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The world famous dussehri mango of Lucknow would taste sweeter for growers with proper packaging and branding.
Dussehri growers in the mango belt of Lucknow, comprising Malihabad and Kakori, and other parts of Uttar Pradesh, could benefit immensely if proper packaging material, especially corrugated box, is used for sorting at farms.
“Dussheri could fetch almost 10 times of its current value to growers with corrugated box packaging. While, Alphonso mango sells for almost Rs 1,200 kg at the start of season, dussehri goes for as cheap as Rs 10 a piece due to poor packaging,” Indian Institute of Packaging director N C Saha told Business Standard .
The Institute had started a project about 10 years ago in Malihabad for proper packaging of dussehri to enhance its market value. “However, the project could not take off due to lack of support and interest in the state,” he lamented.
Dussehri, which was also granted Geographical Indication (GI) registration in 2009, is known for its unique sweetness, texture and lilting aroma. Situated on Lucknow-Hardoi highway, Malihabad town in Lucknow district is famous for mango plantations, especially dussehri.
The mango belts in UP, include Lucknow (Lucknow, Malihabad, Bakshi-ka-Talaab), Saharanpur and Sambhal-Amroha-Muzaffarnagar districts.
Lucknow mango belt spans 25,000 hectares. In 2013, UP mango production was estimated at about 1.5 million tonnes, much lower than 3.8 million tonnes last year.
Meanwhile, Saha demanded incentives for encouraging the packaging industry in UP.
The state imports over 80 of its total packaging requirement annually from other states, mainly Delhi and Mumbai. Kanpur has about 250 corrugated box manufacturing units. Some units are located in Lucknow as well.
The Institute is organising a national workshop on packaging of fresh and processed foods for cottage, micro, small and medium entrepreneurs here on Tuesday.
The domestic packaging industry is currently estimated at over Rs 1,25,000 crore and growing at 15 per cent annually.
