ABSTRACT
Mo s t Asian countries are located in the tropical, subtropical, and temperate zones. In these regions, agriculture dates back several thousand years, with fruits representing a major source of food and nutrition. There are many varieties of fruits that grow abundantly in different regions. Many of them are eaten fresh or processed into homemade products. Since fruits are agricultural commodities, they have inherent variabilities caused by variety differences, and they are also subjected to the vagaries of climate and other en vironmental influences. Fruit preservation began in ancient times in China, India, and Persia. Since ancient times, several techniques have been used to preserve fruits and their products: drying, concentration, freezing, fermenta tion, and chemical preservation using vinegar, wine, sugars, honey, herbs, and spices. With the advent of modern food processing technologies, some of the traditional methods were developed for commercial production. There are many kinds of subtropical fruit products made from apples, apricots, citrus fruits, dates, grapes, plums, prunes, strawberries, and more in the world market. Tropical fruit processing is a rapidly expanding industry and has become an important source of export revenue in China, India, Malaysia, and Vietnam. Banana, mango, pineapple, lychee, and papaya products are particu larly important tropical items with commercial significance in the international trade. The annual output of some fruit products in Asia is listed in Table 10.1.
