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Lemon cultivation turns sour with glut in market
Acid lemon cultivation, which has been the mainstay for thousands of farmers in Nellore district for some time, is now in doldrums due to prices crashing and decrease in demand for produce in market of northern states. Local farmers have been forced to search for new markets as the farmers from other parts of Andhra Pradesh also have started exporting produce to the markets in northern states.
- Acid lemon farmers from Nellore district are facing stiff competition from farmers of other parts of Andhra Pradesh
- Traditionally, Nellore farmers exported their crop to northern states where now prices are crashing
- Now with rising competition from other parts of state, Nellore farmers turning to southern states for markets
- Despite steady demand for lemon, the prices of produce have crashed due to competition. Earlier, a bag of lemon would have fetched Rs 8,000 but it has now fell to Rs 3,500 to Rs 4,000
Nellore: Acid lemon cultivation, which has been the mainstay for thousands of farmers in Nellore district for some time, is now in doldrums due to prices crashing and decrease in demand for produce in market of northern states. Local farmers have been forced to search for new markets as the farmers from other parts of Andhra Pradesh also have started exporting produce to the markets in northern states.
“The decrease in demand for lemon in traditional areas made us search for other market where there is a demand for lemon. Now we are exporting the produce to markets in southern states and we hope that the strategy will help us,” said P Sankara Rao, a farmer from Balayapalli mandal.
Farmers used to export the crop to northern and western parts of the country for several years. Farmers from other parts of the State too have exporting to those markets only. Not less than 85 per cent of acid lemon was being exported to Kolkata, Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and other cities from Nellore as they used to get good price.
With prices for the produce falling, now the farmers of the district have started sending stocks to Bengaluru, Coimbatore and Ernakulum cities. A bag of lemon, which was sold at Rs 8,000 earlier, is now fetching between Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,000, owing to the competition, though there is still a good demand for lemons.
Farmers from West Godvari, Guntur, and parts of Krishna have now started exporting to northern markets and it has lead to stiff competition. Finally, it led to fall in prices and as part of changing the business plan, farmers from the district started sending their product to the markets in southern peninsula, initially exporting to cities in Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
According to official sources, acid lemon is grown in Balayapalli, Dakkili, Rapur, Podalakur, Venkatagiri, Sydapuram, Ozili, Kavali and Manubolu mandals in the district. The area under the crop occupies around 28,000 hectares.
