Adanis to set up cool chains

The Adanis, a leading corporate house of western India, are entering the agri-sector of Himachal Pradesh in a big way by buying apples from farmers at their orchards and also setting up cool chains in the apple belt.

Company officials claim this marks the entry of the corporate sector into setting up cool chains in the country.

"We will start procurement of quality apples from farmers by the end of this month. By then our controlled atmospheric stores (CAS) will be in place and so will the other equipment for packing and sorting of the fruit at these centres," said Ravinder Jain, President Adani Agrifresh Ltd (AAFL) here today.

"In the first phase, AAFL has invested over Rs 160 crore to set up the first CAS units in Himachal at Mehandli, Rewali and Sainj. All these three cold stores will have a total capacity of 18,000 metric tonnes of fruit," Jain said.

AAFL will announce a fixed price for procuring of the fruit. These rates will then be revised every week.

"Once the price is announced we would stand by the rate even if the prices fluctuate in the market. We will provide crates to the farmers at our cost for packaging apples, the farmers will then be paid for selling their produce," he said.

"Currently a third of the apple is destroyed in India as it takes a long time for the fruit to be sorted out, packed and transported to markets across the country in the peak of summer. CAS is the latest technology adopted world-wide for stopping the ripening and decaying of apple and other fruits and vegetables," he explained.