Surat APMC floats firm for upcoming food mart

The Surat Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) has floated a company "" Surat Agro Marketing Hub Pvt Ltd "" to manage the operations of the upcoming Surat Agriculture Private Market Hub, an agro-food park and terminal market.

A first-of-its-kind in the country, the mega market will be set up through an investment of Rs 500 crore, including a subsidy of Rs 100 crore from the Centre.

The committee has applied to the Surat collectorate for a 99-hectare land near the airport. To come up within the next three years, the mega market will house facilities for value-addition and processing of fruits and vegetables brought by farmers. The scheme is based on the Guru Committee report that aims at strengthening farmers' output through terminal and transit markets.

"The hub will look to abolish much of the intermediaries and allow farmers to directly sell at better prices. The market will be equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to focus on substantial growth in the production, export and modernisation of trade. It will be developed on a concept of chain management where complete backward and forward linkage from farmers to the consumers will be established," said Shankarlal Guru, an agriculture marketing expert and a former MLA.

The market will also be supported by at least 20 collection centres and equipped with cold chain, electronic grading, ripening chambers, spot commodity trading, testing and certification laboratory, agri-clinic and extension services, and a one-stop shop of inputs.

It is believed that the market will generate employment for around 20,000 people. Later, the committee is hoping to get the company listed as well, said Guru.