Processing of Horticultural Crops

Introduction

Introduction
Fruits and vegetables are important supplement to the nutritional requirements in the human diet as they provide the essential minerals, vitamins and fiber required for maintaining health. India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in world after China. Huge quantity of produce is wasted due to inadequate facilities for preservation as only 1.5 to 2% of the total produce is processed in the country. Fruit and vegetable preservation is thus one of the major pillars of food industry. The food preservation and processing industry has now become a necessity rather than being a luxury.

Food is the prime necessity of life and can be classified in different groups according to their nutritional value and function in the body.

1. Energy giving food: Any food which provides energy is classified as energy giving food. One gram of carbohydrate imparts 4 calorie while 1 g of fat provides 9 calorie of energy, e.g., cereals, roots, tubers, dried fruits, sugar, fat etc.
2. Body building food: Foods which are rich in protein are body building foods, e.g., milk, meat, fish, egg are rich in protein of high biological value. Secondly pulses, oil, seeds and nuts etc are rich in proteins. Though, these proteins contain many essential amino acids for synthesis of body tissues yet may not possess all essential amino acids required for the human body.
3. Protective food: Foods rich in protein, vitamin and minerals are called protective foods, e.g., milk, egg, green leafy vegetables and fruits. Protective foods are of two types.

• High biological value foods: Foods rich in protein, minerals and vitamin. (e.g., milk) are protective foods of high biological values.
• Low biological value foods: This group includes foods rich in minerals and vitamins but deficient in proteins (e.g., fruit and vegetables, green leafy vegetables). Thus, fruit and vegetables are characterized as the protective foods of low biological value. They are rich source of carbohydrates, dietary fibre, mineral, vitamins, flavonoids etc.

Status of fruits and vegetables in India
Fruits and vegetables are the important category of horticulture crops grown in our country.

• Out of total cropped area of 184 million hectare, horticulture crops cover about 20.7 million hectares (about 11.25% of the total gross cropped area).
• Horticultural crops contribute about 18-20% of the gross value of India’s agricultural output.
• India is the largest producer of mango, banana and lime.
• The country produces 41% of world mangoes, 23% banana, 24% cashew nut and accounts for 12% of world fruit production (MOFPI, 2009).
• India is the world’s second largest fruit and vegetable producing country accounting for 79.97 million tonnes of fruit and 129.1 million tonnes of vegetables (FAO, 2009).
• Besides, about 5.66 million tonnes of loose flowers, spices, mushroom and aromatic plants are also produced.
• The export of fresh fruit and vegetables from India in 2006-07 was estimated at 9.84 lakh tonnes and valued at Rs 2411.70 crores.
• Mango, grapes, apple, onion, potato, green vegetables like okra, bitter gourd and green chilies are the major items of export.
• India also exported 9.53 lakh tonnes of processed foods comprising of mango pulp, juices, concentrates, dried and processed vegetables, pickle and chutney, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages worth Rs 2,757.74 crores (APEDA, 2007) (Table-1.1).

1. Fruits: Owing to wide diversity of agro-climatic conditions, almost all types of fruits are grown in the country.

• Temperate fruits: Apple, pear, peach, plum, apricot, cherries, almond, walnut and other nuts).
• Subtropical fruits: Mango, guava, papaya and citrus etc.
• Tropical fruits: Banana, pineapple, sapota, litchi and grapes etc.
• Arid fruits: Pomegranate, fig, phalsa, ber and aonla etc.
• Plantation crops: Coconut, cashewnut, and arecanut etc.

Table 1.1: Status of horticultural crops, post harvest management and processing in India

Status		Position in India
Area1, m ha	Fruits	9.5
	Vegetables	7.9
	Others	3.3
	Total	20.7
Production1, m tones	Fruits	79.97
	Vegetables	129.1
	Flowers, Spices and Aromatic plants	5.66
	Total	214.73
Export	Fresh Fruits/vegetables 2	9.84 lakh tonnes
	Value2	Rs. 2411.70 Crores
	Processed Products3	9.53 lakh tonnes
	Value3	Rs. 2757.74 Crores
Infrastructure	Cold Store units4, number	5101
	Storage Capacity4, m tonnes	21.7
	Processing capacity, m tonnes	3.85
	Actual Production of processed products, m tonnes	1.33
	Capacity utilization, %	Less than 35

Source: 1. FAO (2009); 2. APEDA (2007); 3.MOFPI (2009); 4. DMI (2006)

2. Vegetables: More than 40 kinds of vegetables are produced in our country. India comprises the prime position in cauliflower, second in onion and third in cabbage in the world. The country produces 36% green peas, 30% cauliflower and 10% onion and thus, accounts for 13% of total vegetable production in the world (MOFPI, 2009).

3. Status of fruit and vegetables processing industry in India
The food processing industry in India accounts for 14% of the total industrial output with 6.3% contribution in the national GDP. The food processing industry plays an important role in the Indian economy and is establishing as one of the largest sector in terms of production as well as returns. The installed capacity of processing fruit and vegetable in our country from more than 6600 FPO licensed units is about 3.85 million tonnes which is less than 2% of total fruit and vegetable production against 60-83% in many horticultural advanced countries like 60-70% in USA, 70% in Brazil, 78% in Philippines, 80% Saudi Arabia and 83% in Malaysia. Further, the actual production of processed products from these units stood at only 1.33 million tonnes (Table-1.2) which accounts for less than 35% capacity utilization of the installed processing units.

Table 1.2: Quantity of processed fruit and vegetable products in India

Status		Position in India
Area1, m ha	Fruits	9.5
	Vegetables	7.9
	Others	3.3
	Total	20.7
Production1, m tones	Fruits	79.97
	Vegetables	129.1
	Flowers, Spices and Aromatic plants	5.66
	Total	214.73
Export	Fresh Fruits/vegetables 2	9.84 lakh tonnes
	Value2	Rs. 2411.70 Crores
	Processed Products3	9.53 lakh tonnes
	Value3	Rs. 2757.74 Crores
Infrastructure	Cold Store units4, number	5101
	Storage Capacity4, m tonnes	21.7
	Processing capacity, m tonnes	3.85
	Actual Production of processed products, m tonnes	1.33
	Capacity utilization, %	Less than 35

Source: 1. FAO (2009); 2. APEDA (2007); 3.MOFPI (2009); 4. DMI (2006)