The District Agriculture Office in India plans to expand the banana cultivation in Pune, a banana-producing region in India, to 3,000 hectares.

This increase is part of the country's agriculture office's plan to increase the annual banana production to 2 lakh tons in the next five years and increase exports. Currently, Pune has a little over 600 hectares of banana plantations.

The agriculture department's plan to increase hectares includes using artificial intelligence and other technologies to boost the per-hectare yield from 42 tonnes to 65 tonnes and forming clusters. 

Sanja Kachole, District Agriculture Officer, told India Times that "once the clusters are formed, there will be a proper ecosystem and necessary infrastructure, including advance warehouses where export-quality bananas will be checked before being sent abroad." 

India is a leading producer of bananas, but its export share in 2024 was a little over 1% due to the country's high domestic demand and the fruit's perishability. 

The country has been working on sea protocols for trial shipments and increasing production to boost efforts. In 2023 the country send its first sea shipment of bananas to the Netherlands. 

Andhra Pradesh is India's leading banana-producing state, followed by Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Uttar Pradesh. Some popular banana varieties include the Robusta, Rasthali, Poovan, Nendran, Red Banana, Monthan, Malbhog, and Yelakki.