SOURCE: Nagabhushanam Hoskote, Deccan Chronicle
While the Rayalaseema region boasts of being the fruit bowl of Andhra Pradesh, the prices of major horticulture crop papaya have been badly hit in the domestic markets. This is due to a significant decrease in papaya exports to the north Indian markets, traders said.
The papaya fruits from Anantapur region are considered very tasty due to the local soil and climatic conditions, compared to the fruits from the other parts of India and the Taiwan varieties that are largely cultivated by farmers for the past two decades.
The papaya fruits were being sold for upto Rs 60 a kilo in Delhi and other northern states, but the fall in the prices has seriously affected the farmers in the past few months. In some regions, the prices have fallen to Rs 9 per kilo in markets.
Market sources said the price crash was likely due to an oversupply of the papaya fruit and erratic weather conditions.
They said transporting perishable produce like papaya to north India posed its own problems. There has been a surplus in local markets.
India is the world’s largest papaya producer. AP plays a leading role in this. With year-round cultivation, supply is adequate or more for domestic and export markets. The surplus production and export challenges result in lower local prices.
Strain on farmers: Small and marginal farmers, who often lack robust infrastructure for storage and transport, are particularly vulnerable to these price shocks and face significant losses. The situation highlights the need for better post-harvest infrastructure, including improved cold storage, refrigerated transport and weather-related price forecasting, which can act as a buffer to farmers from price fluctuations.
Anantapur collector Vinod Kumar has advised traders to purchase papaya with reasonable prices.
Farmers from Annamayya district have been protesting for the past few days, against lack of governmental intervention. District collector Cherukuri Sridhar has urged traders to purchase papaya at the minimum price of Rs 9 per kilo. The price should not go further down, he said.