Washington apples, California grapes, China pears, Sri Lankan strawberries and kiwi from New Zealand: the Indian fruit market has become a global orchard. The rising demand for imported fruits is not only due to rising health-consciousness but also their year-round availability — apples in the summer and grapes during winter. “This is the most important reason for the increasing popularity of imported fruits,” confirms Sumit Saran, director, SCS Group, an agri-business consulting firm, agreeing that rising disposable incomes have also helped. He cites the example of apples, the king among imported fruits, which weighs in at almost 60% of the total imported fruit sales in India. “Apples grow in India from November to February and in the US from June to November,” he says. “This means Indian consumers can buy apples through the year.”