Guntur: FPOs sell fruit kits each at 150

Guntur: Horticulture department is selling fruits kit each at Rs 150 to the consumers to provide marketing market facility to the farmers producing fruits. Due to elimination of middlemen in this system, the farmers as well as consumers are benefiting. According to horticulture officials, Farmers Producers Organisations (FPOs) are procuring fruits from the farmers and packing and selling the same to the consumers.

They are selling two kits separately. One fruit kit is being sold at Rs 150 and another kit to the quarantine centres each at Rs 50. Following orders of the district administration, they are supplying fruit kits to the quarantine centres in the district.

According to Horticulture Department officials, Rs 150 kit consists of eight bananas, two guavas, 12 lemons and four-acid limes, one papaya, one watermelon and one muskmelon. Similarly, Rs 50 fruits kit consists of six bananas, two guavas, 3 acid limes and two lemons.

Farmers Produce Organizations are procuring and selling the fruits through CWC agency. They are giving door delivery of fruits kits to residents of apartments, associations and colonies. First they sold fruit kits in Guntur city each at Rs 100. They added some more fruits into the kit and now selling it at Rs 150.

Horticulture Commissioner Chiranjeevi Chowdary said, "They have introduced this system in Nellore, Chittoor, Krishna, East Godavari and West Godavari districts. The FPOs are taking cooperation of the Horticulture Department. In Chittoor, Nellore, Krishna, East and West Godavari districts, they are selling through vending vans. Due to this system the consumers are getting more varieties of fruits at a cheaper price (cost less by Rs 100).

Due to lockdown, the farmers producing vegetables and fruits are not in a position to sell. However, there is a good demand to the fruits kits now. He said, "In Kurnool a Rs 100 kit contains 8 bananas, 5 sweet oranges, one papaya, two muskmelons and five acid limes. Similarly, in West Godavari district, vegetable kits are being sold at Rs 55 and Rs 100 per kit."

He said Rs 55 kit consists of 5 types of vegetables coccinia, bhendi, brinjal, green chillies and tomato and Rs 100 vegetable kits have 8 varieties of vegetables weighing 7.25 kg. Rs 55 kit weighs 3 kg.