Gujarat, one of the major banana growing states, has shipped 1,430 tonnes of the fruit to the Middle East in the first three months of this fiscal. The state is now second in exporting banana after Kerala.

"Till now 143 containers have been exported. Each container has about 10 tonnes of G9 banana variety," said a Gujarat Agro Industries Corporation official.

For several years attempts had been made to export banana and only 1-2 containers were transported on trial basis, but this year the endeavour finally became successful, he added.

The export of banana was successfully started by the Desai Cold Storage with support from the state government, he added. Gujarat produces about 31.5 lakh tonnes of banana annually.

To encourage horticultural production and its exports, the state government is setting up infrastructural projects like the Centre for Perishable Cargo worth Rs 4.59 crore at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport.

The centre can handle 40 tonnes of cargo per day. A banana pack house at Jaghadia with two collection centres, built at a cost of Rs 6.41 crore, will help farmers in grading, packing and storing of the fruit.

Another integrated pack house for fruits and vegetables at Naroda is being built at an investment of Rs 7.53 crore with four collecting centres.