Wholesale banana prices dip in drought-hit Jalgaon amid West Asia export disruption | India News

Wholesale banana prices have fallen to their lowest levels in drought-hit Jalgaon, Maharashtra’s largest banana-producing district, amid export disruptions to conflict-hit West Asia. Inferior-quality produce is fetching as little as ₹5 per kg, and better-quality is selling for about ₹11 per kg.Officials said export disruption is among the reasons for the price decline, as Iran is a major importer of bananas from Jalgaon. The scanty rainfall in September affected the quality.The crash has pushed some farmers into distress. In Sule village, farmer Vishnu Samadhan Ingle destroyed his four-acre banana plantation with a rotavator after traders offered him only ₹3 a kg for his crop.Ingle spent over ₹7 lakh on the plantation and said he chose to destroy the crop rather than sell it at a price that would not cover his costs. “The traders were offering me only ₹3 a kg. It is meaningless to sell it at such a low price. The bananas had started ripening, so I destroyed the entire plantation,” Ingle said.He said the plantation had yielded over 500 quintals of bananas. “In neighbouring Madhya Pradesh, the wholesale price is ₹22 a kg, but traders in Jalgaon are offering such low prices. The state government must ensure that banana farmers get a proper price,” he said.Jalgaon district collector Rohan Ghuge said the sharp fall comes after wholesale prices ranged between ₹12 and ₹18 a kg, depending on quality. “The administration will ascertain the reasons for the sudden crash in banana prices. I know Ingle has destroyed his plantation. We will speak to the farmer,” Ghuge said.Farmers accused traders of taking advantage of the situation to bargain aggressively. Farmer Ramdas Patil said drought added to the pressure on growers. “Since the entire district has been declared drought-hit, many farmers are resorting to distress selling. There is uncertainty over how much cultivation they will be able to undertake because of water scarcity,” Patil said.Exporter Vishal Agarwal said exports have been affected since earlier this year, increasing the supply available in the domestic market. “The supply in the domestic market exceeded demand, which affected wholesale prices. Moreover, scanty rainfall in September affected the quality. In hot conditions, the quality deteriorates,” Agarwal said.He said wholesale prices in March fell to about ₹8 a kg, against a production cost of around ₹12 a kg. Agarwal said that uninterrupted exports would have helped sustain prices in both domestic and overseas markets.Jalgaon produces around 40 million tonnes of bananas annually. Over 50,000 farmers in six talukas are engaged in banana cultivation.Nationalist Congress Party – Sharadchandra Pawar lawmaker Eknath Khadse said the government should intervene to support farmers facing losses. “Banana farmers are in distress because of the low prices. The state government must provide subsidies to banana farmers, as it does for onion growers when they face distress,” Khadse said.