'Need to increase cold storage capacity for farm produce'

There is a need to increase the cold storage capacity for farm produce by 30-40 lakh tonnes as huge raw foodstuff perish in India, a top official of Ministry of Food Processing Industry (FPI) today said.
"According to a rough estimate, farm produce worth Rs one lakh crore perish in India annually for want of adequate storage infrastructure and processing facility," FPI secretary JP Meena said at a function here.
He said India's cold storage capacity is 3.5 crore tonnes right now, which was short by 30 to 40 lakh tonnes.
There is a need to overcome the shortfall, he added.

He said FPI was giving good financial help to entrepreneurs for setting up cold storage to preserve perishable crops.
FPI has given financial help to 250 cold storage projects, and would provide such economic assistance to 50 to 60 such projects in coming days, Meena said.

"It is worrisome that potatoes and tomatoes are thrown on the roads in one state or another annually," he said apparently referring to the farmers' stir in June in Madhya Pradesh during which the cultivators to press for satisfactory price for their produce, threw it on the streets.
He said the farmers should find customers for their produce before it is harvested.

To a query, the FPI secretary said the Minimum Support Price (MSP) system for perishable raw foodstuff won't be effective unless the storage and processing facilities are developed.
He said that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) was the game changer in FPI adding that with its introduction, many local tax levies have ended and the inter-state ferrying of foodstuff has become too easy.
This has also benefitted customers, Meena who was here to participate in a road show to promote the three-day meet 'World Food India-2017' beginning from November 3 in Delhi, added.