Raisin processing, cold storage unit in Vijayapura to open in November
A raisin processing and cold storage unit at Thoravi in Vijayapura, built by the Karnataka Grape and Wine Board, will serve grape farmers from November.
Grape growers in Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Belagavi districts will get access to a raisin processing and cold storage facility at Thoravi village in Vijayapura from November, ending a wait of nearly two years.
The unit has been set up by the Karnataka Grape and Wine Board with funding from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development and the State government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund.
Once operational, it is expected to let farmers in the three districts process and store raisins locally, rather than hauling their produce to Sangli or Pune in Maharashtra or paying higher charges at private units.
Capacity and operations
The facility can handle 10,000 tonnes of raisins, along with pulses, grains and other agricultural commodities, and can process four tonnes of raisins an hour. Processed raisins will be packed in 15-kg bags and moved into the cold storage section.
Mune Gowda N., Managing Director of the Karnataka Grape and Wine Board, said the unit would help farmers secure a better price when demand is strong, instead of being forced to accept whatever rate the market offers.
Karnataka produces around 1.5 lakh to 2 lakh tonnes of raisins a year. Of the State's 47,177 hectares under grape cultivation, 42,000 hectares fall in Vijayapura, Belagavi and Bagalkot.
Private operators run about 90% of the raisin storage capacity in Vijayapura district, charging ₹700 to ₹800 to store one tonne for a month. While rates at the government facility are yet to be fixed, the board plans to keep them ₹50 to ₹100 below prevailing private charges.
Solar backup and future plans
Cold storage requires uninterrupted electricity, so the board has taken a power connection and installed 250kW of rooftop solar panels. The solar array can support the unit for an hour during an outage, and capacity is to be expanded to 500kW in the coming months.
The board also intends to add a laboratory to test residue in grapes and raisins, an e-auction unit and an export unit within the existing space. A detailed project report has been submitted to the State government.