Malda's mango growers are irked over the absence of government help in setting up food processing units. However, West Bengal minister for food Abdul Rezzak Molla, says the government is ready to aid private efforts to set up food processing units in Malda. "The government exempts from sales tax all units that invest more than Rs 5 lakh in plant and machinery. Bigger units can claim a 90 per cent sales tax reimbursement. Also, machinery and electricity for these units is subsidised. The subsidisation for any new unit finally works out to more than 40 per cent of the total cost of setting up the unit," he says.The Malda Mango Traders Association (MMMA) secretary Subodh Mishra, however, says, "Interested parties in Malda do not have the financial means to set up the units. Initial investment is high and taking bank loans is a risk because in case of any initial loss, repayment of loans becomes a difficult task."
The most grown Fazli variety has a greater fibre content and little pulp. Hence, foodprocessing units do not favour that, according to the minister. The quality of the table varieties -- Langra and Himsagar -- will have to be improved to find a better spread out market, he says.
The real problem is one of creating a market, according to the minister. Private food processing units in Malda face stiff competition from products like Frooti juices. While the fruit content of the mango juice manufactured by the private units in Malda is 33 per cent, the juice offered by Frooti has only 10 per cent fruit content and the remaining is synthetic content. Yet, Frooti juices sell more on the strength of marketing.
Though exports to Russia are dwindling now, Malda has not lost out in competition to Bhutan government-owned company Druk, which has taken away Malda's share of supply to the defence forces. Bhutan gets subsidised sugar from India, which it supplies to Druk. The fruit juice thus made is more competitively priced.
The government is advising farmers to grow cross breed varieties likeAmrapali and Mallika. Nurseries in Malda sell these saplings to the farmers who are growing new gardens. But as Mishra puts it, there is not much demand for these varieties among the mango growers in Malda as they need more protection. Mishra says only 10 per cent to 15 per cent of mango farmers in Malda are ready to spend Rs 200-300 required to take proper care of a fruit- yielding tree. The minister said in a seminar held by Nabard at Raiganj in Dinajpur district in the state in 1997, the bank proposed cheap finance to mango growers, but there was not much response from the farmers. One major problem is lack of government presence and poor marketing efforts. Lack of will towards risk taking prevents farmers from adopting more scientific farming methods.
The amount of private finance involved and the lack of market for the products of these units are other two reasons which worsened the situation. It needs to be seen if government efforts to train 30 batches of students in Kalyani University in scientificfarming methods and aid them with 50 per cent subsidy, bears fruit.
Otherwise, the nature of the mango trade in Malda will remain as fickle as ever before.
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
