Nagpur, 02 July (HS): India’s orange export industry

if growing rapidly, resulting in frantic efforts to improve orange production

in the Orange Capital – Nagpur.

Emphasis is being laid on quality produce, strategic

partnership and robust regulations. Companies like Indo Foods and Export are supporting

innovation and expansion of market making Indian oranges a preferred choice

worldwide.

Indo Food Export has

established itself as an early pioneer in Indian food export, particularly in the

export of oranges. The company ensures fresh and pesticide-free oranges with

strict compliance to international standards.

India produces about

10 million tonnes of oranges every year. Oranges are grown in Maharashtra

Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana. Maharashtra’s Vidarbha region

being the leaders with Nagpur and Amravati districts producing bulk of it.

Amravati district produces 45 per cent of the total oranges in the Maharashtra

State, closely followed by Nagpur. Amravati alone produces 1.2 million to 1.5

million tonnes orange annually.

The orange in the

region –Nagpur Mandarin or Nagpur Santra, is exported to Dubai, Bahrain,

Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. The demand for Nagpur Santra is growing in Saudi

Arabia, the US and Europe.

Rich in Nutrition

and longer shelf life with proper storage makes orange a preferred fruit for

export. With two seasons – Ambia and Mrig, the fruit is available throughout

the year.

CCRI

Nagpur has Central

Citrus Research Institute which has developed variety of oranges which are far

bigger in size and can be used for juice extraction. The fruit weighs over 1

Kg.

The institute

conducts training programmes for orange growers and guides them in improving

yield.

The Government

supports orange growers with subsidy in installing the drip irrigation system.

Major Processing and

packaging Facility

Patanjali Mega Food

Park in MIHAN, Nagpur – Asians largest and most advanced processing unit aims

to process up to 800 tonnes pf fruit daily. It operates on a zero-waste model

utilising everything from the volatile oils in orange peels to produce juices

and concentrates.

NOGA Facory at

Hingna MIDC, Nagpur – Established by Maharashtra Agro Industries Development

Corporation (MAIDC) in 1972, is a trusted facility processing 3500 MT per

annum. It manufactures popular consumer products like squashes, juices, jams

and purees.

Warud

Export-oriented Processing Unit, Amravati District – Established by the State Government

by investing Rs 202 crore, it is an export-oriented facility to cater to the

heavy orange yield in Warud -Morshi belt in Amravati district.

Primary Processing

Centres – The Maharashtra Government has established multiple Primary

Processing Centres equipped with modern assembly lines for cutting, grading,

waxing and packaging for domestic markets.

Katol Processing

Centre – The centre officially transferred to MAIDC and is undergoing secondary

stage revamping and modernisation with regional funding.

These facilities provide infrastructure to

local farmers, transforming grad 3 and 4 oranges, which usually go waste ro

sold at throwaway prices, into marketable juice and oil.

Potential

Simplifying

certification process, providing packing facilities and logistic facilities

would improve export of oranges.

Demand for logistic

facilities for export from Nagpur Airport is increasing. The nearest facility

is available to orange growers in Vidarbha is at Mumbai.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Ajay Vasant Mardikar