Banana prices plummet to just 50 paise per kilogram in Andhra Pradesh

The price of bananas in Andhra Pradesh has hit an all-time low, with farmers forced to sell a kilogram for just 50 paise - less than the cost of a matchbox or a single biscuit. Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, leader of the YSR Congress Party, highlighted the dire situation in a recent social media post.

He said that farmers invest months of hard work and lakhs of rupees into cultivating crops, but prices like these make all that effort nearly worthless. The crisis is not limited to bananas - onion, tomato, and other crops are also failing to fetch fair prices, he added. According to Jagan, this has become a “cruel blow” for farmers, leaving them with nothing but losses despite their hard work.

The YSRCP chief criticized the Andhra Pradesh government for letting farmers suffer, saying that bananas are now selling for less than everyday household items due to poor support systems. He also accused the TDP-led NDA government of failing to provide promised benefits, such as free crop insurance and input subsidies during disasters.

Jagan recalled that under the previous YSRCP government (2019-2024), average banana prices were around ₹25,000 per ton. Special trains were arranged to transport bananas to New Delhi, and cold storage facilities were built across the state to ensure farmers could sell at fair prices.

Reports now indicate that production costs are higher than the selling prices, forcing farmers to sell at a loss and making agriculture increasingly unprofitable and unstable. Jagan warned that the current collapse in food prices raises a serious question about the value of farmers’ labor, stating - “If a kilogram of food is worth only 50 paise today, the hands that grow it are being denied respect.”

The ruling TDP has not yet responded to these allegations.