After a gap of nearly three weeks, the Anakapalle market yard opened on Wednesday providing a breather to farmers saddled with jaggery stocks.
The sudden closure of the market after the announcement of the lockdown brought purchase of jaggery from sugarcane farmers to a grinding halt in the peak season.
MLA takes the lead
Anakapalle MLA Gudivada Amarnath on Monday held a meeting at the market committee office with Marketing Department officials, trade organisations, farmers and workers on the travails of farmers who were not being able to sell the produce.
On Wednesday, a total of 40,000 lumps were bought and auctioned. “With the market starved of stocks since March 24, the arrivals were lapped up in no time,” said trader Korukonda Butchiraju.
Instead of the usual process of 50 to 70 lumps being kept in one lot, 2,000 to 3,000 lumps were kept and after a cursory look, the auction was completed in an hour, it was learnt.
While the low-end varieties got a price of ₹ 305 (for 10 kg), the superior varieties commanded up to ₹370, which is ₹10 to ₹15 more than the rate at which the market closed previously. About 80 farmers brought their produce to the market, a major one for jaggery in these parts of the country with a turnover of ₹100 crore. “It will take at least three days for the lumps to be stocked after weighing and taking measures like sewing them up in gunny bags,” said Mr. Butchiraju.
One of the reasons for the stock being lapped up is the upcountry demand, particularly from the markets in Odisha, sources said.
