United States is all set to inundate the Indian consumers with sprightly grapes, pears, prunes and exotic wines, as it targets a major pie in the fast growing segment in the country.
"If India increased access to its market for US agricultural goods, it will provide all segments of Indian society greater consumer choice," US Consul General Angus Simmons said at the launch of the fall festival of US wines and food in Mumbai.
"The market for imported food products and wines is nascent in India and our attempt would be to have a major share as the market grows," an US official said.
The US exports of Californian grapes, which stood at around 1500-2000 tonnes last year were expected to cross 2500 tonnes in the current fiscal while pears 400 tonnes.
The export of Californian prunes has grown to 100 tonnes in the last year from 10 tonnes the year earlier and was expected to double this year, Sumit Saran of SCS Group said.
"Californian grapes were counter seasonal and would be available only by August when the Indian season ends and therefore was not in competition with the Indian variety," he said.
India's growing middle class has embraced a wide array of high quality wines and food products, he said and added that US was delighted to introduce its choicest wines and food in Mumbai as part of the festival.
America's leading wine manufacturing companies including Brown-Forman wines, Constellation wines, Ernest and Julio Gallo Winery, San Fransisco Wine Cellars, participated in the festival.
Among the leading brands exhibited at the festival were world famous Fetzer, Zellerbach, Paul Masson, William Roan, Novella, Eos, Arbor Mist, Almaden, Vendange and Cook's.
The imported wines market in India was about 40,000 cases annually.
The Californian wines are roughly about 20 per cent of the imported wines and were expected to grow by about 50-60 per cent in the current year, Rukn Luthra, country manager of one of the largest Californian wine company Ernest & Julio Gallo, said.
