VIJAYAWADA: Oranges, especially orange juice, were in great demand during the peak of the COVIDd-19 pandemic. The demand for the pulpy citrus fruit continues in the post-COVID scenario, a study conducted by K Nirmal Ravi Kumar, Professor of Agricultural Economics in Agriculture College in Bapatla.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, he said consumers, who stressed the organic nature of the fruit and its quality, are even willing to pay as much as Rs 141 per litre of orange juice. "On the directions of ANGRAU Vice-Chancellor, I conducted a survey in nine aspects -- flavour, preservatives, sweeteners, brand, taste, pulp concentration, container and production method of orange and price," he explained.
The study revealed that consumers gave more importance to the method of production of orange, that is organic production method, and the second was brand available in the market. Most consumers preferred presence of medium fruit pulp, with low calories and natural sweeteners.
"Priority for the brand is towards producing orange juice that is close to the nature, that is using natural sweeteners in the final product like that of Patanjali brand. Most of the consumers have become health conscious, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
According to Ravi Kumar, during the study, he was rather surprised that people were willing to pay more for a quality product and the stress on low price was very less. "If the quality is high, they are willing to spend more," he said.
He added that the willingness to pay more for orange juice is not influenced by demographic factor of consumers like age and monthly income, but treating orange as an immunity booster. Now, demand for orange juice is more than the supply, giving ample scope for farmers to cultivate the citrus fruit in the State in a big way.