MVP Rythu Bazaar in Visakhapatnam installs Subjee Cooler

Eco-friendly Subjee Cooler by RuKart reduces post-harvest losses, increases income, and extends shelf life of farm produce.

The city’s MVP Rythu Bazaar has installed an eco-friendly zero maintenance free Subjee Cooler, the first of its kind in the city, which helps in naturally increasing the shelf life of perishable farm produce like fruits, flowers, mushrooms and vegetables, reducing post-harvest losses.

This will help in reducing wastage of fruits and vegetables from 20% to less than 5% for the end-consumers and will increase the income of each beneficiary by ₹7,000-8,000.

This cooler is developed by Solapur (Maharashtra) based RuKart.

With 50% subsidy support from the Andhra Pradesh government, eligible candidates like farmers under the Horticulture Department are purchasing this product. Accordingly, the State Marketing Department has purchased one cooler and placed it on a pilot basis for promotional activities at the city’s MVP Rythu Bazaar, said RuKart South India Business Development Manager D. Rajeshwar Rao.

“In fact, we have first introduced this Subjee Cooler in Puttur in Tirupati district in the State. Florists of Puttur have liked this cooler as it is useful for their flower business in Bengaluru and Chennai. In January, 2025, Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu also came to know about this cooler and liked its performance, saying that this cooler will be the best for post-harvest system. We have sold about 3,000 units across the country so far, mostly in Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal,” Mr. Rajeshwar Rao said.

The cooler with a capacity of 25 kg is priced at ₹17,700, 50 kg (₹35,400) and 100 kg (₹50,000), said Mr. Rao. The produce can be stored in the cooler for four to five days and their freshness remains for a long time. There is no need for fuel like petrol, diesel or electricity. He said that about 10 to 15 litres of water per day is enough for them.

“RuKart was started in 2019 by three IIT-Bombay alumni Vikash Kumar Jha, Sharayu Kulkarni and Gunavant Nehte. We have installed 34 units across Andhra Pradesh so far. We have another order for 109 units and can increase it to 500 units by this March,” Mr. Rao said.