TIRUCHY: The district’s lone specialised market complex for banana at Tiruchendurai resumed weekly auction last month after a gap of around three years. While the reception among farmers is yet to pick up to the level officials hoped for, they expressed confidence of significant improvement in a month or two owing to the farm-level promotion they have embarked on.
The market complex that was set up in 2015 was not fully operational over the past few years as footfall reduced following the collapse of the old Kollidam bridge leading towards Vathalai in 2018. The circuitous alternate routes to the complex discouraged farmers and traders alike, pointed out Agriculture Marketing and Agri Business Department sources.
While the new bridge across the Kollidam is yet to be thrown open for heavy vehicles, Collector M Pradeep Kumar has permitted those load vehicles heading to the market complex to pass through, sources added. Officials are now reaching out to farmers in person to encourage them to sell their produce and avail of the facilities, including the 1000-metric tonne (MT) cold storage facility, a 60 MT weighbridge and shops for agro-based products, at the complex.
Tiruchy market committee secretary R Suresh Babu said that traders from across the state also were being reached out to in order to benefit the farmers turning up at the complex. Meanwhile, agriculture marketing officials pointed out that the first week of auction that resumed on February 9 at the market complex clocked sales to the tune of Rs 11,020 for 1.9 MT of banana.
Sales in the subsequent week touched `17,130 for 2.8 MT while the auction last Thursday fetched Rs 13,055 for 4.1 MT. The quality of the fruit also determines the price at the direct auction, they stressed. Narrating his experience at the market complex, Jaishankar M, a banana farmer, said that he managed to get a profit of Rs 50 per cluster (tar) at the auction as no commission had to be given to any middlemen. Sathish S, another banana farmer, said, "In the past three auctions, we saw an increase in traders’ participation.” The prices are better than what we get at the local market, he added.