Dragon fruit has become a hit in India, reports the country’s Economic Times, with import volumes rising almost 20-fold over the last two months.
The switch from air to sea shipments is understood to have led to this huge surge in dragon fruit imports, sourced mainly from Vietnam.Domestic dragon fruit production, too, is on the rise, the report said.
A favourite with chefs at high-end hotels, dragon fruit is also gaining popularity among less-affluent consumers, according to the paper.
Samar Gupta, managing director of producer Trikaya Agro, which started growing dragon fruit six years ago, told the Economic Times that dragon fruit'spopularity is growing in all major cities, particularly in south India. 'We are sending dragon fruits to almost all the major cities,' said Gupta.
While locally-grown dragon fruit is cheaper, it is only available for five months, the report said. Vietnamese dragon fruit, meanwhile, is available for almost 10 months of the year.
