Markets flooded with pineapple

Markets flooded with pineapple
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With the onset of monsoon, now people are buying pineapples. Pineapples, which grow only in the Agency areas, has huge demand in towns and cities.Juice centres, hoteliers, organisers of functions are purchasing the fruit in huge quantity. Actually, the pineapple grows in hilly areas and tribals in Vizag and Srikakulam areas cultivate the plants in step farming methods.

Vizianagaram: With the onset of monsoon, now people are buying pineapples. Pineapples, which grow only in the Agency areas, has huge demand in towns and cities.Juice centres, hoteliers, organisers of functions are purchasing the fruit in huge quantity. Actually, the pineapple grows in hilly areas and tribals in Vizag and Srikakulam areas cultivate the plants in step farming methods.

Pineapple is being cultivated in Araku, Chintapalli, Paderu, K D Peta, Narsipatnam and some other areas in Vizag Agency. Similarly, farmers in Seethampeta Agency area in Srikakulam are also cultivating the fruit. Except Simhachalam area, remaining pineapple producers are tribals and they don’t know the actual price and demand of the fruit in towns and cities.

As per the estimation, the fruit is being cultivated in 8,000 hectares in north Andhra districts, but the produce is being purchased by the middlemen and wholesale traders at very low cost and selling them at higher price. Though the climatic conditions won’t favor the crop this year, the output, production would be high during the peak season and the price would come down. Middlemen and wholesale traders are purchasing the fruits at Rs 10 and selling them Rs 30.

While retail traders and push cart vendors are selling the same at Rs 25-30 per each fruit. Interestingly, a glass of pineapple juice costs Rs 15 to R 20 and the vendor squeezes around three glasses of juice from each fruit. Anyhow, even the street vendors also earning good income during this season.

The cost of the fruit is Rs 20 to Rs 25 now, but it would come down by mid July as a large quantity of fruits would flood market from the Agency. Consumers can buy each fruit at Rs 10 in July.K Lakshmi, a street vendor at Parvathipuram, said: “We bought these fruits from wholesale trader at Rs 15 and selling them at Rs 25 to Rs 30.

This is right time for the vendors like us to earn money. We can earn around Rs 400 to Rs 500 per day during the rainy season, as we don’t have other works.”K Swathi, panchayat secretary, said: “Frequently, I buy these fruits during this season as my children like them very much. The price is also affordable and we can consume as much as we want as the price of the fruits is very less.”

By Koppara Gandhi

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