Indian peanuts are cultivated over an acreage of 31 million hectares – roughly the size of Nigeria.
Indian peanuts are consumed in over 50 countries. Indian peanuts are the only source that are available all round the year. Crops are planted in two cycles and harvested in March and October. There are several other inter-cropping cycles which makes Indian peanut a prime source of supply.
Recent quality drive in the Indian peanut industry by APEDA have started resulting in good practices in food safety & the control of aflatoxin.
Peanut Varieties:
There are several Indian peanut varieties, including Java, Bold, G20, Mathdi, and western 44. Customers often buy the java (white round shape) for hand to mouth consumption while the peanut butter factories choose bold & Tj depending on the process. Depending on the seeding type, peanuts grow between 90 to 120 days. Each variety have varying oil content, shelf life & freshness.