Source: The Sangai Express / Irungbam Pravin
Imphal, July 09:
Directorate of Commerce and Industries will set up a Mobile Food Processing Unit to extract and process fruit juice by venturing to different parts of the State.
The unit which costs around Rs 18 lakhs will start functioning by the year end.
Speaking to The Sangai EXpress today, Directorate and Commerce and Industries Joint Director Sanasam Joykumar said that nearly 30 to 40 percent of the fruits found in the State perish in the wild due to lack of transportation and processing facilities in remote areas.
The mobile unit would now rush to these areas and buy these fruits from the farmers for processing.
The members of the unit would also impart training on food processing to the villagers, he added.
Joykumar said that the processed fruits and juice would be supplied to the 15 licensed Food Producing Owners (PDOs) of the State for the production of juice and other fruit products.
A storage tank would also be installed to store the processed juice at Food Processing Training, Porompat, he added.
The Directorate has ordered a Tata truck (model-1109) to MGD Motor Pvt Ltd, Imphal to install the said unit, while the equipments would be supplied by M/s Gee Gee (Foods and Packaging) Company Pvt Ltd, New Delhi, the Joint Director added.
All the necessary paper works have been completed, Joykumar said and added that installation works would be completed by the end of this year.
The Joint Director also expressed hope that the unit would start extracting juice from December, which is the peak time of orange production in areas like Khoupum and Thangal of Tamenglong district.
He further said that the unit would rush to Kachai in February, which is the peak time for lemon production.
Pineapple juice processing would be conducted in Churachandpur, Thoubal and Imphal Esat districts, Joykumar added.
The joint director added that apart from the facility of imparting training to villagers on food processing, the mobile unit will also have the facility to process and preserve highly perishable vegetables like tomatoes.