India: Roller coaster kinnow season
What the market's behaviour boiled down to was that the best prices came when the fruit was sour. "This year farmers sold a large part of their produce in November and early December, when the fruit is not fully sweet," says Dr Lajwinder Singh, Punjab's director for horticulture. "They sold the fruit directly to weddings for use as fruit juice, hence a limited amount came to the market and fetched good prices. Now it has come in a glut but overall the season had been better than what kinnow farmers had expected."
The biggest concern is over the drop in yield per tree. The hot Summer caused fruit to drop and lack of water was a problem also. The horticulture department is compiling its data on yield per area, but rough estimates suggest a drop of one ton per ha to 21.
Good prices prevailed until mid-January, by when more than 60 per cent of its produce had been sold. From Rs 15-25 a kg, prices have dropped to about 13-15 a kg in the local market.
Source: indianexpress.com
