Cluster Study Report - Mango Jelly Cluster (East Godavari District)

MANGO JELLY CLUSTERS IN AP Introduction India is a major producer of Mango and processed mango products. It accounts for 65% of the world production with a quantum of over 10 million metric tones. India is also a leading exporter of mangos and processed mango products. India out ranks all other countries as an exporter of processed mangos and mango preserves including Mango Jelly to Hongkong. Iraq, Canada, USA and other countries. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of mangos(29%) in the country. The areas of concentration of mango groves in the state are Krishna(29%), Khammam(14%), Chittoor(14%), Vizianagaram(11%),West Godavari(10%), East Godavari(9%), Visakhapatnam (7%), and Kadapa(6%). Large quantities of fresh fruit are exported to the Middle east, European and South-East Asian countries. Mango jelly is a golden yellow, layered and dried mango pulp and is manufactured in the state in traditional open drying method. The product is manufactured and marketed in many costal districts and prominent among the concentration of the industry is at Bhimali in Vizianagaram district and Kakinada in East Godavari district. Status of the Industry The Mango Jelly units are mostly micro enterprises and come under village industries category with a capital investment of around Rs.1.00 lakh. The unite are spread with in 20 km radius of the main land marked location and thus formed as clusters at Bhimali and kakinada. It is noteworthy that the clusters provide direct employment to over 5000 people in the season and indirect employment to vendors mostly in Railway Stations across the state and neighboring states. The status of the industry in the two clusters as reported in the SICDP study is given in Table-1 TABLE-1 S.no Indicators Bhimali cluster Kakinada Cluster 1 Spread of cluster 20 20 2 No.of units 240 600 3 Aggregate Employment(nos) 1500 3600 4 Aggregate Investment(Rs. Crores) 1.0 4.20 5 Aggregate Production (Tons) 450 2200 6 Aggregate Sales value (Rs. Crores) 1.8 8.0 At present Mango Jelly is produced through conventional drying process involving spreading of Mango pulp in layers one above the other till the desired thickness forms and dried to the stipulated consistency. The cakes are then cut into sizes and packed on polyethylene film. There is need for improving the process technology and hygiene of the product. It was reported in the cluster study that the key issues for interventions are primitive pulping and drying process, poor in-process hygiene, highly decentralized operations, high dependence on middlemen for marketing of the product and low skills of workers. Cluster Development Initiatives The Ministry of Micro, Small& Medium Enterprises (formerly min. of SSI) Govt. of India has laid special emphasis for development of clusters across the country on a holistic approach encompassing marketing, exports, skill development, setting up of common facility centers, and technology up gradation, The Mango jelly clusters of Bhimali and Kakinada are among them and were taken up by APITCO through Govt. of Andhra Pradesh during 2003-04. Cluster Level Interventions and The results. The cluster diagnosis studies conducted identified certain key areas as stated earlier and initiated interventions, the major among them are as under: · Demonstration of improved pulping and drying techniques · Organising sensitization programmes on in-process hygein · Training in product quality and packaging · Organising buyer-seller meets · Conducting skill development training to improve skills of workers The implementation of these interventions gave fruitful results and shown signs of improvement in the product quality and productivity in the enterprises. Prominent among the interventions are installation of mechanical pulpers (57 units), installation of pasteurizers (50 units),improvement in in-process hygiene, introduction of solar dryers, training of workers in better production, drying techniques, packaging and marketing practices, introduction of food grade tools & implements, quality control methods etc. These interventions have shown positive results. The impact can be seen from the following Table-2 TABLE-2 S.No Indicators Bhimali Cluster Kakinada Cluster 1 Spread of Cluster 20 km 20 km 2 Total Units 240 (240)* 790 (600)* 3 Aggregate Employment(Nos) 1500 (1500)* 4500 (3600)* 4 Aggregate Investment(Rs. Crores) 1.95 (1.0)* 6.5 (4.20)* 5 Aggregate Production(Tons) 650 (450)* 4900 (2200)* 6 Aggregate Sales(Rs. Crores) 3.1 (1.8)* 14.8 (8.0)* · Figures in Brackets indicate those prior to interventions. It is pertinent to mention that the productivity has considerably improved after the implementation of the suggested interventions. As a result of the signs of improvements, Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of MSME, Govt of India, sanctioned for the establishment of a Common facility Centre in Mango Jelly Cluster at Bhimali, Vizianagaram district. Conclusion It is seen that the Govt. initiatives for the sustained growth and development proved encouraging results and benefited the industry. In a cluster approach the individual enterprises, commonly known as cluster actors play a vital role. Their cooperation and team work as an association will go a long way in expanding the business multifold. The cluster actors should now act positively to get better results. Acknowledgment: I sincerely acknowledge DC(MSME) and APITCO for using the cluster reports as references