Market opportunity and easily available information has made Germany a natural springboard into Europe, according to one Indian mango exporter.

Mahesh Krishnappa of Rapid Import and Exporters said the company has sent its first small consignments to Germany with the hope of making a splash in a promising new market.

"We wanted to understand E.U. regulations when we started the business so we came up with the idea of collaborating with a company in Europe," the marketer told www.freshfruitportal.com.

"We invested in Germany because it was easy for us to find a collaborating partner so that we would understand the legal obligations in the European Union."

The company had also considered launching its European business in the Netherlands, where it still hopes to establish relations, but ultimately chose Germany due in part to a relative lack of mango options.

"At least for Germany, our clients did not have customers previously from India supplying mangoes. To gain confidence, they did not place big orders at first. They wanted to see the quality and how people accepted Indian variety mangoes. So far it looks really good," he said.

"The German market wasn’t so influenced by the different varieties of mangoes. There are varieties available but only in a certain season. It was not loaded with mangoes as compared to the Netherlands, for example. That was a marketing strategy we had."

Rapid has not yet received full feedback for its initial sales in Germany but Krishnappa was satisfied with the company's offering.

"We are very positive because we are confident about the quality of the mangoes and the quantity.  India grows around 50% of the world’s mangoes and the quality is also very high on the global market," he said.

"The only variable is the acceptance of these mangoes on the local market. But for acceptance, we are also confident because it is not grown in the European Union and we will not be hurting the sentiments of local farmers."

For export, the company primarily offers Alphonso mangoes, in addition to Kesar, Banganpalli and Totapuri.

Krishnappa explained that the Indian fruit offering differs largely from other producing nations in terms of variety, giving the company confidence it will be able to compete against other regions.

He said southern India received unexpected rains early in the season, which caused some fruit to drop to the ground. Alphonso, the main export variety, was not significantly impacted, however. Krishnappa said quantity and quality so far looked good compared to last year.

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