S. H. Bandekar
Dy. Director
Indian Institute of
Packaging, Mumbai.
Source: Book on Plastics for Food
Packaging, presented by
Indian Institute of Packaging,
Mumbai and published by
Indian Centre for Plastics in the
Environment, Mumbai
The agro climatic conditions of
our country are ideal for agriculture
and horticulture. Our
country’s economy is also predominantly
agrarian. Agriculture supports
64% of workforce and earns 19% of
our exports.
India is the largest producer of
fruits in the world (46 million tonnes)
with a global share of over 10% and
the second largest producer of vegetables
(80 million tonnes) with a global
share of over 15%. India is the largest
producer of banana (15% of the
world production) and mango (59% of
the world production). India is 2nd largest
producer of onion with a global
share of 12.6% and 3rd largest producer
of cauliflower with a global share of
6.3%. The production of major fruits
& vegetables is given in Table 1 and
2. Figure 1 shows India’s share in the
world market.
Inspite of all these achievements,
agriculture contributes only one-third
of the GNP. About 20 to 30% of the
produce is lost annually due to lack of
adequate infrastructure and less use
of modern post harvest technologies.
In terms of value, the losses are Rs.
25,000 crores annually. This high level
of wastages and value losses are
largely due to lack of basic infrastructure
like storage and handling facilities.
Thus the per capita availability
of fruits is reduced to around 80gms
per day, which is almost half the requirement
for a balanced diet.
Fresh horticultural produce has
limited shelf-life ranging from a few
hours to few weeks at ambient temperature.
Packaging is required not
only for food preservation and protection
but also has assumed a multi
functional role by serving as a symbol
of value addition, an assurance of
quality and quantity/ number, a conveyor
of convenience and ultimately
a tool for marketing food products. The
importance of packaging has gained
ground, thanks to the growing consumer
awareness and willingness to
pay for value and hygienic products.
Increasing exports and stringent export
market needs have also influenced
the packaging trend. Increasing environmental
concerns have also imposed
newer parameters for package
performance giving an impetus to the
development of eco-friendly packaging
materials.
The marketing cycle starts from
the small farmers – large farmers –
commission agent – trader – commission
agent – wholesaler and finally the
retailer. Damage during the transit is
one of the main problems in horticultural
produce packaging. The main
purpose of packaging is to provide the
produce with attributes necessary to
survive a number of different hazards
that can be expected during storage,
transportation and distribution.
Hence, the first step in selection of a
package for a specific product is to
obtain a clear picture of the distribution
pattern and a drawn up model that
qualitatively and quantitatively represents
the system through which the
produce traverse.
Figure 2 shows the simple logistical
chain for export of fresh fruits and
vegetables.
During the journey, the package
encounters various types of distribution
hazards like mechanical, climatic,
biological contamination and other
hazards. Packaging materials and the
system followed plays an important
role in preventing these losses at the
farm and during the distribution chain.
Packaging reduces wastes, adds value
and makes the product qualitatively
and quantitatively acceptable. In case
of horticultural produce, packaging is
required not only to enhance the aes-
....contd.
TO READ FURTHER... SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR COPY TODAY!!!
