Watermelon, mangoes from AP to reach UK stores soon

Visakhapatnam: In a first, fresh fruits were exported directly from Visakhapatnam Port to the United Kingdom (UK) through container shipment.
Two consignments carrying 19,000 kg of watermelon and 12,000 kg of mangoes from coastal Andhra Pradesh were packed and loaded in containers by a Vizag-based logistics company via Visakha Container Terminal Private Limited (VCTPL) for two ports in the UK.
Speaking to TOI, Anil Narayanan, deputy chief operating officer (COO) of VCTPL said, “Vizag is a gateway port for containers and direct shipment is available from Vizag to European countries though fruits have never been shipped before. They used to be sent through trans-shipment in Colombo. This month, we sent the first consignment of fruits in refrigerated containers to UK on trial ships maintaining the ideal temperature so that the fruits remain fresh for the month-long journey. Depending on its success, more varieties of fruits can be directly shipped from Vizag to other European countries.”
On their first fruit export shipment, director of Elite Logix Exim Agency (India) Pvt Ltd, A Ravi Shankar, said, “There is a demand for tropical fruits in UK and Europe. They had been importing from other Asian countries and from other Indian ports or through air cargo. Due to the pandemic, fruit cultivators of AP are also facing losses in their business. So we decided to purchase in bulk from local farmers (19 tonnes of watermelon from Vijayawada and 12 tonnes of mangoes from East Godavari), got them packed (three kg of mangoes per box) at Nuzvid.”
“The mangoes are being shipped to London Gateway port while watermelons are being sent to Felixstowe Port and will be subsequently dispatched to supermarkets in London. We are planning to send 18 tonnes of pineapple from Tuni in East Godavari,” added Ravi Shankar.