Himachal on road to becoming fruit bowl of nation: CII

Tribune News Service

Solan, October 21

The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Himachal Pradesh, organised a virtual conference positioning the state as the fruit bowl of the nation, on the sidelines of CII Agro & Food Tech, 2020.

Addressing the participants, Ashwini Malhotra, Managing Director, Weikfield Food Products Pvt Ltd, said: “The topographical variations and altitudinal differences, coupled with fertile, deep and well-drained soils and availability of four different agro climatic zones, favours the cultivation of temperate to sub-tropical fruits in the state.”

Col Shailesh Pathak, chairman of the CII, Himachal Pradesh, said: “Horticulture is one of the key pillars of the state’s economy and the sector has shown resilience during the pandemic period as well. The CII is committed to the growth of this sector in Himachal Pradesh and will continue to strengthen the fruit value chain with focused initiatives and efforts.”

M Srinivas Reddy, head of cold chain and refrigeration, Blue Star India Ltd, stressed that to fix accountability for quality, it became imperative that cold chain infrastructure got a boost from the government.

The state has made significant progress in the development of horticulture in the past few years and also has vast potential in the field of food processing sector. Earlier during the day, growers were made aware about the various schemes of the National Horticulture Board aimed at empowering horticulturists.