A Bengal minister has said the state government is striving for private investments in fruit processing to promote oranges cultivated in the Darjeeling hills.

Food processing and horticulture minister Subrata Saha disclosed the state’s plan on the sidelines of a two-day orange festival that was inaugurated at Mungpoo on Friday.

Mungpoo, a hilly hamlet, is located around 55km from here and is known for orange cultivation.

The event is being organised by the directorate of cinchona plantations, the state government and the Gorkhaland Territorial Administration. Orange is considered another unique produce of the Darjeeling hills after tea.

“The orange of Darjeeling is known across the country. We want to ensure that cultivators here get adequate opportunities to merchandise their produce. We are holding talks with private companies, which are into fruit processing, and trade bodies to set up processing units in the hills,” said Saha.

Representatives of different business organisations and chambers of commerce were present at the inauguration. They were apprised of the speciality of Darjeeling oranges, cultivation areas and other details.

Saha said the orange cultivation in the hills was affected by a number of reasons, including low yield and fungal attacks, in the past few years.

“We have taken an initiative to impart training to the cultivators based at places like Mungpoo, Mirik, Selfu, Sittong, and Latpanchar to increase the production,” said the minister.

Sources in his department said the orange production had come down by around 50 per cent in the past 10 years in the hills. “Earlier, around 2.59 lakh quintals of oranges were produced annually in the hills. Now, the production is even less than half of it. The department is making all efforts to increase the production. Although the Mandarin oranges of Darjeeling are smaller in size, they are considered superior in quality to other varieties cultivated in Nagpur. So, there is a steady demand for Darjeeling oranges,” said a source.

Orange growers in the hills have welcomed the government’s initiatives.

“We requested the horticulture department to help us in soil testing, the introduction of new plants and other things so that we can increase the production. If fruit processing units come up in the region, we believe our earnings will increase,” said Bhupal Thapa, one of the 200-odd farmers participating in the festival.