Meeting of the Agmark Committee

20th November 2023, Pune

ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune hosted a meeting of the Agmark Committee Today, under the co-chairmanship of Dr. Kaushik Banerjee, Director, ICAR-NRCG, Pune and Shri. B.K. Tiwari, I/c Jt. AMA-DMI Faridabad.

The meeting was attended by Dr. Ashish Mukharjee, Director of Laboratories, Dr. Vijay Kumar Doharey Dy. Managing Director, National Horticulture Board, Dr. B.K. Joshi, Dy. AMA-RO, Mumbai, officials from DMI, APEDA, and the State Department of Agriculture, and representatives of grape growers and exporters.

The agenda of the meeting was to discuss the quality parameters under a schedule of Grapes of Fruits and Vegetables, Grading and Marking Rules, 2004. To certify the early harvest grapes for export, it was decided to revise the sugar: acid ratio from the existing value of 20:1 to 18:1. This was unanimously accepted by all the stakeholders’ representatives, including Maharashtra State Grape Growers Association and the Grape Exporters Association of India. All the attendees felt that this change in the Agmark standard will substantially increase the export of grapes, especially in the early harvest season of January–February, when Achieving a sugar:acid ratio of 20:1 often appears challenging.

(Source: ICAR-National Research Centre for Grapes, Pune)