The modern fruit and agricultural market coming up at Koheda on the city outskirts would have all facilities including cold storage, pre-export processing of fruits, laboratories for certification and others on about 178 acres, Minister for Agriculture S. Niranjan Reddy said here on Friday.
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At a meeting to review the master plan of the market, he asked officials to design it by taking the Rungis (France) and Madrid (Spain) international markets as model. Even the sheds allotted to fruits, onion, red chilli traders and commission agents should have the temperature control facility to increase the shelf life of fruits and other produce.
Marketing department officials explained to the Minister that 11 huge sheds would be constructed there for conduct auctions, cold storage would be established in 20 acres, 78.78 acres would be given for fruit market, 19.75 acre for export-oriented produce with required facilities, 27.35 acres for red (dry) chilli market and 73.24 acres for other facilities.
He instructed the authorities to shift the Malaket chilli market completely to Koheda by arranging necessary facilities. He suggested the establishment of irradiation and vapour heat treatment plants to promote export of fruits.
Special Commissioner (Agriculture) Hanmanth K. Zendagi and director (Marketing) G. Lakshmi Bai participated in the meeting.