India, world’s top exporter of gherkins

Key updates–

• Gherkins are exported under two categories — cucumbers and gherkins, which are prepared and preserved by vinegar or acetic acid and cucumbers and gherkins, which are provisionally preserved.
• India has crossed the USD 200 million mark of export of agricultural processed product – pickling cucumber, which is globally referred as gherkins or cornichons, in the last financial year.
• Gherkins is currently exported to more than 20 countries, with major destinations being North America, European countries and Oceanic countries such as USA, France, Germany, Australia, Spain, South Korea, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Russia, China, Sri Lanka and Israel.

About gherkins & Cucumbers-

• The name “gherkin” comes from the Dutch word “gurken,” which means small pickled cucumber. 
• Gherkins, also known as baby pickles or miniature cucumbers, are usually one to two inches long.
• Both cucumbers and gherkins belong to the same ‘cucumis sativus’, but are from different cultivar groups. 
• Gherkin cultivation, processing and exports started in India during the early 1990s with a modest beginning in Karnataka and later extended to the neighboring states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. 
• The ideal soil type and the desirable temperatures of not less than 15 degrees Centigrade and not more than 35 degrees Centigrade make these regions desirable for Gherkins cultivation.
• Nearly 15% production of the world’s gherkin requirement is grown in India.
• Gherkin has a 90-day crop and the farmers take two crops annually.