JUMLA, March 10: Prem Raja Mahat of Chandranath municipality is always at work. His brandy and wine made of organic apple is so much in demand that Mahat cannot fulfill the demand even after working from dawn to dusk. This drink that he prepares earns him millions of rupees every year. “I rarely have time to do anything else than to prepare brandy and wine. Their demand is very high in the market and I am always occupied in maximizing their production,” said Mahat.
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Many of Jumla’s apple farmers did not know that their fruit could be best used locally to make drinks. So, they used to reach out to regional market to sell off their apples. Mahat, on the other hand, didn’t worry about selling his apples elsewhere but thought of using them for making expensive drinks and selling them. He established the AP apple brandy industry in 2012 and has not looked back since then.
“My time is spent either with my staffs in the factory or in the farm. I also handle customers who visit my factory picking up wine and brandy right,” he said.
His brandy and wine are so famous that internal or foreign tourists who reach Jumla hardly miss out visiting his factory. Besides these tourists, several NGOs and INGO staffs, government chiefs and employees are also among his regular customers. “Most of them come here after they have tasted our wine or brandy somewhere. They buy in huge quantity,” Mahat said adding that the he has not been able to market the products very well.
Mahat’s factory prepares two types of brandy. “Spiny Babbler costs Rs 2000 per bottle while ‘Turbo’ is for Rs 1500,”he informed clarifying that Spiny Babbler brandy is made of A grade apples and Turbo is made of low quality apples.
The factory has an installed capacity to process 100,000 liter of brandy per year. However, since it’s still in its initial phase, only 15,000 liter of brandy is being processed annually. In the first year of production, he had sold 4500 liter of brandy of the total 6000 liter processed, he informed stating that it takes 17 tons of apples for to prepare 5000 liter of brandy.
Mahat said that apple juice is processed to prepare for wine in the first stage. For making brandy the wine is further processed. Due to this brandy is more costly than wine, he informed. A bottle of wine costs Rs 800.
Last year, apart from his own farm’s apple, Mahat had bough additional 50 tons of apples for making the drinks. He stated that it is important to keep apple in stock as those could not be available throughout the year or when needed. “We generally buy apples for a year within few days to avoid their shortage,” he said. “Demand for these drinks in the market varies from season to season. However, those who come here in person buy both drinks sometimes as gifts and sometimes for just tasting them,” he added.
Due to cold temperature, demand of brandy generally remains higher in Jumla. Similarly, such drinks are also highly demanded during several festivals. According to Mahat, demand of brandy and wine is growing every year and complains that he has not been able to increase their production.
Elaborating on company’s expansion plan, Mahat said that he has been presently working on five year strategy. “As part of the five year strategy, we conducted sampling and testing of our products, in the second year we expanded it to regional market, in the third year introduced it to national market, while in the forth year we further studied the products standard and quality control and the last year is focused on introducing it into international market,” Mahat said.
Consumers say that standard wine and brandy made in Jumlakeeps one fresh while those imported from abroad give headache. These days huge number of consumers are seen around Mahat’s factory, which employ eight employees during winter and 15 permanent during the summer season. “In one week, 3000 liter of brandy is produced and this year, we have made and stored 10,000 liter of wine and 6000 liter of brandy,” Mahat informed. A bottle of wine contains 9 to 11 percent alcohol concentration. The percentage of alcohol in brandy is 42.8 percent.
District Agricultural Office has appreciated Mahat’s efforts. “An individual taking his business to this height is a remarkable feet. “Such efforts should be appreciated and encouraged,” said Bishnu Bahadur Mahat, senior agriculture officer at the DAO asserted.
