Maharashtra orange body to boost state's output, exports

The Maharashtra State Agriculture Marketing Board (MSAMB) has formed MahaOrange - the apex body for the state's orange growers' co-operative societies - to boost the production, processing marketing and exports of the fruit.

State minister for agricultural produce marketing Harsh Vardhan Patil said MahaOrange will lead and co-ordinate the efforts to promote and market oranges on the lines of Maha Grape, Maha Mango or Maha Banana - apex bodies for the respective fruits.

Patil was talking to media after inaugurating the state level Orange Festival on Sunday, where over 40 societies of growers from Vidarbha have set up stalls to display and sell oranges.

Patil said such efforts will henceforth be initiated by MahaOrange with assistance from the state and MSAMB. He said the efforts to create post harvest and processing facilities for oranges were also on and the first post harvest handling project was being set up at Karanja-Ghatge in Maharashtra's Wardha district.

"This facility, coming up at an investment of Rs 5 crore, will engage in gradation, packaging and vaccination of oranges which will help growers claim higher prices," Patil said.

"Orange growers in the state should also look at newer, healthier varieties of oranges." He said the state was in favour of supporting all activities in the area of fruit processing and would also assist holding of such festivals for specific fruits in the form of a subsidy. The eligibility norms for the subsidy were being worked out, he added.

Maharashtra is the country's largest producer and exporter of oranges. The area under orange cultivation in the state is about 1.21 lakh hectares and the total production exceeds 7 lakh tonnes annually, through two seasons - Ambia and Mruga. MSAMB has been active in identifying local and export markets for oranges and has been instrumental in ensuring a hefty rise in exports.

The exports - around 300 tonnes every year - are primarily to West Asian countries though some quantity has been exported to Europe this season, according to Bhaskar Patil, information officer, MSAMB.

Shrikrishna Thakare, president of MahaOrange, said the organisation would take quick steps to organise local societies and to reactivate the dormant ones.

"A lot of stress will also be laid on training of orange farmers to help them improve quality and reduce handling losses," he added.