Adani Agri rents three HPMC stores

Adani Agri Fresh will procure more apple than ever before in Himachal this time. The corporate house has rented three Controlled Atmosphere (CA) stores from the Himachal Pradesh Horticulture Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC), enhancing its storage capacity in the state.

“The CA stores with grading and packaging lines at Reckong Peo, Jarol (Tikkar) and Tutupani have been rented to Adani Agri Fresh for three years,” said HPMC General Manager Sunny Sharma. Adani Agri Fresh already has three stores of its own at Sainj, Rampur and Rohru, having a total storage capacity of around 25,000 MT.

The HPMC had decided to rent its CA stores and grading and packaging lines to private players some time ago due to the below optimal utilisation of these facilities. As per HPMC officials, only 20 per cent to 25 per cent capacity of these stores had been used over the past few years.

Sharma said that 20 per cent of the storage capacity in the rented CA stores would be reserved for local growers. “Also, Adani Agri Fresh will charge the same amount from the growers as the HPMC was charging. The growers will need to put in their demand for storage space by August 15,” he added. The HPMC was also trying to rent its remaining CA stores and grading and packaging lines to private players. “We have already floated a tender for these facilities as well,” he asserted.

The HPMC says that it has been forced to rent its CA stores as the growers showed little interest in storing their fruit in these facilities. “Adani Agri Fresh is a big player in the apple market in the state, and it will strengthen its position,” said Lokinder Bisht, president of the Progressive Growers Association.

He added, “The whole idea of empowering local growers by building CA storage facilities and automatic grading lines through a World Bank-funded project is defeated by leasing these to Adani Agri Fresh. Instead of empowering local growers, this will empower a big comapny, creating a monopoly and cartelisation.”

Harish Chauhan, convener of the Sanyukt Kisan Manch, said it was tough for small apple growers to use CA stores having big chambers. “There’s need for smaller CA stores if we want the small and marginal growers to use the facility,” he added.