Contract Farming on Papaya in India

Nutritionally, the papaya is very important in developing countries, as it fruits year-round and is rich in vitamin C. Papaya is also an excellent source of betacarotene, which the body converts to vitamin A. One fruit will give you twice your requirement of vitamin C and almost a third of vitamin A, so papayas boost immunity and are good for the skin and mucus membranes.Their most important constituent is an an endolytic plant cystein protease enzyme known as papain, which improves digestion. This natural chemical is extracted from raw papaya and dried to a powder and it is introduced to India in 1990s.It has a wide uses, particularly in food processing industries for tenderising meat, as clarifying agent, digestive enzyme for dietary supplements, chewing gums and as a whitening agent in tooth paste. Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is the major exporter along with Australia, India and Sri Lanka. Major importing countries are Japan, Europe and the USA.