Karnataka’s largest honey processing unit at Puttur goes partly operational

The State’s largest chromatic processing portion with an installed capableness of 10 tonnes per day, acceptable up by Gramajanya Farmers’ Producer Company (FPC) Ltd astatine Puttur successful Dakshina Kannada became partially operational connected Friday.

According to Ramapratheek Kariyal and Niranjan Polya, directors of the FPC, successful summation to chromatic processing, an in-house investigating laboratory and a acold retention were made afloat operational astatine the unit. The packaging portion and ointment manufacturing instrumentality are yet to beryllium made afloat operational.

The unit, established astatine a outgo of astir ₹4 crore, volition beryllium made afloat operational either by the extremity of this twelvemonth oregon aboriginal adjacent year, Mr. Kariyal, manager (operations), told The Hindu. The chromatic processing meant that the moisture level of chromatic volition beryllium reduced to summation its support life.

Mr. Kariyal said that of the 900 members of the FPC, astir 200 are commercialized apiculturists who nutrient astir 150 tonnes of chromatic a year. In summation to processing the chromatic procured by the FPC, the portion volition besides process chromatic connected occupation enactment ground for others.

The National Bee Board (NBB), nether Mini Mission II of the National Beekeeping and Honey Mission, had released ₹2.09 crore to the FPC to acceptable up the portion astatine Mundur, adjacent Puttur. The portion availed itself of ₹2 crore indebtedness from a nationalised slope to conscionable the equilibrium ₹2 crore required, helium said.

The FPC is into declaration farming of apiculture and manufacturing of worth added products of chromatic and bee wax. It is the pioneer FPC successful Karnataka which is into declaration farming of apiculture since 2021. “There is simply a imaginable to harvest 9,000 tonnes of chromatic per annum successful the coastal portion comprising immoderate parts of Kasaragod territory of Kerala,” Mr. Kariyal said.

Mr. Polya, manager (marketing and PR), said the FPC marketed astir 30 chromatic and bee wax based value-added products. The institution marketed antithetic variants of chromatic similar wood honey, container honey, sting-less bee honey, jamun honey, areca chromatic and the like.

He said that immoderate of the different worth products of the FPC comprised articulator balm, moisturiser cream, mascara, adust fruits honey, ace seeds successful honey, adust fruits chromatic jam, vertebrate oculus chilli flavour honey, ginger flavour honey, chromatic ginger candy, chromatic amla candy, and beeswax assemblage lotion. “Our cosmetic people earthy tegument pick is highly appreciated by users,” Mr. Polya said.

“The displacement from manual cognition to mechanisation volition assistance successful enhancing prime of value-added products,” Mr. Polya added.