NELLORE: Lemon prices have declined sharply over the past week, leaving farmers and traders in distress. Lemon is now being sold at just Rs 20 to Rs 30 per kg, marking a steep fall in prices. During the peak season, as many as 20 truckloads of lemons used to be exported daily to northern states, bringing bustling activity to the local markets. However, the once-thriving trade is now facing a dramatic slump.
In Nellore district alone, lemon crop is cultivated in over 17,000 hectares. Podalakur lemon market yard, known for its high quality produce, supplies lemon to both national and international markets. Gudur lemon market also plays a key role in large scale exports.
Traders are now expressing concern over the sudden market collapse. With exports coming to a halt, they are still compelled to purchase the incoming produce from farmers, despite the lack of demand.
“Even though there are no buyers in the export market, we have to continue procuring lemon from farmers,” said a local trader, reflecting the growing anxiety in the lemon business community.
The unexpected downturn is affecting not only the income of lemon growers but also the sustainability of the supply chain.
Stakeholders are urging authorities to intervene and explore avenues to revive the export market or provide relief measures to stabilise prices.
Traditionally, lemon is exported in large volumes from Andhra Pradesh, especially from major markets like Podalakur, Gudur, Eluru and Tenali, along with dozens of small yards.
However, lemon cultivation has expanded significantly in other States like Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Bihar this year, resulting in higher yield and overproduction. Combined with a bumper harvest from local orchards in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a massive supply of lemon is now flooding the markets.
According to sources, wholesale buyers from cities such as Delhi, Mathura, Roorkee, Varanasi, Gokalpur, Chennai, Bengaluru and Thiruvananthapuram have issued advisories not to send any more lemon consignments, citing excess stock. Some are even rejecting the lemon consignments already sent to them, leaving local traders in a bind.
As a result, prices have plummeted, but traders are unable to refuse lemon produce brought in by farmers. This has led to lemon being stockpiled across market yards, with no immediate buyers in sight.
“We are in a terrible situation. Truckloads of lemons are arriving at the market. We can’t turn farmers away during such a difficult time, but there is little hope for price recovery. The crisis is real. Only if exports pick up again can we survive this phase,” said BK Reddy, a trader at Podalakur lemon market yard.
With no signs of relief from the ongoing supply, and stagnating demand, both farmers and traders are now urging the government to intervene with support mechanism or facilitate export channels to stabilise the market.