Maharashtra farmer company sends first shipment to Dubai

Mumbai: In a significant achievement for Maharashtra’s farmer-owned enterprises, Surachita Agro Producer Company Limited (SAPCL), headquartered in Karkambh in Solapur, has dispatched its first 20-metric-tonne export consignment of bananas to Dubai.

The shipment, facilitated in partnership with Pure Planet India Pvt. Ltd., marks a turning point for the young Farmer Producer Company that once struggled to identify a viable commodity and market.

What began with just 10 shareholder farmers has now grown into a network of 5,000 to 6,000 growers across the district. But the journey, as company leaders describe it, was far from smooth.

“In the beginning, we assumed dry raisins would be our anchor commodity, given Solapur’s proximity to grape-growing regions,” recalls Ratnadeep More, CEO of Surachita Agro Producer Company Ltd.

“However, field surveys showed limited market demand. Even fresh grape trading didn’t work in our favour. That failure pushed us to re-examine our strengths.”

It was during this search for a sustainable alternative that the team discovered the expanding potential of banana cultivation. What followed was a rapid shift; farmers began adopting banana as a primary crop, and soon, Surachita Agro crossed a major operational milestone by onboarding 350 dedicated shareholders. Daily harvesting volumes of 8–10 tonnes helped the FPC generate enough throughput to justify the development of a packhouse facility.

To scale higher, the company applied for a processing unit under the Government of Maharashtra’s SMART (Balasaheb Thackeray Agribusiness and Rural Transformation) Project, proposing value-added products such as banana powder and vacuum-fried banana chips. But even with processing capacity in sight, the FPC faced a critical gap: access to reliable buyers.

“That’s where Palladium made the difference,” said More, adding: “We were struggling to find market linkages on our own. Palladium helped us navigate buyer networks, understand export requirements, and connect us with Pure Planet India Pvt. Ltd.”

The maiden 20-MT shipment marks SAPCL’s formal entry into international trade, positioning Solapur’s banana growers for improved and stable price realisation in the coming years. Encouraged by the progress, the FPC now plans to process lower-grade bananas which are often wasted at the farmgate into ripe banana powder, raw banana powder, and vacuum-fried chips to ensure value addition and reduced post-harvest losses.