Importance of Pack-houses and their need

Importance of Pack-houses

A pack house can be defined as a place protected from weather for both product and people working there. It also allows special operations to be performed.

What is a Pack house?

A packing house is a facility where fruit is received and processed prior to distribution to market.  Bulk fruit (such as apples, oranges, pears) is delivered to the plant via trucks or wagons, where it is dumped into receiving bins and sorted for quality and size. Fruit that is ready to be packed into crates or flats is run through a washer and then air-dried. A light coating of natural wax is applied to help the fruit retain moisture and enhance its appeal. The fruit is transported via conveyor belts to the grading tables where it is visually sorted. With its capacity to process large volumes, farmers associations, cooperatives, or even community organizations can take advantage of these opportunities. 

Requirements:

A packinghouse needs to be located close to the production area and within easy access to main roads or highways. Sufficient space outside is also required to avoid congestion of vehicles entering and leaving. It is important to create a comfortable environment both for produce and workers. Lighting is critical in identifying defects on inspection tables. Dull colors and non-glossy surfaces are a requirement for equipment, conveyor belts and outfits. In this way, defects are not masked because of the reflection of light. It also helps to reduce eye fatigue. Packed fruit is designated by size, based on the average number of pieces it takes to fill a box. Packed boxes are stored in a "pre-cooler" to prepare them for the trip to market by truck or rail.

Importance of Pack house:

Preparation of the produce before it is sent for the market comprises four basic key operations: 

·        Removal of unmarketable material

·        Sorting by maturity and/or size

·        Grading

·        Packaging

Products need to be transported to a packing shed for special operations like washing, brushing, waxing, controlled ripening, refrigeration, storage or any specific type of treatment or packaging.

India and Pack house:

In agro-trade, India stands sixth in the world. Its export share is 2.4% or $43.5billion (in 2014-15) while imports share is 1.5% with a ninth rank and total value of exports is $27.3 billion. APEDA is a non-commercial export promotion organization of government of India and acts as a link between industry and the government. It helps in giving assistance and guidance for promotion of exports of fruits, vegetables and their products, meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, dairy products etc.

According to a report titled ‘All India Cold-chain Capacity Assessment (Status & Gaps)’ released by Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, to fulfill current consumption of urban clusters, India needs about 70,000 pack-houses, each equipped with a pre-cooler and dispatch room for onwards transport links. Lack of pack-houses and transport connectivity results in a breach in the integrity of cold-chain. This also results in most of the cold storage capacity being used to store only crops like potato, dried chillies, pulses, etc. which do not need onwards cold-chain connectivity. The report has highlighted that the gap in India’s cold-chain is not as much due to a lack of cold storage capacity, but more to do with various other components, necessary to implement farm-to-fork connectivity. The report highlights that in future, development focus needs to be more on modern pack-houses and refrigerated transport, which are important to initiate the appropriate logistics chain from villages to city centers.

What are factors hindering exports of horticulture produce?

Quality of produce and packing are two issues hindering our exports. State farmers are producing in bulk but they lack in giving attention to quality. This does not mean the produces are bad but the produce sometimes contains insecticides, which is more than the permissible limit. In exports of perishable items, packing is important.

How can hurdles be removed?

With joint efforts of the state government and APEDA, packing hurdles can be removed. Government is exploring possibility to set up common pack house facility in clusters for processing. It is also considering the option of a common infrastructure at ports also. Similarly, orientation programs for exports should help. Value addition to produces like mango and orange jams, juices, squash etc and potato flour and chips, dehydrated onion flakes, frozen peas, sauces and concentrates can also help in boosting export of horticulture produces from the state.

Conclusion:

There is an urgent need to improve market linked connectivity for agricultural produce. Previously, the main focus was on creating of cold stores. Farm-gate infrastructure in form of modern pack-houses and reefer vehicles is the key to connecting the farmers with the distribution network. Modern pack-houses, which are used to prepare and pre-condition the fresh farm produce for subsequent logistics connectivity in the cold-chain, are a critical missing link. Without these village level facilities, farmers of high value fruits and vegetables are not able to take full advantage of the cold-chain. 

Sources:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Packing_house

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=126641

http://www.freepressjournal.in/indore/set-up-of-pack-houses-to-boost-horticulture-exports-dr-tarun-bajaj-gm-apeda/850713

http://www.fao.org/docrep/008/y4893e/y4893e05.htm