Delegates inaugurate the workshop in Muzaffarpur on Wednesday. Picture by Prakash Kumar

Muzaffarpur, Feb. 9: Good packaging not only preserve products but also helps attract customers. That was the primary message at the workshop for growers, processors and entrepreneurs organised by the Union ministry of food processing industries on Wednesday.

Inaugurating the workshop, Awadhesh Kumar, the director of the ministry, said: “Our main objective is to disseminate information about trends and techno- logy in the packaging of processed food. Standardi- sation and innovative de- sign in the packaging of food products is essential to create a niche in the international market.”

A source said Indian Institute of Packaging and the state government were aiming to improve the standards of packaging litchis.

India is one of the major producers of litchi and states like Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Assam and Punjab together produce 4.2 lakh tonne of the fruit. It is in demand, both fresh and processed.

Pradeep Kumar, the director of Micro and Medium Enterprises — a unit of the Union government, said Muzaffarpur would be the focus of the innovations as the quality and the quantity of litchi produced here is of superior quality.

“The region comprising Muzaffarpur, Vaishali, Sitamarhi, Darbhanga and East and West Champaran districts produce nearly 70 per cent of the annual production,” said Pradeep Kumar.

B.K. Karna, the deputy director of Indian Institute of Packaging — another Union government unit, said: “Packaging systems need to be upgraded. Initiatives were being taking to help producers preserve and market their products better.”

National Litchi Research Centre director Vishal Nath said adopting a scientific method of packaging could increase the shelf life of litchi. The respiration rate of the fruit can be pruned and lessened.

A composition of gases, including nitrogen, is pu- mped into the packet to increase the longevity of the product.

This allows producers to export the product to national and international markets.

A source said the meet was organised to introduce the state-of-the-art modified atmosphere packaging system to increase the shelf life of tropical fruits for national and international markets.