Pineapple farmers are looking forward to a revival of fortunes this winter with demand from fruit processors in States such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh on the rise.
The fruit processors have not been active in the market over the past two years because of the COVID-19 lockdown and restrictions reducing the demand for pulp and juice in the market. However, the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions has been witness to a shortage of processed fruit in the market, said Baby John, veteran pineapple farmer and president of the Pineapple Growers’ Association Keralam.
He also said there was a shortage of supply of A-grade pineapple in the market and advised farmers to sell the fruits to dealers known to them to avoid losses even as the price in the open market appeared to be capable of supporting cultivation of the fruit.
Pineapple farmer Jose Joseph said the price of ripe fruit had risen to about ₹30 a kg. The price level was better than last year’s and the shortage of supply of the fruit was likely to keep the price up for the short-term.
While raw fruits fetch between ₹23 and ₹24 a kg, the demand for ripe fruit has been rising despite the winter season in North Indian States.
Mr. John said around 3,000 tonnes of pineapple had now been sold from the Vazhakkulam main market to fruit processors. The demand was due to the shortage of pulp and juice in the market, he said. If new restrictions did not come into effect on account of the COVID-19 third wave, the demand for fruit could go further up even as farmers fear about 20% fall in production due to various reasons.
It is estimated that there are around 5,000 pineapple farmers in the State, who have brought around 18,000 hectares under pineapple cultivation. The annual production is around 4.5 lakh tonnes but production is likely to dip on account of a possible dry season setting after the heavy rain earlier in 2021.
