From March 21, Kerala will have an official fruit: The Jackfruit

The state government plans to promote the fruit as a brand in markets across the world, and could potentially earn Rs 15,000 crore from this exercise.

news Human Interest

The government of Kerala is all set to declare the jackfruit as the state’s official fruit. The formal announcement will be made on March 21, according to reports. This move comes after the state declared an official animal, bird, flower and fish.

The decision to make jackfruit, which is the largest tree-borne fruit, the state fruit is based on a proposal by the Agriculture Department, according to a PTI report.

The government also plans to promote the ‘Kerala jackfruit’ as a brand in markets across the world, highlighting its organic and nutritional value.

VS Sunil Kumar, the State Agriculture Minister, said the main objective of the government was to boost the production and sale of jackfruit and related products by way of branding.

Through the sale of jackfruit and allied products, the government can earn a revenue of Rs 15,000 crore by branding the fruit.

The Agriculture Minister also reportedly said that though jackfruit is one of the most widely produce fruits in Kerala, the state is yet to tap its full potential.

“Crores of jackfruits, that too of different varieties, are produced in Kerala every year,” a PTI report quoted him saying.

The minister also highlighted as there were no fertilizers being added to the jackfruit grown in the state, the jackfruit from Kerala is very organic. Besides the nutritional value, the timbre value of the jackfruit tree is also high.

The government also plans to distribute jackfruit tree sapling among locals to grow in their backyards as part of its plans to expand its cultivation, the PTI report said.

To tap the potential of the fruit further, a research centre at Ambalavayal has also been set up under the Agriculture Department’s care.

Apart from this, the government also conducts a yearly ‘jackfruit fest’ to popularise the fruit.

The state’s official animal is elephant, the ‘great hornbill’ its official bird and kanikonna its official flower. Kerala also made the pearl spot or Karimeen its official fish.