Apeda pact to help agro-foods sector

Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) and West Bengal Industrial Development Corporation (WBIDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to set up a pineapple processing and auction center at Siliguri, and an integrated potato processing center at Hooghly.

The pineapple-processing center at Bidhannagar, Siliguri would require initial investment of Rs 10 crore, with Rs 7.5 crore from APEDA, and the rest from the state government.

Debashish Mitra of Calypso Foods Ltd, partnering the government on the Siliguri project, said total export from the region was 30,000 tons now, slightly over 10 per cent of the total production.

With infrastructure development , exports could rise significantly. The area would have a pineapple research centre to develop fruit quality.

As for the potato-processing centre, Rs 6 crore would be invested, with APEDA giving Rs 4 crore, said Jairam Ramesh, Union minister of state for commerce and industries. Land for the container depot was already identified. West Bengal was the largest producer of potatoes in the country with production of 8 million tons, against 5 million of internal demand.

Around 2 million tons went to surrounding states, and 500,000 tons was exported.

Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore were established export markets, informed Satyabrata Mukherjee of Sarada Seeds and Food Processing, partnering the state in the potato processing project.

Production of seeds would be increased and a farmers' training centre to train them to produce export-quality seeds and potatoes would follow.

There would be sorting and grading facilities for potato, pre-cooling chambers, and cold chain too, said Mukherjee.

Bangladesh, now importing seeds from Holland, could be a prospective market.

Processed varieties would be exported to west Asia, while raw material would go to several processing plants.

Such projects could help secure competitive potato prices.

Ramesh said West Bengal was one of biggest beneficiaries of APEDA's agro-processing and agro-exports projects with 11 projects and investment of Rs68 crore, with APEDA investing Rs50 crore and the state government the rest.

He said Japan lifted the 20-year ban on importing Indian mangoes, and already six varieties from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra were being exported now.

K S Money, chairman of APEDA, had started negotiations to include Malda Mango variety in the list of exports latest by 2009.

APEDA was trying to finalise the deal by mid-2008.

A Vapour Heat Treatment Plant was to be set up in the state to eliminate fruit flies from the fruit, as was done in other states too at a cost of around Rs 10 crore.