By IANS
Shimla : Private sector companies are showing interest in buying fruits directly from farmers in Himachal Pradesh. After the Adani group, Reliance Retail and Tata Chemicals will also buy peaches grown in the Rajgarh region of the state.
Company sources of Reliance Retail and Tata Chemicals say they have sent teams of experts and officials to carry out surveys in the “peach valley”, which falls in the Rajgarh region of Solan district.
The region produces between 15,000 to 18,000 boxes of high-quality peach, with each box weighing around 10 kg. The peach grown in Rajgrah is considered one of the best in the country.
The Adani group purchased a few hundred boxes of fruit directly from farmers in 2007.
“Encouraged by this experiment last year, the Adani group plans to buy 4,000 boxes of peach directly from farmers in the coming summer harvest,” said Surinder Tomar, an expert working with Adani.
This has encouraged Reliance Retail and Tata Chemicals to also enter the lucrative peach market in the state.
The much sought after fruit will not only be sold across markets of India but also exported.
Once all the three companies are established in the peach industry, they plan to diversify into the vegetable market in the region, particularly tomatoes, say company officials.