Covid and rain rattle Nagpur fruit growers

The fruit sellers in Maharashtra, who were already reeling under the coronavirus crisis, are now having a tough time selling their fruits due to untimely rain. Fruit merchants stressed that the common man's purchasing power has gone down owing to the pandemic.

Nagpur:Maharashtra, which has been battling with the piling cases of COVID-19 and untimely rain, is now staring at another double whammy- of lower production and sale of fruits. The unseasonal rain and the pandemic have shattered the expectations of the fruit sellers and the farmers and is also affecting fruit production leading to fluctuation in prices.

Despite the production of oranges being ample this season, less demand in the market is yielding losses for the farmers. Barring a few farmers, most of them are suffering losses due to low production and able to sell only 10 to 20 per cent of oranges.

ETV Bharat has learnt that sellers of the Kalmana market committee in Nagpur are still reeling under the scare of coronavirus as the consumers are reluctant to buy the fruits.

The orange growers in Maharashtra are fearing losses on account of unseasonal rainfall which has severely impacted the Mrig Bahar (monsoon flowering). The incessant rain has hit the fruit-bearing capacity of the plants, thus impacting the sale.

Rajesh Chhabrani, President of Fruit Traders Association told ETV Bharat, "Fruit market is no longer affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The sale of pomegranates has been affected due to climate change and untimely rain. They are sold at skyrocketing prices against Rs 50. The export of oranges to neighbouring countries like Sri Lanka, Dubai has been slightly affected due to the pandemic."

Not only pomegranates, but the prices of grapes are also soaring high. Grapes are being sold at Rs 80 to 120 against the original price of Rs 40 to Rs 60. The production of pomegranates has seen a sharp decline from 1,953 tonnes in 2020 to 438 tonnes in 2021.

In 2020, before the government imposed a lockdown to contain the spread of the coronavirus, around 24,776 tonnes of oranges arrived in the market between December to February. 18,000 tonnes of oranges had arrived in February alone. But this year, only 3,122 tonnes of oranges have arrived in the market-leading to soar in prices.

Fruit merchants stressed the fact that the common man's purchasing power has gone down owing to the pandemic.

Lovesh Chharani, a fruit merchant told ETV Bharat, "the common man is still reluctant in purchasing fruit and fruit juices. With the number of fruit juice centres coming down, especially in the restricted areas, the demand and price have risen. The corona crisis is still hovering, thus reducing the purchasing power of the consumers," he said.