Surachita Agro Producer Company Ltd (SAPCL), headquartered in Karkambh in Maharashtra's Solapur district and registered in 2019, has exported its first 20-ton consignment of bananas to Dubai. The shipment was carried out in partnership with Pure Planet India Pvt Ltd.
According to CEO Ratnadeep More, the group initially expected dry raisins to become its anchor commodity due to Solapur's proximity to grape-growing regions. He said, "In the beginning, we assumed dry raisins would be our anchor commodity, given Solapur's proximity to grape-growing regions. However, field surveys showed limited market demand. Even fresh grape trading didn't work in our favour. That failure pushed us to re-examine our strengths."
The shift came when the team identified expanding opportunities in banana cultivation. Farmers began adopting the banana as a primary crop, and SAPCL onboarded 350 shareholders. Daily harvesting volumes of 8 to 10 tons enabled the farmer-producer company to justify investment in a packhouse facility.
To scale further, the group applied for a processing unit under Maharashtra's SMART project (Hon Balasaheb Thackeray Agribusiness and Rural Transformation), proposing value-added products including banana powder and vacuum-fried banana chips. However, the FPC lacked stable market access. More stated, "That's where Palladium made the difference. We were struggling to find market linkages on our own. Palladium helped us navigate buyer networks, understand export requirements, and connect us with Pure Planet India Pvt Ltd. Today's export to Dubai is a direct outcome of that support."
SAPCL now plans to process lower-grade bananas, which are often lost at the farm gate, into ripe banana powder, raw banana powder, and vacuum-fried chips to reduce postharvest losses.
More said the company is currently linked with 5,000 to 6,000 farmers. He added, "In the next few years, we aim to bring 30,000 to 40,000 farmers under banana cultivation," outlining SAPCL's intention to build a vertically integrated banana value chain in Solapur.
Source: BusinessLine
