An Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority-approved packhouse covering 5,600 square meters at Manohar International Airport has received clearance. According to the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the facility is expected to support exports of perishable products, including fruits and vegetables.
Mango growers from Dharwad are assessing the airport at Mopa as a potential export corridor to markets such as Singapore, West Asia, and Europe. The region around Goa, particularly the Dharwad belt, has about 60,000 acres of mango cultivation, equal to about 24,281 hectares. GCCI agriculture committee chairman Mahesh Patil said the airport could become a key hub for this production zone.
Patil led a group of growers from the Mavu Belegarar Balaga, Dharwad, to review cargo operations at Mopa. He noted that growers previously made their first export shipment through Chintamani, which is 8.5 hours from Dharwad. With Mopa four hours away, they expect lower transit damage and reduced logistical costs.
Two companies from Maharashtra's Sindhudurg district, the ShivKonkan Farmer Producer Company Ltd and Shreevali Agro, are already exporting mangoes through Mopa. The Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri zone forms part of the Alphonso production belt. Smaller volumes of vegetables are also exported.
GMR Mopa cargo logistics head Purushottam Thakur stated that the fully integrated multi-commodity packhouse will have a daily handling capacity of 100 tons. He said it is being set up with support from the agriculture department and APEDA, and that the facility is expected to strengthen export capacity for growers in Goa, Karnataka, and Maharashtra. Thakur added that the packhouse will allow farmers to store unsold produce and redirect it to domestic markets served through 29 Indian destinations connected to Mopa. This is intended to reduce losses linked to international shipment rejections.
Tier II warehousing, an on-site customs office, and a plant quarantine unit will also operate within the cargo terminal. GCCI's agriculture committee said that once the packhouse becomes operational, exporters will also be able to use seaport channels through Mormugao Port and ICD Balli for multimodal logistics options.
Thakur added that there is potential to enable daily truckloads of mango exports and that the airport may also support shipments of other crops, including Bijapur lemons, pomegranates, and guavas.
Source: The Times of India
