Hyderabad: A wide range of fruits, both common and exotic, continue to be imported into Telangana from other Indian states and abroad. These include apples, guavas, oranges, pomegranates, strawberries, grapes, kiwis, avocados and dragon fruits. According to horticulture officials, apples, dragon fruits and avocados are among the most imported varieties in recent years. While apples still arrive in large quantities, local cultivation of dragon fruit and avocado has increased, led by innovative farmers.

Apples are primarily imported from Afghanistan and South Africa, while avocados arrive from Mexico, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Tanzania. Dragon fruit, once largely sourced from Vietnam, is now being grown extensively within Telangana. Other imports include Thai guavas, oranges from Egypt and Brazil and pomegranates from Iran and Afghanistan. Green and gold kiwis are brought in from New Zealand, Greece, Chile and Iran.

To reduce dependency on imports, local farmers are showing a growing interest in cultivating these fruits. Dragon fruit, once heavily imported, is now gaining ground as a local crop. “I started cultivating red and pink dragon fruit in 2023. Last year, I sold 4 tonnes at `130 per kg. This year, I expect 10 tonnes,” said Bandari Venugopal Rao, a farmer from Jagital district. He added that while Telangana soil supports the crop well, excess watering could lead to fungal infections.

Avocado farming is also expanding. Around 30 to 40 farmers in Telangana have taken it up, said Dr Srinivas Rao Madhavaram, director of Deccan Exotics, a farmers’ producer organisation (FPO) in Sangareddy. “We’ve worked on avocado varieties for six and a half years, sourcing plants from Israel, South Africa and California. This isn’t for profit alone—we’re promoting avocados for their uses in cooking, cosmetics and due to growing demand,” he said.

Scientists at the Fruit Research Station (FRS) in Sangareddy are studying two main avocado types—green and purple. “The green type, with lower fat content, is suitable for Telangana’s climate. The premium purple type requires cooler conditions and is grown under shade nets. Fruiting typically begins three years after planting,” said Dr Harikanth, a scientist at FRS. He noted that avocado could become the next big horticulture crop in the state.

The station is also researching passion fruit. “It’s been grown here for 20–30 years but is gaining renewed attention. It’s a vine crop, requires minimal water and starts bearing fruit within a year,” said Dr Harikanth.
However, he observed that public awareness of these fruits remains low.

Deccan Exotics is also experimenting with Longan, a tropical fruit similar to litchi. It is currently under cultivation on half an acre and is expected to be introduced to farmers next year. Longan can tolerate high temperatures up to 44–45°C, though climate change is affecting yield consistency.

Farmers like Jagtial’s Venugopal Rao are also experimenting with other exotic varieties. He imported Japanese guava plants last year and is cultivating them on 20 guntas of land on his farm. “These guavas are big, sweet and have very few seeds. From next year, they’ll be ready for market,” he said, adding that he also plans to grow avocados and Thailand coconuts from next year. “I want to go deep into horticulture and do something unique, not just grow for commercial markets,” he said.

In Nalgonda’s Polepally village, farmer Lokasani Padma Reddy is cultivating Brazil orange, a seedless, juicy variety imported through tissue culture. “We planted it five years ago. The fruit started to come in the third year, and last year we sold it at Rs. 100 per kg,” he said.

From the supply chain side, importers say apples and dragon fruits remain some of the most frequently imported fruits. At the Batasingaram fruit market, importer M. Prasad said that apples and pears arrive from South Africa and arrive at Mumbai before reaching Hyderabad. Prices vary depending on size and demand, a box of pears costs Rs 1,200-Rs 1,300, while apples bought at Rs 677 per box are sold for Rs 1,269 dollars. Bharath Misra, another importer, brings in green and gold kiwi from countries including New Zealand, Greece, Chile and sells a box for around Rs 2,200.