Kochi: The Kerala government is actively going ahead with its plans to give vegetable exports and the food processing industry a major thrust.

India, which is one of the world’s largest producers of vegetables, is ranked 10^th in vegetable exports. Currently the country has just about 2-per cent share of the total world exports of fresh vegetables.

The global trade of vegetables is of $920 million. The UK is the major importer of vegetables in the world, followed by Germany. And the biggest exporter is the US.

Kerala has a warm humid tropical climate, with annual rainfall of above 3,000mm distributed over a long duration, and the topography ranges from 0 to 2,000 meters above sea level. The state has the right climate and enjoys good rainfall throughout the year, making conditions conducive for the growth of numerous horticultural crops throughout the year.

Large areas are also under fruit cultivation with banana, pineapple and mangoes. Kerala also has large tracts under tapioca cultivation. All these produce are already being converted into value-added food products by hundreds of units in the unorganised and a handful in the organised sector.

The state government has already initiated steps to set up eight agri-export zones in an area of around 4,000 hectares. About 16,000 farmers would be covered under the scheme. The areas delineated are Palakkad, Thrissur, Ernakulam, Idukki, Kottayam, Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta, Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram.

The zones are proposed to be set up at a total cost of Rs.29.07 crore and once operational, could export as much as 60,000 tonnes of fruits and vegetables a year — primarily bananas, pineapple and vegetables.

The state government is also developing a cold chain protocol for post-harvest handling of produce.