Container Corporation of India (Concor), the largest container train service provider, has launched a banana and apple cold storage centre with ripening facility in Azadpur Mandi (wholesale market), having a handling capacity 60 tonne a day.
Anil Gupta, Chairman and Managing Director, Concor, said this in a conference here on Tuesday. The facility is can be used throughout the year barring January and February, and the facility is expected to be profitable.
Specifically, the facility has fruit ripening chambers, cold storage chambers and banana washing tanks. The facility can be used by farmers, traders and retailers.
This is the first time that Concor is getting into handling banana and apple, shared AlliRani, Director-Finance, Concor. This perishable cargo centre, located near a railhead, is Concor’s venture, shared Yashpal, Director-export-import, Concor.
Concor’s subsidiary – Fresh and Healthy Enterprises Ltd – handles apples, kinnow and grapes in Himachal Pradesh. Launching the facility, Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu said that India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables, but a lot of cargo gets damaged due to lack of handling facilities.