A consignment of dragon fruit, which was renamed as Kamalam in India, cultivated by the farmers of Tadasar village in Maharashtra has been exported to Dubai. This project is seen as a major boost to exotic fruit export, the ministry of commerce and industry said this weekend.
Although dragon fruit is not a local product of India -being grown mainly in Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, the US and Vietnam – production of the fruit began in India in the early 1990s.
States which grow dragon fruit include Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Odisha, and others. “The cultivation requires less water and can be grown in various kinds of soils. There are three main varieties of dragon fruit: white flesh with pink skin, red flesh with pink skin, and white flesh with yellow skin,” the ministry told hindustantimes.com.