Kerala State Horticultural Products Development
Corporation (Horticorp) started a new strawberry processing unit in Munnar. Visitors
can buy a range of processed products made from strawberry cultivated by local
farmers. With this initiative Kerala make its debut in the country's strawberry
export market .
Apart from strawberry preserve, the unit will also
manufacture other value added products like strawberry jam and squash. During
the off season period for strawberry, it can process other fruits like mango,
peach, plum, pear, apple and passion fruit, grown by farmers in Vattavada,
Kanthalloor, and Munnar, under a fruit belt programme taken up by State
Horticultural Mission Kerala (SHM-K.)
Horticorp will procure the strawberry directly from
farmers. Strawberry varieties like Winter Dawn, Sweet Charlie, Camerosa and Festival
are cultivated organically in 625 acres in Munnar and other parts of Idukki.
The fruit is harvested from February to mid- May.
Since strawberry is a highly perishable fruit, processing is to be initiated within a few hours after harvest. The plant will employ a team of women trained at the Central Food Technological Research Institute, Mysore
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