Local ‘Ambul’ bananas to be exported for first time

Agriculture Minister Mahindananda Aluthgamage this weekend inspected the Ambul banana cultivation produced for the export market in Anuradhapura Rajanganaya from Yaya 1 to Yaya 5 in the Anuradhapura District.

This organic banana cultivation is carried out on 1, 500 acres with the participation of 700 farmers. There is a high demand for Ambul bananas in the foreign market.

At present the foreign exchange earned from local fruit exports is US $ 80 million. The government aims to increase it to US $ 1 billion. To this end, steps will be taken to increase the foreign exchange earned from the export of the products of this Ambul banana project.

At present 70 percent of banana farmers in the country cultivate Ambul bananas. Increased sales, disease resistance are the key reasons for this trend.

The Agriculture Modernization Project (ASMP) is financing and directing this project, which is implemented targeting the export market.

All three major fruits, mango, pineapple and banana, are already being exported to foreign markets.