The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Irradiation plant for Hyderabad: Minister

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Wednesday, Jul 02, 2008
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Irradiation plant for Hyderabad: Minister

Special Correspondent

NUZVID: The second plant in the country for irradiation of fruits, mainly mangoes, will be established at Hyderabad at a cost of Rs. 10 crore, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Power Jairam Ramesh announced here on Tuesday. The first irradiation plant in the country was established at Lasalgaon in Maharashtra.

The Minister, after inaugurating an integrated pack house and vapour heat treatment (VHT) facility, which is the third of its kind in the country, acknowledged that there was a strong demand for the setting up of the irradiation plant here.

But, he said, Hyderabad was favoured because “it is more convenient” to set up the plant there because of logistical convenience.

Third plant

Mr. Ramesh said three VHT plants needed to export fruits to Japan had come up in the country till now. The first one was established at Vashi in Maharashtra, while the second one was inaugurated recently by Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy at Tirupati and this plant was the third, he said.

While vapour heat treatment was sufficient to export mangoes to Japan, irradiation was required for exporting the fruit to the U.S.

The shelf life of other fruits like papaya, banana and guava could be increased by subjecting them to vapour heat treatment, Mr. Ramesh added.

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