Rajasthan plans vegetable packing house

In a bid to encourage the export of fruits and vegetables, the Rajasthan government has decided to come up with an exclusive "pack house" of international standards in the newly-constructed Muhana vegetable mandi, 10 km away from the city.

The pack house will not only provide cold storage facilities to the farmers but will also provide exclusive and modern packing facilities to all the perishable export items of the farmers so that the items can retain their freshness for a longer period of time.

In this regard, a proposal of Rs 3.62 crore has already been sent by the state government to the Union government. It may be mentioned here that Sanaganer airport, after receiving the international status, has opened various new avenues and prospects for the local farmers to export vegetables, fruits and flowers to various countries of the world.

Direct flights for Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore have further provided impetus to the exports of various perishable items from the state. Driven by this fact, the state government finally decided to facilitate the farmers by the new "pack house" at the Muhana vegetable mandi.

"Owing to the existing packing system and the 4-5 hours spent at the airport in carrying out legal modalities, most of the exporting perishable goods lose their freshness. But in the new pack house, the packing of these perishable items would be done according to new scientific techniques so that the items retain their freshness for a much longer period of time," said one of the senior officials of the agricultural department.

He informed that the construction cost of the project is expected to be around Rs 130 lakh while an additional Rs 194 lakh would be spent on electrical fittings and installation of various machinery in the pack house. Another Rs 65 lakh would be spent on air condition transportation facilities.

He said out of the total expenses, Rs 54 lakh would be provided by the Rajasthan State Agricultural Marketing Board while Rs 3.08 crore would be in the form of subsidiary provided by union government. He said the packing would be done in accordance with international standards.