Bumper citrus crop causes drastic price drop in India
“A bumper production should have been good news for us. I was hoping to make a healthy profit this year. But now I am not getting a fair price,” said a farmer Shyam Singh from Haranthiya village in Bhawanimandi. Another despairing farmer, Devilal Gurjar of Pirawa region said, “Last year, we had got ₹30 a kg for our best oranges, but this year we are not getting more than ₹10 per kg.”
“This year, the average price of oranges is between ₹3 and ₹15 per kilo while top quality oranges are selling for ₹20 per kg. Last year, the average price was not less than ₹10 per kg and the maximum price went up to ₹40 per kg,” Haseeb Chaudhary, a commission agent at the mandi, said.
General secretary of Congress, Jhalawar, Rajesh Gupta ‘Karawan’, said that an agro-food processing unit should be established to ensure fair prices for farmers.
“There are three waxing and grading units in Jhalawar, which have helped farmers improve the price of oranges. The Rajasthan government is trying to establish agro-food processing units and have signed MoUs at the Resurgent Rajasthan summit,” said Chaudhary in reply to Gupta’s demand.
source: hindustantimes.com
