INDIA

Feedback from the Trade on Their Plans and Interest in the USA Pear Season:

No USA pears were available in the market during this reporting period. Most importers have not received any offers for pears from their US shippers. Interest is low.

Expectations for Any Freight or Logistics Challenges:

No major freight or logistic challenge has been reported. The major challenge is lack of pears in the US and availability of much lower priced South African pears.

Opportunities in Your Market for Specific Varieties, Sizes, and Grades:

Opportunity in the Indian market is for Red and Green Anjou pears. Sizes of 100-125 work best. US No. 1 is the preferred grade. Given the long transit time, it is not suggested to ship any Fancy grade product.

Update on the Competition in the Market:

The market is dominated by pears from South Africa. Small volume of pears from Chile is available in the market. Illegally imported Chinese pears through UAE are also present in large volume across the country.

Political or Economic Issues Impacting Imports, Retail, or Consumer Behavior:

India’s economy is emerging with resilience as the dust settles after a high-stakes elections period. Its gross domestic product grew 6.7% year over year in the April-to-June quarter. Deloitte retains its annual GDP growth projection to be between 7% and 7.2% in fiscal 2024 to 2025 and between 6.5% and 6.8% the following fiscal for India. This makes India the fastest growing large economy in the world. Having surpassed the United Kingdom to take the fifth pot among the fastest-growing economies the world over, India is now expected to take over Japan's position to clinch the title of the world's fourth largest economy in FY2025, according to the IMF. India's GDP will rise to $4.3 trillion next fiscal year, IMF projected.

Other Brief Comments:

A couple of Indian importers have shown interest in sourcing USA pears in the season. It will be critical that they are supported by the USA pear shippers. It will be important to maintain a presence in what promises to be the fastest growing market for imported pears.