A southern district in Tamil Nadu will soon house a large cold-storage facility for agricultural produce, an idea proposed by the Tamil Nadu State Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII.
A cold storage facility for bananas was mooted by CII a few years ago, to increase the shelf life of the fruit that is produced in huge quantities in the state.
“Tamil Nadu has the most variety of bananas, and the CII used to partner with a banana festival. Based on this, we mooted the idea of setting up a cold-storage facility for bananas. We broad-based the idea to include other horticultural products, too,” said Ramesh Kymal, Chairman, CII Tamil Nadu State Council, and Chairman and Managing Director, Gamesa Renewable Pvt Ltd.
“The state government, through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard), has allotted ₹398 crore to set up this facility. Nabard will be the nodal agency for the project,” he added.
Tamil Nadu occupies the first place in area under cultivation of banana (1.18 lakh hectare) and in its production (56.50 lakh tonnes). However, post-harvest management loss in banana is 30-40 per cent, according to a state government document.
Kymal also highlighted CII’s recommendations relating to improvement of infrastructure, GST, Madurai-Tuticorin Industrial Corridor and restoration of Noyyal river, among others.
“We had an interaction with the Chennai Airport Director and Airports Authority of India relating to various operational and administration issues in Chennai International Airport. Also, we have made requests for expansion of infrastructure and improvement of connectivity at Tiruchi, Coimbatore and Madurai airports,” he said.