The Hindu Business Line : `Declare Krishnagiri mango belt an export zone'

THE Dharmapuri District Fruit & Vegetable Processors' Federation has urged the Tamil Nadu Government to declare the mango cultivation and processing belt in Krishnagiri an agri export zone.

The federation President, Mr G. Venkatasamy, told Business Line that while the decision to declare a horticulture export zone at Theni, to catalyse new industries, was welcome, the existing cluster at Krishnagiri and Dharmapuri could also be declared an export zone.

The region was an established mango belt with facilities for processing. Dharmapuri accounted for more than 50 per cent of the mango production in Tamil Nadu, with over 40,000 hectares under mango cultivation.

The region had over 28 mango pulp production units, each set up with an investment of more than Rs 1 crore. These export-oriented units were dependent on merchant exporters. They processed about 60 per cent of the Totapuri variety grown in the area and provided an assured market for the farmers. The units accounted for 35,000 tonnes of pulp production, as against a domestic output of 1.2 lakh tonnes of mango pulp.

But they faced problems relating to marketing, infrastructure bottlenecks and financing. The export zones were envisaged to specifically target these issues for the benefit of the cultivator and the industry, he said.

Representations to APEDA (the Agriculture and Processed Food Products' Export Development Authority) have indicated that the authority was favourably inclined to the idea for setting

up an export zone at Krishnagiri. It was up to the State Government to take the idea forward. This would accrue benefits in terms of investment in infrastructure such as cold storages, technology infusion in cultivation and processing, financial assistance and marketing support.

Financial assistance, particularly working capital assistance, was a key concern dictating competitiveness. Currently, the processors had to pay a relatively high interest, 15 - 16 per cent, on working capital assistance. Units in an export zone could source funds at 8 per cent, Mr Venkatasamy said.

Improvements were also needed in cultivation practices. Mango was an alternate bearer with a bumper season invariably followed by a lean season (like the current one). But technology was available to overcome this trend, and sustained efforts were needed to increase farmers' awareness.

Alphonse is the premium variety processed in the area, while the Totapuri /Banglora is predominantly grown in the South. But it has been demonstrated that Alphonse can be cultivated here.

Efforts were needed to popularise this premium variety. Currently, the processors had to depend on stocks from Karnataka, he said.

The units were largely dependent on traders to export the product, and fluctuations in raw material prices were not always taken into account while fixing the pulp price, he said.

The Andhra Pradesh Government has decided to set up an agri export zone at Chittoor, and plans to plough in Rs 60 crore - Rs 80 crore to upgrade facilities, infrastructure and cultivation technology. This was bound to benefit the processors there.

There were over 35 mango-processing units in Chittoor and its surrounding areas. The Tamil Nadu Government, too, could extend similar support to the processors here, he said.

AP Govt, APEDA pact raises hopes

The processors at Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh, are eagerly awaiting developments following the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the State Government and the APEDA.

However, according to a representative of the canners' federation, Mr Balakrishna Reddy, the canners in the region were yet to receive an official intimation on the same.

There are about 36 processing units in the region. These units, which are dependent on merchant exporters for marketing, were not aware of developments in this regard, he said.

The processors had come to know of the decision to set up the export zone from news reports. It was heartening to note that this would involve investments to the tune of Rs 60 crore towards infrastructure development, measures to improve farming practices and production of quality fruit.

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