In a historic initiative towards introducing Indian Pomegranates to distant markets, a landmark commercial sea shipment of the prized Indian Bhagwa variety of Pomegranate has reached New York.

This marks a significant milestone for India’s fresh fruit exports. With growing international demand for premium quality of fresh fruits, the arrival of this shipment heralds the potential of Indian Pomegranates becoming a preferred choice in the competitive U.S. market, the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday.

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The Pomegranate season, which traditionally saw air freight as the primary mode of transportation, shifted gears in recent weeks to embrace the cost-effective and sustainable sea freight mode.

After India had been granted market access by the US for Pomegranates, during the season in 2023, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS), National Plant Protection Organisation (NPPO-India) and the National Research Centre for Pomegranate, Solapur (NRCP) successfully conducted the trial shipment of Pomegranate to the US by air.

Owing to the success of the static trial to enhance the shelf life of Pomegranates for up to 60 days by APEDA in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Pomegranate, India had successfully flagged off its first trial commercial sea shipment of Pomegranates comprising of 4200 boxes i.e. 12.6 tons to the U.S. in collaboration with InI Farms from Irradiation Facility Center (IFC), Maharashtra State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB), Vashi, Navi Mumbai in February, 2024.

APEDA facilitated the USDA pre-clearance program for Pomegranates in December 2024, which played a pivotal role in easing the logistical and regulatory hurdles for Indian agriculture exporters and enabled them to enter the U.S. market.

APEDA’s proactive approach in inviting the USDA inspectors for the pre-clearance process three months in advance ensured the smooth and timely arrival of the shipment.

The inaugural sea shipment of 4,620 boxes of Indian Pomegranates, weighing approximately 14 tons, reached the U.S. East Coast in the second week of March, well within five weeks of the point of departure.

The shipment was met with exceptional enthusiasm in New York. The arrival quality was reported as “excellent” and customers were captivated by the remarkable visual appeal and the superior eating quality of the Indian Bhagwa variety of Pomegranates.