantain varieties such as njalipoovan and poovan and raw banana. As it is Ramzan period, fruits are in high demand in these countries.
As much as 95% of the perishables are procured from markets in Valiyoor, Kalakkad, Nagercoil, Tirunelveli, Kambam, and Theni. “They are exported with Certificate of Origin that the fruits and vegetables are grown and cultivated in India. We cannot change it to State-specific,” a city-based exporter said.
The exporters fear that Europe and Saudi Arabia will follow suit and clamp restrictions on import of fruits and vegetables from Kerala.
Taking into account the current rate for export of perishables at $1.75, the country will suffer a loss of foreign exchange of ₹16.53 lakh a day. The crisis has affected 100 exporters and another 10,000 people, including farmers, staff in 75-odd export firms and loaders at the airport. The Airports Authority of India that operate airlines and allied service providers such as the KSIE and the CIAL that manage the cargo complexes in the airports have also been affected.
