Known as fruit and vegetable basket of the world, India produces a wide variety. It ranks second in fruits and vegetables production in the world, after China. As per National Horticulture Database 2010 published by National Horticulture Board, during 2009-10 India produced 71.516 million metric tonnes of fruits and 133.738 million metric tonnes of vegetables. The area under cultivation of fruits stood at 6.329 million hectares while vegetables were cultivated at 7.985 million hectares.

India is the largest producer of ginger and okra amongst vegetables and ranks second in production of potatoes (10%), onions, cauliflowers, brinjal, cabbages, etc. Amongst fruits, the country ranks first in production of bananas (28%) papayas, mangoes (39%) lemons and limes.

The vast production base offers India tremendous opportunities for export. During 2010-11, India exported fruits and vegetables worth Rs.3856 crores which comprised of fruits worth Rs.2635 crores and vegetables worth Rs.1221 crores.

Mangoes , walnuts, grapes, bananas, pomegranates account for larger portion of fruits exported from the country while onions, okra, bitter gourd, green chilles, mushrooms and potatoes contribute largely to the vegetable export basket.

The major destinations for Indian fruits and vegetables are Bangladesh, UAE, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, UK, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Indonesia.

Though India's share in the global market is still nearly 1% only, there is increasing acceptance of horticulture produce from the country. This has occurred due to concurrent developments in the areas of state-of-the-art cold chain infrastructure and quality assurance measures. Apart from large investment pumped in by the private sector, public sector has also taken initiatives and with APEDA's assistance several Centers for Perishable Cargoes and integrated post harvest handling facilities have been set up in the country. Capacity building initiatives at the farmers, processors and exporters' levels has also contributed towards this effort.