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Agricultural News
Agri News : 52 tonne of oranges exported to Sri Lanka
For the first time in many years Sri Lankan market has opened for around 52 tonne of oranges from Maharashtra,
top officials of the Maharashtra government said.
Bangladesh has been a regular importer of oranges from India, authorities of the Maharashtra State Agriculture
Marketing Board (MSAMB) said.
The consignment has been exported through the Export Facilitation Centre established by the MSAMB with MahaOrange,
Chandrakant Patil, Maharashtra cooperation minister, said.
The first consignment of 26 tonne has already sent for Sri Lanka and the second consignment of similar tonnage is
expected to leave Indian shores soon, he added. The condition to export oranges to newer markets, the fruit size
of 180-200 grams, which is a mandatory, is a little difficult for Indian farmers to meet.
Around 50 farmer groups reached out to cities including Hyderabad, Nashik, Kolhapur, Mumbai, Sangli and Pune,
opening direct sales outlets, officials said. There has been a bumper orange crop this season.
MahaOrange has signed MoU with MSAMB and Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority
(APEDA) to set up a facilitation centre in Vidarbha that will look into packaging, grading and branding of
oranges procured from the farmers. Oranges will be purchased, packed and graded according to quality in three
categories — Grade A, for top quality oranges; Grade B, for oranges little lower than the top quality;
and Grade C, for oranges which are usually meant for the food processing industry, This way, farmers can be
guaranteed of better prices, since the rates will be fixed according to the category and therefore, there will
be less heartburn.