HPMC, Himfed procured culled apple worth Rs 40 cr through MIS

The government has procured culled apple worth around Rs 40 crore through Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) this year. “The HPCM has bought 25,000 MT for over Rs 29 crore this year, while Himfed bought apple worth around Rs 12 crore. We have submitted the bills to the government, and will start making the payments once the government releases the amount,” said Sudesh Mokhta, Managing Director, HPMC.

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Compared to 2022 and 2023, lesser apple was procured under the scheme in 2024. The HPMC had procured 33,000 MT in 2023, and 42,000 MT in 2022. Even as the total production in 2024 was comparable to 2023, the procurement under MIS went down as the quality of apple was much better.

For HPMC, 2024 turned out to be a good year as it managed to cut down losses and even made profits in the auction of culled apple. “The state-of-the-art fruit processing plant at Parala proved to be the game-changer. Thanks to the plant, we managed to process much of the apple we had procured and extracted more apple juice concentrate (AJC) than ever before. Earlier, we had to process around 12 kg apple to get one kg of AJC. This time we managed to get one kg AJC by processing around 8kg of fruit,” the MD said.

The HPMC also saved on freight as much of the apple was used up for processing, leaving only 4,500 MT for auction. The HPMC has to bear huge transportation costs as the culled apple is auctioned at Parwanoo. “Not only we saved on freight, but also auctioned the fruit at a profitable price as the quantity for auction was much less compared to previous years. Besides, we auctioned it in a staggered manner to ensure a profitable price. It’s the first time the HPMC made profit in the auction of culled apple,” said Mokhta.

The HPMC has produced a record AJC this time, around 2,000 MT. “We will sell around 1,000 MT AJC this time. We’ve already found a buyer for 500 MT at a good price,” said Mokhta.