As many as 58 cold storage units in Guntur, whose survival is solely dependent on mirchi crop, are fast heading towards closure.

Andhra Pradesh state occupies the first position in the country with over 100 cold storages. The Guntur units, with capacities ranging from 15,000 bags to 1.25 lakh bags, have not seen profits since 1997.

The severe drought in 2002-03 even worsened the situation, and around 10 storages lay empty. A few years ago, two plants went sick and downed their shutters. Currently, over 15 cold storage owners have defaulted on bank loan installments.

"The government does not encourage  us," rues T Prakasa Rao, the president of Guntur District Cold Storage Owners' Association.

The government has not taken any initiative so far to educate the farmers on the benefits of keeping their produce in the cold storages, he described the government apathy.

All agricultural crops  including tamarind, jaggery and turmeric, could be stored in the storages, and it would fetch the farmers at least Rs 300-500 a bag when compared to the crops kept in dry and non-AC warehouses and godowns. This has been proved in the case of mirchi crop, he explained.

"Crops stored in cold storages remain fresh, as if they have been just harvested in fields; hence bring in high prices for them. We also give bank guarantee for farmers and help them get loans against 50 per cent of the crop stored with us. We charge nominal rates of Rs 30-50 a bag or Rs  6,000-8,000 per 10 tonnes for ten months duration," he informed.

At present, the farmers are cultivating pulses and other commercial crops on a large-scale due to lack of irrigation supply from the Nagarjuna Sagar canals.

When the crops arrive at the market in plenty, the prices crash. Since the farmers do not have storing facilities, the middlemen make hay and thrive, cashing in on the helplessness of the farmers.

If the government persuades these farmers to store their produce in cold storages, it would enable them to sell the crop later at highly remunerative rates, he said and added that currently, around 90,000 farmers, most of them small and marginal, were making use of the storages.

However, this number is too meagre to make the cold storage operations profitable. Hardly one per cent of crops other than mirchi is stored.

"So we depend only on mirchi crop. Last year when the mirchi crop failed, we landed in irreparable losses," Rao explained the piquant situation.

The cold storage units purchase water at Rs 500 per tank every day.

"The corporation collects lakhs of rupees as taxes from us, but seldom shows concern about the water supply. It supplies water to the nearby mirchi yard and housing board colony. Our area lacks even streetlight facility," he lamented.

Rao appealed to the government to order the state information department and its films division to create awareness among the farmers on the need to store their harvest in the cold storage units.

He sought concession or subsidy on power tariffs as cold storages come under agro-industries. He also urged the Guntur Municipal Corporation to supply adequate water to the cold storage units.