HPMC seeks Italian co’s expertise in producing alcoholic beverages

The Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation (HPMC) has approached an Italian company to help it produce alcoholic beverages like apple liqueur, schnapps and apple alcoholic cider.

“The HPMC has sent a sample of its apple juice concentrate to the Italian company, which will see how it can be used for preparing quality alcohol beverages,” sources said. The HPMC has been planning to add alcoholic beverages to its range of products like fresh apple juice, apple juice concentrate, apple cider vinegar, jams, etc., for a while now to strengthen its financial position.

The idea to produce alcoholic beverages firmed up when Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi visited Italy some time ago and got in touch with a company to collaborate with the HPMC for producing alcoholic beverages.

“Once an MoU is signed, the Italian company will share technical knowhow to produce alcoholic beverages with the HPMC. People will be sent to Italy to get training at this company,” said Prakash Thakur, a former vice-chairman of the HPMC, who was part of the Italy tour.

Minister visited Italy

• The HPMC has been planning to add alcoholic beverages to its range of products to strengthen its financial position
• The idea to produce alcoholic beverages firmed up when Horticulture Minister Jagat Singh Negi visited Italy some time ago and got in touch with a company to collaborate with the HPMC for producing alcoholic beverages
• Once an MoU is signed, the Italian company will share technical knowhow to produce alcoholic beverages with the HPMC, says Prakash Thakur, a former vice-chairman of HPMC

As HPMC’s vice-chairman during the previous Congress government in the state, Thakur had visited Germany to study the production of apple schnapps and had prepared a detailed report on it. With the change of government in 2017, the HPMC did not make any headway in this direction. “Apple schnapps contains around 80 per cent alcohol,” said Thakur.

He felt that producing quality alcoholic beverages would not only help the HPMC but the fruit growers of the state as well. “We are heading towards a stage where it will be difficult to sell sub-standard fruit in the market. The B grade fruit can be diverted to producing alcoholic beverages, for which there’s a good demand,” he said. At present, the HPMC procures culled fruit to prepare fresh juice, juice concentrate, cider vinegar and jams, etc.

For brisk business of alcohol beverages made from fruits produced in the state, Thakur said that the government would need to relax it excise and taxation policy and licensing process. “If these are too stringent, private players will hesitate to enter the business of alcoholic beverages,” he added.

The HPMC can produce apple liqueur at its latest fruit processing plant at Parala, Shimla. For producing apple schnapps, it will need to set up a distillery. It is already producing wine. With another wine unit coming up at Jarol, it will produce around two lakh litre of wine annually.