Despite bumper crop, prices of farm produce lowest in recent years due to Covid-19 lockdown

A kilogram of farm contemporary cherry was bought at Rs 30 at Shimla wholesale market in Himachal Pradesh. The fruit of the season, Mango, was Rs 25 per kilogram at Saharanpur market in Uttar Pradesh. Tomato was promoting at Rs 10 per kilogram at Siliguri (West Bengal) and onion at Rs 10 in Neemuch (Madhya Pradesh).

These are the costs of greens and fruits in a few of the wholesale markets in India prior to now one week, which consultants mentioned confirmed a fall within the costs of non-minimum assist value (MSP) farm produce. The low costs are anticipated to proceed for some extra time and consultants don’t count on revival in costs of those horticulture produce within the coming few months.

“The demand is at its rock bottom,” mentioned Devendra Sharma, a Chandigarh-based impartial farm skilled. “The biggest consumer of the perishable products is the hospitality industry, other than individuals. There are no signs of the industry opening soon. And, when it opens, there would not be many customers. So, I don’t expect the demand to improve dramatically in the coming months,” he mentioned.

Agricultural economist in Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology, KK Sarangi, mentioned demand for greens has gone down within the lockdown interval as the majority demand shouldn’t be there. “Even households are not buying in huge quantities because of the infection fear. And, there are not much signs of prices reviving soon enough to last year’s level,” he mentioned.

India this summer season has seen file manufacturing of vegetables and fruit attributable to above regular monsoon final yr and good winter rainfall. The agriculture ministry’s advance horticulture produce estimate, which incorporates principal vegetables and fruit, was 313.5 million tonne for 2020 season, highest prior to now 5 years.

The new horticulture crops begin arriving in markets from March finish. However, this yr, a nationwide lockdown was imposed across the identical time to examine the unfold of coronavirus illness, bringing complete nation to a grinding halt. Restrictions had been imposed on motion of vehicles carrying non-essential items. It created issues for farmers to take their produce to the markets. As the federal government eased transportation norms, some huge vegetable wholesale markets, together with Asia’s largest fruit and vegetable market at Azadpur in New Delhi and Koyambedu in Chennai, had been closed as they grew to become Covid-19 hotspots.

“Nobody (truckers) is willing to take my cherry produce to Delhi or Chandigarh,” mentioned Surinder Singh Bragta, after promoting his highest quality cherry produce for Rs 30 a kilogram at Shimla’s wholesale fruit market. “Last year, I sold similar quality cherry for Rs 100 a kilogram in Chandigarh. I don’t know what will happen to pears and apples which could be harvested in the new few months. Commission agents are saying this would be worst year for fruits as demand is low.”

More than 2,000 kilometres away in Neemuch, Tarun Baheti, a vegetable farmer, mentioned there aren’t any patrons out there, aside from the native ones. “After so many years, we had a good crop of vegetables. But, no one is willing to give the right price,” he mentioned, blaming Covid-19 lockdown for crashing of the perishable items market.

“Due to lockdown restrictions, were cannot take produce to bigger markets. Vegetables like Lady finger, bottle gourd and sponge gourd used to be sold Rs 40 to Rs 50 per kg in this season but now the rate has come down to about Rs 15 per kg in the wholesale market. Pumpkin is being sold at Rs 5 to Rs 10 per kg,” he mentioned.

In Uttar Pradesh’s Barabanki district, Padma Shree awardee farmer Ram Saran Verma mentioned this yr he noticed empty wholesale markets in a very good harvest season. “There are no buyers. Even the cost to transport the produce to market is not being recovered,” he mentioned. Another Barabanki farmer, Dinesh Rawat, mentioned he has misplaced Rs one lakh in May alone as he was not in a position to ship his cucumber produce to Lucknow, Sultanpur and Agra. “I had to sell it at a local mandi for whatever price it fetched,” he mentioned.

From some states equivalent to Bihar, Odisha and Uttar Pradesh, there are reviews of farmers throwing away their produce. Verma mentioned most farmers have misplaced cash this yr and have both thrown away the produce or given it to cattle. “This year we left the produce in the field itself as there is no point in selling ladyfinger for Rs 2 per kg,” mentioned Bechan Yadav, a farmer in rural space of Patna.

Mritunjay Kumar, a farmer of Sohsarai in Nalanda district, mentioned the price of transporting greens to market is greater than the promoting value. “It is better to give vegetables to cattle, at least they will get some nutrition,” he mentioned. In Odisha’s Dhenkanal district, pumpkin harvest is rotting in farms attributable to absence of market entry in addition to decrease demand. Manas Barik, who had harvested three tonnes of pumpkins on his five-acre land in Dhenkanal discovered no takers. “The traders want us to sell pumpkin at Rs 5 a kg. It does not cover even transport cost,” Barik mentioned.

The misery is seen within the wholesale markets, too.

In Gaddiannaram fruit market at Kothapet in Hyderabad, Telangana’s largest fruit and vegetable wholesale market, the costs are lowest within the latest years. “For the last four years, the price of mangoes was between Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.20 lakh per tonne depending on the variety. This year, it is Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per tonne,” mentioned Telangana Fruit Merchants’ Association president Ashok Kumar. He mentioned the costs of sweat lime (Mosambi) have come down from Rs 50,000 a tonne to lower than Rs 20,000 a tonne. “There is essentially no demand,” Kumar mentioned, including numerous farmers had been couldn’t even get well the transport value.

At Siliguri, north Bengal’s largest city, value of tomato on Sunday ranged between Rs 10 to 15 a kg, down from Rs 30-40 per kilogram earlier than the lockdown got here into drive on March 24. In 2018, the value was round Rs 25 a kg whereas in 2019 it was round Rs 30, mentioned a district agriculture officer. Ranjeet Singh, a fee agent at Delhi’s Azadpur market, mentioned that solely 20% of the patrons at turning up on the make-shift promoting yard. “The prices have dipped by 70% to 80%,” Singh mentioned.

Dilshad Ahmed, a vegetable vendor in Lucknow claimed that the folks had been getting higher high quality produce at a cheaper price as farmers use to ship their finest produce on to multi-brand retailer. “Due to lockdown farmers have been forced to sell their produce in markets,” he mentioned. President of Neemuch Market vegetable sellers union, Hari Om, mentioned, “Except potato, ginger and green chilli, prices of all other fruits and vegetables have fallen. Even people are not buying fruits and vegetables as they used to do earlier.”

Patna district agriculture officer, Rakesh Ranjan, mentioned the value of veggies may improve as soon as the lockdown is totally lifted. “We hope that the farmer may start getting decent price from August onwards,” he mentioned. Karnataka Horticulture Producers Co-operative Marketing and Processing Society (HOPCOMS) officers claimed that the costs have recovered prior to now one week with easing of lockdown norms. “Prices of vegetables like onion, potato and others are more staple than the easier perishables such as greens, beans, tomato, capsicum, cucumber which wilt in the summer sun,” mentioned an HOPCOMS official, who was not prepared to be named.

(With inputs from state bureaus)