Parle to buy apple concentrate from Himachal
By IANSFriday, December 17, 2010
SHIMLA - Food and beverage company Parle Agro will buy 300 tonnes of apple juice concentrate from the state-run Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corp (HPMC), a minister said here Friday.
The apple concentrate is used for fruit juices, nectars and drinks.
“Parle Agro has placed an order for procurement of 300 tonnes of apple juice concentrate. Its one of the major orders with HPMC, Horticulture Minister Narender Bragta told IANS.
He said HPMC has already signed a contract with Patanjli Yogpeeth of Swami Ramdev for the supply of 700 tonnes of apple concentrate in two years.
So far HPMC has supplied 180 tonnes of concentrate to Patanjli Yogpeeth. The rest will be supplied in phases, Bragta added.
Other companies that regularly buy the concentrate from HPMC are Godrej Industries, Nestle and Mohan Meakin Ltd.
HPMC, which procures the apples directly from farmers, aims to process 10,000 tonnes of apple this year. Ten kg of apples produce one kg of juice concentrate, which is sold at Rs.70-75 per kg depending upon the market.
Himachal Pradesh is one of Indias major apple-producing regions, with more than 200,000 families engaged in the cultivation of the fruit. It has a record yield of apples this season with 4.46 crore boxes of 20 kg each. The previous record yield of 2.6 crore boxes was in 2007. Last year, it slipped to 1.4 crore boxes.
The apple economy of the state is around Rs.1,500 crore and flourishes mainly in Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, Lahaul and Spiti, Kinnaur and Chamba districts.
