A cooperative of orange growers in eastern Maharashtra has opened a 1,200-tonne cold storage, giving its 640 members a way to hold their fruit for a few weeks instead of selling it at harvest, when prices are lowest.
The Santra Growers' Cooperative built the facility with a mix of a bank loan, a state subsidy for post-harvest infrastructure and contributions from members. Rent for storage space is charged per crate per week, at a lower rate for members.
"In the peak weeks, traders know we cannot wait, so they offer whatever they like," said the cooperative's chairperson, Vandana Kale. "Even three weeks of storage changes that conversation."
How members use it
- Fruit is graded and washed at the cooperative's packhouse.
- Crates are tagged with the farmer's name and stored at a controlled temperature.
- Members can sell through the cooperative's buyers or take their crates back at any time.
The cooperative estimates that members who stored fruit last season earned between 15 and 25 per cent more per crate than those who sold at harvest. It plans to add a small juice unit next year to use fruit that is too small or marked for the fresh market.
Agricultural economists say such facilities work best when farmers trust the grading and when electricity supply is reliable. The cooperative has installed a backup generator and publishes grading results on a notice board every day.
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