Workers carrying boxes of apples.

The state government will encourage private investors to break the monopoly of Adani Group in cold storage in Himachal. Investors will be invited to build more and more cold stores in Himachal. The government will also make land available for setting up cold stores. The government will provide whatever other facilities are necessary to them.

Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi admitted that Adani Group has monopoly in the case of cold stores in Himachal. To break this monopoly, it is necessary to have competition in this area. The Congress government of the state has started work in this direction.

65 thousand metric ton storage capacity
Himachal currently has more than 20 Control Atmosphere (CA) cold stores. More than 65 thousand metric tonnes of fruits can be kept in these. Of these, Adani Group alone has 3 cold stores in Himachal.

Minister dissatisfied with the work of cold store

The minister appeared dissatisfied with the work of the cold store being built in Himachal. The minister sought the report of the construction of the cold store from the officials. Based on this report, the government will take the next decision.

At present, the capacity of cold stores of private and government sector is 60 to 70 thousand metric tonnes. Due to non-availability of cold storage facilities, the orchardists of the state are forced to sell their apples at throwaway prices.

Companies earn huge profits in off season

During the apple season, companies in the private sector buy apples from gardeners at throwaway prices and keep them in their cold stores. In the off-season, these companies sell apples at a huge profit. To overcome this problem of the horticulturists, the Congress government of the state has prepared a plan to attract more and more investors in the construction of cold stores, so that the monopoly of one-half of the companies can be ended.

Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that after construction of more and more cold stores, farmers would be provided facility to store their apples and other crops there at low cost.