Banana buyers wait for a fall

It is not a politically volatile vegetable like the onion, nor is it causing any ripples in the corridors of power in New Delhi. But hardly ...

It is not a politically volatile vegetable like the onion, nor is it causing any ripples in the corridors of power in New Delhi. But hardly 250 km north-east of Nashik, in the gold district of Jalgaon, the banana is going the onion way on the price front.

For the first time in many, many years, banana prices have touched a record high of Rs 650 per quintal, three times the average price for this time of the year.

While the rising prices of onions continue to hit the headlines, the cost of banana is also slowly going up. Handcarts laden with banana are now selling at a premium, with the fruit costing upto Rs 15 a dozen as compared to an average Rs 7 per dozen in the retail market. In Delhi, the fruit is selling for Rs 24/dozen, up from Rs 20/dozen two weeks ago.

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‘‘This is the first time in decades that the prices have been so high,’’ says Akhil Bharatiya Keli Mahasangh chief Bhagwat Patil. ‘‘This is usually not the season for such high prices, but looking at the crop damage, our assessment is that the prices are not going to come down for another three months.’’

The reaction to this steep price rise may not be the same as that of onions but the reasons are similar. Just like with the onions, unevenly distributed rains, causing a severe water shortage in some parts and flooding in others, has damaged over 20 per cent of the crop.

‘‘Heavy cyclonic winds in June damaged a lot of crop in some cases and in others, less rain caused problems,’’ explains Dr G D Badagujar, assistant professor at the Banana Research Institute. ‘‘This has resulted in a sudden shortage in the market as the fruit is between seasons right now. With the main season getting over and the October season yet to begin, there is a shortage in the market.’’

Harvested twice a year, 70 per cent of the banana planting takes place in June. The remaining 30 odd per cent of the ‘‘off-season crop’’ will be planted by the end of the week. With June’s Mrigbagh variety almost out of the market and the new Kandbagh variety yet to hit the stands, the fruit is likely to remain expensive well into the new year.

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Farmers and traders also attribute the sudden shortage to the ongoing month of festivities, saying that the higher consumption has worsened the crisis. ‘‘The fruit was much cheaper around Dusherra and people bought plenty,’’ says local hand S Wagh. ‘‘Also, during the ongoing month of Ramzan, banana is the preferred fruit. With less crop coming out of the fields and a steady consumption rate, there was bound to be a crisis.’’

In a region just ‘‘marginally suitable’’ for banana cultivation, 48,000 hectares of land is under banana production. ‘‘Normally so many bananas would not grow here,’’ says Badgujar. ‘‘But the farmers work doubly hard to ensure bumper crops. They create a micro-climate by mixing water and black soil to ensure that the fields are good enough for banana plantation. They work much harder than other banana farmers and the damage is hitting them equally hard.’’

A farmer plants about 1,700 trees per acre and spends around Rs 40,000 on it. Normally, produce of 22-25 tonnes is sold at Rs 250 per quintal in the wholesale market.