Papaya is one of the most profitable agricultural commodities in India. The reason behind its great success is that it’s easy to farm and it has multi-purpose uses. Papayas can be cultivated on big farms or even in your own backyard. Also, it can be used as fruit & latex. It’s rich in vitamin C and helps the digestive system too. It’s a tropical fruit that is in demand all over the world. That’s why papaya trading is a profitable business. Today, let’s dig deep in and know about the humble papaya in detail.

Papaya Production in India

Currently, India is the biggest producer of papaya. It is responsible for 50% of the total world production of papaya. This fruit is so popular in India for its excellent taste and medicinal value that a significant part of this production gets consumed in the domestic market. This makes it a very good commercial crop. Its high domestic and international demand attracts a large number of farmers who wish to grow this crop.

In India, the significant states responsible for papaya cultivation are Andhra, Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Assam, and Telangana. According to the data of the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), for the years, 2021-22, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat are the biggest papaya-producing states in India. During this time, Andhra Pradesh produced 1503 tons of papaya and Gujarat produced 1107 tons. Over the years, India has shown significant growth in papaya production and is reaching new heights every day.

Papaya Varieties in India

There are multiple varieties of papaya in India. Let’s know about some of its best varieties:

1. Pusa Delicious: This variety is mainly cultivated in Jharkhand, Orissa, Karnataka, and Kerala. It’s a medium size fruit that weighs around 1-2 kg. It has a distinct flavor which makes it different from other varieties. It has a deep orange color when fully ripened.
2. Pusa Dwarf: As the name suggests, it’s a dwarf variety of papaya. Its fruit grows only to 40 cm in height. Due to its dwarfness, the size of the fruit also varies from round to oval shape and weighs around 0.5 to 1 kg. However, this variety is good for cultivation for personal purposes. You can easily grow it in your backyard.
3. Pusa Giant: Unlike the Pusa Dwarf, this one is one of the tallest papaya varieties. The plant of this variety bears its fruit only after growing to 1 meter or above. It weighs around 2-3 kg and is yellow when ripened.
4. Sunrise Solo: This is one of the most famous papaya varieties of Andhra Pradesh. It is a more improved variety of Hawaiian papaya variety called Solo. This fruit has a pear shape. It has a red colour and a mildly sweet flavour. The fruit weighs around 400-500 grams.
5. Taiwan Red Lady: This is the latest version of papaya introduced in India. It was mainly developed for commercial purposes and it’s getting a good response from farmers too. It’s one of the largest papaya varieties and each fruit weighs around 0.5 to 2.5 kg.
6. Arka Surya: This is a hybrid variety of papaya. It’s a crossing of Sunrise Solo with Pink Pulp Sweet. It grows fruit with pink-colored pulp. The fruits are medium-sized and weigh around 600-800 grams.

Papaya Cultivation Practices

Papaya is known to be a tree-like plant. The specialty of these plants is that they grow very fast. Since it’s a tropical plant, it needs a little humidity to grow. A temperature of 21°C to 32°C is the ideal temperature for a papaya plant to grow. It needs a lot of sunlight for its flowers to bloom. Since it grows in three seasons spring (February-March), monsoon (June-July), and autumn (October-November), its soil should have moisture on summer days and dryness on winter days. A soil with a pH of 6.0 – 7.0 is best for it. The male papaya plant is only used to produce pollen. They can’t produce fruit. Only a female plant can produce fruit. During its cultivation, only 10%(Papaya is planted during spring, the farmer and is recommended.) of male plants get rooted and once the plants flower, the male plants get uprooted.

Papaya Export

Since the year 2009, papaya trade has been growing in India. The export demand for Indian papaya is very high. From 2009 to 2020, India is constantly exported 3-5 million dollars worth of papaya around the world. In 2020, even during the time of covid when exports were restricted for a long time, India successfully exported papaya worth $4.36 million.

The major importers in 2020 for Indian papaya were Qatar, Nepal, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, and Oman. Middle East is becoming a big importer of Indian papaya, and year by year their demand is growing. This shows that the papaya export in India has great potential.

As you saw above, papaya trade in India is growing significantly. The fruits have a large domestic and global demand. Papaya traders are making hefty profits in mandis and on agricultural trading platform like Bijak Agriculture Trading App. On Bijak you can find the most trusted network of papaya traders from all over India. We hope that you found this blog insightful. Don’t forget to like, share and follow the Bijak Blog to get weekly updates.