Anantapuramu Pomegranate farmers are in distress

Pomegranate farmers in Andhra Pradesh are facing a severe financial crisis as market prices for their crop have plummeted, falling to less than half of what they were last year. This drastic drop is causing widespread distress in major cultivation areas like Putlur, Peddappur, and Tadipatri, where farmers who invested lakhs of rupees now fear they will not even recover their costs.

The price of pomegranates, which fetched up to ₹1.2 lakh per ton last year, has now fallen below ₹60,000 per ton and has remained at this low level for the past three months. Farmers in the district have invested between ₹80,000 to ₹1 lakh per acre to cultivate the crop on 13,381 acres, making the current prices unsustainable for their business.

The primary reason for the market crash, according to traders, is a bumper harvest in other key producing states, including Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Telangana. This oversupply has saturated the market, drastically reducing demand for produce from Andhra Pradesh. Consequently, the volume of pomegranates exported to these traditional markets has become nominal.

Farmers voiced their concerns over the bleak outlook. "If pomegranate prices continue like this, we will not get what we have invested and there will not be scope for further ," said Venkata Narayana, a farmer from Varadayapalli who cultivates pomegranates on four acres. "Although the yield is good, the fall in prices is distressing. I hope prices increase in the coming months for some relief."

Another farmer highlighted the challenges of maintaining the crop. "We are finding it difficult to sell the crop because of falling prices. We have to sell it at a loss, as the crop is nearing the harvest stage," he lamented. Farmers are also burdened with the high costs of crop protection measures, which are essential to prevent damage and maintain quality, but these efforts are not being reflected in the prices offered by traders. The lack of demand and the grim pricing environment are forcing farmers into a dire situation with no clear end in sight.