India’s first mega food park opens in Chittoor, Andhra Pradesh

The first mega food park in the country, Srini Mega Food Park, which will facilitate end-to-end food processing with both backward and forward linkages, opened in Cittoor, Andhra Pradesh on Monday.

Minister of agriculture and food processing industries Sharad Pawar on Monday inaugurated the Srini Food Park, which facilitates seed-to-shelf food processing.

The new-age facility, which is equipped with a central processing centre and primary processing centers, aims at becoming a pioneering infrastructure enabler and facilitator for the food processing industry.

Srini Mega Food Park is promoted by professionals and supported by the ministry of food processing industries and the Andhra Pradesh Infrastructure Investment Corporation and is intended to benefit all components of the value chain.

A model 'Mega Food Park' and the first of its kind in India, Srini provides state-of-the-art food processing infrastructure designed as per global standards and develops a veritable market place with common facilities on the lines of a software park or a textile park.

Spread over an area of 147 acres, Srini Food Park provides world-class facilities for pulping, IQF (individually quick frozen), bottling, tetra packing, modular cold storage, warehousing and advanced testing lab. It enables basic and supply chain infrastructure, cluster farming and is ably backed by field collection centers, self-help groups and individual farmers. Srini Food Park will help food industry in sourcing quality raw material.

Chittoor, in Andhra Pradesh, is the largest fruits and vegetables cluster in India, with the highest growth in the fruits and vegetables sector (20 per cent) in the country and is an ideal destination for food processing units.

A mega food park provides various facilities to food processors, farmers, retailers and exporters, helping in fast growth of food processing industries.

Key benefits to stake-holders include:

• Developed plot provided on lease with power, water and ETP facilities to food processors;
  
• Cutting edge processing facilities in CPC;
  
• Benefits of power cost, common facilities, testing, government support;
  
• Backward and forward linkages;
  
• Farmers can increase profitability by selling produce at collection centers;
  
• Farmers can avail of information regarding seed and other best practices;
  
• Reduce losses through best practices in handling and packing;
  
• Avail of primary processing facilities, cold storages, ripening chambers and warehouses;
  
• For retail chains as well as MNC exporters the mega food park ensures good quality produce;
  
• Standardisation of products and benefit of quality assurance from testing labs;
  
• Optimisation of goods transportation facilities, viz, reefer trucks and vans;
  
• Labeling and packing facilities;
  
• Customer satisfaction through quality assurance; and
  
• Quality products from producers and quality assurance through food chain.