The mango treatment plant in Tirupati is back in the reckoning after showing not any semblance of progress for eight long years, with the Collector Siddharth Jain making a visit to it on Thursday evening. Sudden rush of officials made the otherwise-calm premises into a beehive of activity.
It was in 2007-08 that the Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) joined hands with the Andhra Pradesh State Agricultural Industries Development Corporation (AGROS) for establishing the Vapour Heat Treatment (VHT) plant in Tirupati, with the active support of then Union Minister Jairam Ramesh. The idea was to make the local mangoes export-ready by treating the fruits as per the global quarantine norms.
The Rs.13 crore-plant was then touted to be the largest in the country to treat mangoes, followed by the similar ones in Nuzvid and Saharanpur (UP). The first consignment of mangoes was flagged off to Japan, but the ‘token step’ ended there.
On Thursday, Mr. Jain went around the compound, with the horticulture officials in tow, to inspect the available infrastructure to treat mangoes and check the quality of the fruits. The plant will play a crucial role in taking around 2,000 tonnes from the mango-rich district to New Zealand, Japan and several European countries. The Collector spoke on the need to create awareness among mango farmers on growing bulkier and quality fruits, keeping the global demand in view.
