Adani Agri to enter stone fruit market next season

Adani Agri Fresh is all set to expand its footprint in the fruit economy of Himachal. Already the largest private player in apple procurement in the state, Adani Agri Fresh will start procuring stone fruits as well from the next season. “We will mainly focus on procuring cherry to begin with. Other fruits like plum and green almonds will also be bought,” said Manjeet Shilu, the chief procurement officer of Adani Agri Fresh.

Just like apple, the company would procure cherry and other stone fruits from the growers at its CA stores. But instead of storing it like apple, it would be immediately sent to markets like Mumbai, Bengaluru, etc. “Cherry, for instance, will be hydro-cooled and then sent to Chandigarh through refrigerated vans. From there, it would be sent to different markets by air,” said Shilu. “We have tie-ups with e-commerce platforms like Zepto, Blinkit, which will take these fruits to various parts of the country,” he said.

The growers, meanwhile, hope the arrival of Adani Agri Fresh into stone fruit business will turn out to be a big positive for them. “The post-harvest infrastructure and market linkages are extremely important for stone fruits due to its brief shelf life. Adani’s entry will improve both and the growers will get better prices for their produce,” said Deepak Singha, president of the Stone Fruit Growers Association.

In the absence of proper post-harvest infrastructure, the growers had no control on the supply chain due to brief shelf life of the fruit and had to sell off their produce regardless of the prevailing rates. Besides, they could not explore distant markets like Mumbai, Bengaluru etc.

“Once the company starts sending the fruit to the markets not yet explored, this will reduce the supply to the traditional markets. It will result in better prices to the growers,” said Singha.

Currently, there’s not much post-harvest infrastructure available for stone fruits. “We have a hydro-cooling machine at the HPMC’s Jarol-Tikkar CA store. It significantly enhances cherry’s shelf life. Besides, we have requested Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi for setting up forced air cooling plant for plums as well,” he said.