KOCHI: Tapioca prices have tumbled this season, affecting the fortunes of hundreds of farmers who cultivated the tuber crop following higher prices last season.
At the retail level, the prices have fallen from Rs 30-35 a kg last year to Rs 15-20 a kg this year. This year’s production was higher and unseasonal rains forced farmers to sell off the tapioca at distress prices.According to the price data provided by the Vegetable and Fruit Promotion Council Keralam (VFPCK), the cassava prices have fallen in Thrissur, Perumbavoor, Aluva and Alappuzha markets this year. The arrivals have also been higher.
The average wholesale price for tapioca in Thrissur this year stood at Rs 15.91 per kg, down from Rs 17.90 per kg last year. The average retail price is also down to Rs 21.73 per kg, compared to Rs 22.47 per kg. Similarly, in Aluva, the average retail price in Kerala has declined to Rs 22.08 per kg compared to Rs 22.12 per kg last year. As far as the Alappuzha market is concerned, the retail price for cassava has come down to Rs 22.83 per kg as against Rs 22.12 per kg.
“Tapioca being an annual crop, the price of one year determines the likely cultivation of the crop for the next year. The lagged price effect is most prevalent in annual crop such as tapioca,” said P Indira Devi, professor, Agricultural Economics, Kerala Agricultural University.
Last year’s higher prices are reflected in this year’s production statistics. For instance, in Thrissur, the average cassava arrival from Kerala stood at 6.84 tonnes this year versus 4.71 tonnes last year. Similarly, the arrivals were higher at 2.53 tonnes and 1.5 tonnes respectively in Thalassery and Perumbavoor markets this year as against 2.44 tonnes and 1 tonne respectively last year.
There has also been higher tapioca arrivals from outside the state this year, bringing down prices. This year, the outside Kerala arrival of tapioca in Thrissur market was 5.42 tonnes as against 3.05 tonnes last year. In Alappuzha, the arrival from outside Kerala stood at 4.33 tonnes compared to 3.31 tonnes last year.
The Kozhikode market bucked the trend with prices ruling high, thanks to lower arrival of the crop this year in that market. The prices of tapioca in Kozhikode, according to the VFPCK, was ruling at Rs 24.54 per kg, mainly due to fall of about two tonnes in arrivals from last year.
As per the figures available from the State Planning Board, the area of tapioca cultivation in the state has come down from 74,498 hectares in 2011-12 to 69,586 hectares in 2012-13. The production of the crop has come down during the same period from 25,47,399 tonnes to 24,58,515 tonnes in 2012-13.