Kerala - Kochi   

Maradu wholesale market records good business

Staff Reporter

Vegetable auction to start in the market next month

KOCHI: The Agricultural Urban Wholesale Market at Maradu has recorded a business worth Rs.5.02 crores during the nine months since the market started functioning in June, 2005.

The Rs.14.09-crore worth market complex is showing good response in trade, according to District Collector A.P.M. Mohammed Hanish, who is also the chairman of the Maradu Market Authority. The trading volume is increasing considerably, he said.

The highest trade was conducted for cereals and pulses, with business worth Rs.1.32 crores being recorded for about 1,040 tonnes. Second came bananas, including different varieties, with around 975 tonnes of bananas worth Rs.1.27 crores being transacted. Around 1,510 tonnes of vegetables, worth Rs.1.12 crores had also been traded at the market.

Among other fruits including oranges, apples, sathukudy oranges and even kummattikka, the trade was around 195 tonnes worth Rs.47 lakhs. Transaction of about 187 tonnes of spices worth Rs.42 lakhs and 25 tonnes of oil seeds, including coconuts and sesame seeds, worth Rs.21 lakhs had taken place at the market. Tea and coffee recorded a business of Rs.14 lakhs. Around 55 tonnes of other food products, including rice powder and other packed food, worth Rs.7 lakhs were also sold at the market.

The market has the facility to handle 2,500 tonnes of agricultural produce. The vegetables usually arrive on Mondays and Fridays.

The auctioning of agricultural produce will start in the market from April. The agricultural produce from farmers in Ernakulam district as well as neighbouring districts of Kottayam and Alappuzha can be brought to the market for auction. Both the traders in the market as well as traders from outside can take part in the auction.

The auctioning had already started at the Agricultural Urban Wholesale Market at Vengeri in Kozhikode district and the Rural Wholesale Market at Bathery in Wayanad.

Though the Bangalore-based Safal Fruit and Vegetable Auction Market under the National Dairy Development Board had opened a centre at Maradu, it has not functioning for more than two weeks. The auction centre was remaining non-functional even though there was a good turn out of farmers in the two weeks it had functioned.

Cold storage facility

The market is yet to have a cold storage facility. A Rs.10-crore project has been submitted for setting up the cold storage, warehouse and packing house for exports. The market has the possibility of getting a subsidy of Rs.2.5 crores under the State Horticulture Mission, but discussions are still going on regarding that, according to officials.

A training programme on marketing for the traders and local farmers, under the macro management scheme of the market, will be held on Wednesday.

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