Varanasi, Amroha to be hub of vegetable, fruit exports
The famous langda mango of Varanasi, Ghazipur's parwal (pointed gourd), Sonbhadra's green chillies, Jaunpur's radish and Amroha's mangoes and vegetables soon tickle the taste buds of people around the globe as the Yogi Adityanath government in Uttar Pradesh is preparing to turn Varanasi and Amroha districts into the new hub of vegetable and fruit exports within the country.
This is a part of an exercise to increase the income of farmers.
According to the government spokespersons, this will be made possible through integrated pack houses being built in Varanasi and Amroha to facilitate export of popular farm products belonging to the region.
The construction of integrated pack houses is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
This will be followed by setting up of integrated pack houses in Pratapgarh, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Prayagraj, Lakhimpur Kheri, Shahjahanpur, Ayodhya, Jhansi and Aligarh.
With the commissioning of these integrated pack houses, the income of the farmers of 13 districts adjoining Varanasi and seven districts, adjacent to Amroha, will increase substantially.
The Yogi Adityanath government had decided last year to set up integrated pack houses in ten districts of the state to facilitate the export of fruits and vegetables.
The Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) announced financial assistance for building integrated pack houses whereas the State Mandi Parishad has come forward to build them in those districts where fruits or vegetables are produced in abundance.
In the first phase, the Mandi Parishad has approved the budget for the construction of integrated pack houses in Varanasi and Amroha.
The Integrated Pack House of Varanasi will enable farmers of Mirzapur, Sonbhadra, Prayagraj, Azamgarh, Jaunpur, Ghazipur, Mau, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Gorakhpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Deoria and Kaushambi to send their fruits and vegetables within the country and abroad.
Similarly, farmers of Moradabad, Bijnor, Rampur, Bareilly, Sambhal and Hapur will be able to send the vegetables and fruits grown in their fields across the country and abroad through the Integrated Pack House of Amroha.
According to officials, mango orchards are spread over about 12,000 hectares of land in Amroha district.
Out of the total production of the district, about 2,000 metric tonnes of mangoes are sent to other states or exported abroad.
Amroha's mangoes are very much in demand in Gulf countries whereas the langda mango of Varanasi is popular all over the world.
Apart from this, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Jaunpur, Mirzapur, Chandauli and Sant Kabir Nagar regions produce several varieties of vegetables and fruits that are a favourite with foreign consumers.
Last year, several tonnes of ladyfinger, green chili, bottle gourd, luffa, brinjal and radish were exported from Varanasi and its adjoining districts to the UK, Italy, Germany and the UAE.
Officials say that after the formation of integrated pack houses in Varanasi and Amroha, the export of fruits and vegetables from these districts to foreign countries is likely to increase manifold and the income of the farmers will also go up in the same proportion.
Fruits and vegetables can be exported through these pack houses to the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman, Iran, Iraq, Bahrain and Malaysia. The farm products can also be exported to the UK, Italy, Germany, Russia, Japan and other European countries throughout the year.
The integrated pack houses being built in Varanasi and Amroha will be equipped with state-of-the-art technology. The MRL test machines, which show how many chemicals have been used to produce an agricultural product, will also be installed in the integrated pack house. Only those products that get a clearance certificate from the integrated pack house will be exported.