India Inc. wants a bite of Himachal apple

First, the apple changed the fortunes of the hill farmers, then it hit the road to high economy but the middleman was in the way.

First, the apple changed the fortunes of the hill farmers, then it hit the road to high economy but the middleman was in the way. Now, the fruit is being courted by the corporate sector, freshly plucked from the farm and carted off to foreign countries for juicy prices.

From the new year, the apple grower in Himachal will no longer wait for the government to intervene. With nearly half a dozen corporate houses, including famous agri-fresh chains like Adanis and Reliance, ready to buy apples straight from the orchards, growers are readying to call the shots.

The corporate experiment began a few months ago but now, the Adanis have already invested Rs 102 crore in creating their own infrastructure to buy apples directly from growers. Equally significant is the move of the Reliance group which has taken on lease the cold stores of HIMFED, a Government PSU while offering to invest more than Rs 60 crore in next few months.

In line are several other groups 8212; Container Corporation of India, ITC and Devbhumi which are setting up collection centres for purchase of fresh fruit, both for retail vending and processable grades. 8220;Beside buyers of table varieties, the fruit processing industry is coming in a big way to manufacture apple wines and ciders for flooding the markets, within and outside the state. Beside HPMC8217;s inhouse production of juices, wines and ciders, three private entrepreneurs have already entered the market,8221; says BS Nainta, director Industries. The latest in the business, a Maharashtra-based champagne company, Indage limited, which has signed an MoU with the government to invest Rs 100 crore to manufacture fruit wines.

8220;It8217;s a boon for the growers, who used to struggle hard through the year, yet had to look up to the market for remunerative prices,8221; says Lekh Ram Chauhan, president of Himachal Fruit growers Association. 8220;Even this year, despite a poor crop, the growers got best rates at their orchards.8221; The Adanis alone bought around 4,700 metric tonnes of apples directly from the orchards .

Kedar Singh, 55, an apple grower at Rohru in Shimla, says: 8220;The best advantage was that the company paid rates at on the basis of per kilogram and not for the box as had been happening in the Delhi market. The commission agents never used to pay for the extra kilograms in the boxes. Now, I have gained at least Rs 1 lakh.8221;

8220;We also intend to provide plant materials of improved apple varieties to the growers so that they produce those varieties, which gives them an edge in the market,8221; says Abhey Pant, general manager with Adani group. The company plans to invest around Rs 160 crore in Himachal by next year.

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That8217;s a Rs 1,500-crore industry the state is looking at, for two lakh apple growing families.