Mobile trade stall for vegetable salesmen

Sakuntala JAYASINGHE

A mobile trade stall, which can be used by travelling vegetable salesmen to preserve the freshness, quality and nutritious value of vegetables and fruits for several days, has been developed by the Institute of Post Harvest Technology (IPHT) at the request of the Agriculture Ministry.

IPHT acting senior research officer Dr Champathi Gunatilleke, who has introduced this stall following research conducted for almost a year, said it can store 50 kg of vegetables and fruits sufficient for two days' sales.

A special feature is that it can be used to store lime, mango, pineapple and other fruits and vegetables in sliced form without any loss of quality or freshness. The stall is equipped with separate troughs to keep ice so that it would not come directly in contact with the fruits to keep the temperature at 23 degrees Celsius and humidity to 85 to 95 percent.

The requirement of ice is 15 to 20 kg per day. Dr Gunatilleke said the production cost of each stall is Rs 60,000. However, arrangements have been made to sell it at a concessionary price of Rs 30,000 each.