Crop damage, decline in market arrivals push up banana prices in Andhra Pradesh's Kadapa

The price of banana has skyrocketed to Rs 23,000 to Rs 26,000 per tonne based on the quality of the fruit from Rs 9,000 to Rs 13,000 six months ago.
Image of bananas used for representational purposes only.
Image of bananas used for representational purposes only.

KADAPA: Bananas have become costlier as the recent heavy rains have caused extensive damage to the plantations in the district. The decline in fruit arrivals to the market has resulted in steep rise in banana prices.

The price of banana has skyrocketed to Rs 23,000 to Rs 26,000 per tonne based on the quality of the fruit from Rs 9,000 to Rs 13,000 six months ago. A dozen of bananas are now priced at Rs 70 to Rs 100 in the open market, compared to Rs 20 to Rs 40 a few months ago.

Kadapa is one of the major banana producers in Andhra Pradesh. The fruit is cultivated in around 40,000 acres, particularly in Pulivendula, Railway Kondur and Rajampet Assembly constituencies.

The last two Assembly segments come under the purview of the newly created Annamayya district now. Following heavy rains last season and pest infestation, the crop yield was badly affected, resulting in heavy losses to banana growers.

"For the past two years, we have been facing losses. First it was due to the COVID-19 pandemic and now due to rains and pests, which resulted in low crop yield," Gangadhar, a banana grower of Simhadripuram mandal, told TNIE.

The situation was no different in neighbouring Karnataka and Tamil Naidu from where banana is imported to meet the local demand. "Earlier, we used to see 100 push cart vendors selling bananas in Kadapa town alone. Now, the number of banana vendors has come down to 30 as majority of them are finding the fruit business no more remunerative for them due the rise in the prices," Vallibhai, a wholesale trader, told TNIE.

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