Chittoor mangoes find place in Japan marketplace

Tirupati, May 20 (UNI) Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh today flagged off the first export consignment of mangoes to Japan from Chittoor district.

Lighting the lamp at the inaugural function here, he said the first batch, comprising 2,000 Banganapalli variety of the fruit, would reach Japan tomorrow evening. About 40 tonnes of mangoes would be exported from Chittoor district by July-end, he added.

Mr Ramesh said a vapour treatment unit would be commissioned on July 15 at Tirupati market yard, which would be useful to preserve mangoes to be exported to Japan and other countries.

He told farmers that the Government would try to get a profit of Rs 50,000 to each farmer for one acre of land.

Mr Ramesh had laid the foundation stone for the Rs 10 crore Vapour Heat Treatment Plant (VHTP) at the Agricultural Market Yard here in January last, to enable export of quality mangoes and ensure better prices to the mango farmers in Chittoor, Kadapa and Nellore districts, which account for bulk production.

On his previous visit, the Minister had said expansion of the airport to create facilities for cargo flights to export farm produce and setting up a cold storage plant near the airport were under progress.

Andhra Pradesh Export Development Authority (APEDA) had studied the possible venues for expansion and was focusing on the Japanese market.

More than 2,000 mango farmers in Chittoor district participated in the function and interacted with the officials present.

UNI