We are glad to inform you that the Indian Society of Agribusiness Professionals (ISAP) with the support of APEDA and Apple Growers’ Association of India is organizing the First Buyer – Seller Meet and Conference on Fruit Industry of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla, Himachal Pradesh, India during 29 - 30 November 2006.

As your are aware, Himachal Pradesh is rich in natural resources and has varied agro-climatic conditions suitable for the development of horticulture sector and considered as the fruit bowl of the country. The fruit industry in Himachal Pradesh helps the economic upliftment of the rural population and also generates large-scale employment in the state.

However, there are certain issues like replacement of old orchards, low productivity, absence of international quality standards, inadequate post harvest infrastructure facilities, marketing constraints, contract farming issues, financial availability, insurance of farm produce, fruit processing, challenges of globalization etc. which needs to be addressed in order to tap the full potential of fruit industry in Himachal Pradesh. The event is planned primarily to address these issues.

The focus of the event is on promoting quality fruit production, organic farming, inter – disciplinary approach, R&D, implementation of international quality standards such as GAP, HACCP etc, improvement in grading, modern grading lines, cold storages and transportation efficiency, market promotion through branding, advertisement and exports; Identifying business viability of fruit industry of Himachal Pradesh, value addition and diversification in fruit processing industry etc are other aspects which will be deliberated in the conference. We expect a huge participation from producers, horticultural scientists, extension specialists, exporters, importers, traders, NGOs, Government agencies, International agencies etc.