Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Tuesday, May 07, 2002
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Tuesday, May 07, 2002 |
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Agri-Biz & Commodities
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Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables MoU for grapes agri-export zone in AP soon Ch. Prashanth Reddy
HYDERABAD, May 6 THE Andhra Pradesh Government will be shortly signing a memorandum of understanding with the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (Apeda) for establishment of an agri-export zone (AEZ) exclusively for grapes. According to the State Horticulture Director, Mr J.S.V. Prasad, the initial outlay for the establishment of the AEZ is about Rs 107 crore. The amount is basically meant for expansion in the area of grapes cultivation and provision of packing houses, pre-cooling units and cold storage facilities. Mr Prasad told Business Line that a project management unit would be set up to monitor the proposed AEZ. The export zone would cover Rangareddy, Medak and Mahaboobnagar districts, known for grapes cultivation. The Horticulture Department has targeted a production of 1 lakh tonnes and export of 10,000 tonnes of grapes per annum by 2007. At present, grapes are grown in an area of about 1,800 hectares with a total yield of around 35,000 tonnes. Last year, about 450 tonnes of grapes were exported from the State and this year the exports doubled to 900 tonnes worth about Rs 4 crore. Mr Prasad said the AEZ would also encourage and assist grape growers and exporters in opening up a liaison office in London for international marketing of grapes. A part of the expenditure involved in this regard would be met by the AEZ. It was also proposed to establish packing houses near the production sites so that each of facility could be utilised by three or four grape growers who would be given training in packaging. Involvement of the private sector was also sought in marketing of the commodity.
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