Targeting the burgeoning domestic market, Manarcadu Social Service Society (MASS) -- a first-of-its-kind farmers’ cooperative in Kerala -- has introduced a new brand of dry fruits.
Branded as “Only Organic”, the five varieties of dry fruits comprise jack fruit, mango, green mango, papaya and gooseberry. Marketed as a sugar-free product, all these varieties were launched at the recently concluded Organic World Congress in Greater Noida.
According to Bijumon Kurian, President, MASS, all the fruits were collected from 5,000+ farmer members of the society scattered across the hill-tracts of Kerala, and were processed at the factories of Plantrich Agritech, the promoter of MASS.
The Society was incorporated in 2001 as a farmer cooperative by Plantrich to enable small and medium farmers, especially coffee growers, get a better market price for their produce and sustainable business linkages. Currently MASS produces 12 Fairtrade certified products including cocoa, cinnamon, black pepper, white pepper, vanilla, cardamom, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, turmeric, coconut and pineapple.
MASS was instrumental in empowering farmers to achieve organic certification and export their produce including spices, coffee and cocoa to Europe, keeping Fairtrade and organic standards. The total area under cultivation under MASS is 3,100 hectares, with an annual production of 4,000 tonnes of spices, 6,500 tonnes of cocoa, 2,600 tonnes of coffee and 1,870 tonnes fruits, Kurian said.
The society, he said, has clocked a turnover of ₹30 crore and is aiming to achieve ₹100 crore business by 2020. Plantrich is an accredited supplier of Fairtrade and Organic food products to customers in the European Union.