Solapur farmers from Maharashtra, called the Ule Farmers Producer Company (FPC), have successfully exported their first full-scale consignment of bananas to Oman. This is one of the significant milestones since it’s the first big export to the global market. The 20 metric tonne shipment of Bananas has been done with the help of a partnership with the agri-tech platform Vegrow. Notably, the state govt.’s SMART Program has provided crucial infrastructure support with technical assistance through which the achievement has become possible for Solapur farmers.
About ULE and Solapur Farmers
Ule FPC was originally formed in 2017. It was created by marginal grape growers to combat high costs and limited post-harvest facilities. The farmers were earlier forced to transport their produce to Sangli and Nashik due to the unavailability of packhouses or cold storage. It often settles for its produce at lower rates in domestic markets. However, things changed after the state government’s SMART program allowed investments in modern packhouses, pre-cooling units and cold storage chambers. These upgrades equipped Ule FPC to meet global export standards through enhanced sorting, grading, packaging and cold chain management.
At present, the collective has 1,127 farmer-shareholders and has already earmarked 100 acres for banana cultivation. Additionally, the FPC plans to expand banana production to 500 acres next year and target wider markets across the Middle East after a successful banana export to Oman.
Project Director of SMART applauded the Export
Dr Hemant Vasekar, IAS, Project Director of SMART, Government of Maharashtra, applauded the export saying: “We are delighted to witness the efforts of Ule FPC Solapur in exporting their bananas to Oman, and we are looking forward to the role of Palladium in promoting exports and the domestic market for our FPCs in future”.