Country’s first orange grading machine on verge of closure

By Our Correspondent,Syangja, Dec. 27: The country's first orange grading machine, which came into operation with the government's agreement to provide 85 per cent subsidy, has reached a point of closure.

The operators of the machine at Arjun Chaupari-1 in Syangja district, one of the leading districts in orange production in the country, have been forced to close it down as the plant couldn't get any grant even after the operations for five years. 

Orange producer farmer, Phani Narayan Aryal had brought it into operation in 2017 with an investment of 85 per cent from the government and 15 per cent of his own.

Aryal had introduced the grading machine for the first time in Nepal at Arjun Chaupari in Syangja after signing a grant agreement with the Post-Harvest Directorate to get support from the SAARC Fund. 

He had bought the machine for Rs. 5.8 million but he never received the grant of Rs. 4.68 million as promised by the government. 

Aryal had started the operation of the plant after receiving a loan of Rs. 7 million from Muktinath Development Bank but he has long faced a problem in repaying the loan as he couldn't obtain the government grant for such a long period. 

However, he had received Rs. 1.8 million, 50 per cent of the total cost incurred in construction of the building to install the plant. 

Stating that he had spent Rs. 300,000 to find a new office when the office with which the agreement was signed was scrapped, Aryal said that now discussions are being held for grant to the Office of Crop Development and Biodiversity.

He said that he bought the grading machine in order to get a subsidy from the government but he could only pay the interest of the loan by selling the oranges produced in his 80 ropanis land and from neighbours. 

About 10 to 20 tons of oranges can be graded daily with a grading machine while Aryal is grading and selling about 2000 tons of oranges per year.

A 65-metre-long automatic grading machine is used to peel, wash, wipe, and polish oranges, and the oranges are separated into eight grades from small to large.