The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Mangoes to tickle Japanese tastebuds

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Friday, Apr 25, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Mangoes to tickle Japanese tastebuds

A.D. Rangarajan

The fruits will be ready for export with the commissioning of vapour heat treatment plant at Tirupati

-Photo: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar

Tirupati special: Mangoes being treated at the vapour heat treatment plant in Tirupati.

TIRUPATI: The Japanese are in for a juicy delight this summer as the famous Alphonso mangoes of Chittoor district are set to tickle their tastebuds!

With the country’s largest Vapour Heat Treatment (VHT) plant getting ready for commissioning at the Tirupati Agricultural Marketyard, the mangoes will be ready for export in a month.

It was at the behest of Union Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh that two VHTs were sanctioned to the mango-rich Tirupati and Nuzvid (Krishna dt.) in the State. The plant was jointly developed by Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Authority (APEDA) and Andhra Pradesh State Agricultural Industries Development Corporation (AGROS), while the efforts of the local parliamentarian Chinta Mohan added pace to make the plant a reality in a short period. Though the first batch of mangoes was airlifted last summer itself, it was more of a formality and the regular dispatch will be through once this plant becomes operational.

Export-ready

The mangoes are exposed to heat and humidity for a given period of time in the VHT when the living organisms like larvae, pupae and insects get killed, thus making the products sterile and harmless. The plant can treat as much as five metric tonnes per batch over a period of 3-4 hours. The fruits become export-ready by meeting the quarantine norms in vogue in the importing countries.

Though a much smaller VHT is there in Vashi (Mumbai), the Rs.13-crore plant in Tirupati is said to be largest in the country to treat mangoes, while more are expected to be set up at Nuzvid and Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh).

Meanwhile, the authorities are learnt to be waiting for the “right pick” as the fruits meant for export have to be large in size and without any scars.

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