The word Belgium brings to mind many nice things including Belgium dark chocolate, Belgian-cut diamonds and not to forget, picturesque Brussels. But the most recent breakthrough for Belgium is the import of apples and pears to the Indian markets. Our markets are currently stocked with Indian apples (from Kashmir and Punjab), Washington apples, Fuji apples and New Zealand apples. There are almost no European varieties of fruits, other than the occasional imports from France and Italy. Eric Derwael, a representative of the D&G Fruit, Sint- Truiden, Belgium, elaborated on the reason why Belgian apples have found their way to India.The fruits are brought in via Singapore or Colombo, repackaged and distributed to vendors in 1,000 kg samples. The quality of the apples are generally assessed by their colour (darker shades of red are preferred), hardness (must not crumble easily), shelf life (must last 10 days in open air), taste (must have the right balance of sweetness and sourness) and price. With already so many varieties of apples in the market, the reason why Belgium was chosen was the next question. Was there a demand for more variety? Or was there a lack of enough choices in the market? The reasons were obvious. Surveys had shown that there was always a demand for new products and varieties in Indian markets. Since people were easily bored with repetitions, traders were of the opinion that the higher quality, lower costing apples might do the trick. “Economically, it is also a move by Belgium to diversify the export markets of the country. Our apples taste so good that India will just love them,” Eric adds confidently. When asked for a tip to pick good apples, he said, “To blindly judge the quality of a fruit, go back to the roots. The soil is what matters, not the individual fruit.” Belgian apples and pears will be marketed in Chennai, Kochi and Mumbai at approximately `1,900-2,000/ 20 kgs. For more details call D&G Fruit, Belgium, India Sales Office at 044-26210395 or 044-26222587.
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