Farmers from Andhra Pradesh suffer losses due to severe drop in lemon prices

Lemon prices have plummeted, causing farmers in Andhra Pradesh to lose a lot of money. Lemon growers in the region are worried as the price of lemons has plunged for the second year in a row.

Although lemons are cultivated all year, the peak time is between March and June. Despite the fact that the season began well for the farmers, prices dropped from Rs 100 to Rs 8 per kilogram all of a sudden. Around 5,500 farmers in the Atchampet, Bellamkonda, and Tenali divisions of Guntur district grow lemons on 2,600 hectares.

Despite a bumper harvest last year, the farmers barely made any money owing to the Covid-19 lockout. They were barely able to afford their expenses. Despite the fact that there are no transportation limitations this year, the farmers have yet to make a profit because the harvest was lower than previous year, along with falling lemon prices. They were in such bad shape that they couldn't even afford to pay labor costs.

“No one expected the prices to drop suddenly,” Ramarao, a farmer from Tenali, said. I won't receive a good price for the lemons if I harvest them now, and I can't afford to pay labor costs. Farmers haven't gathered their crop as a result of this,” he added.

Per acre, approximately 200 tikkis of lemons of which each tikki containing 50 kilos of lemon are typically produced. Pesticides, maintenance, and labor costs range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 per acre for a farmer.

From market yards in Tenali, Narasaraopet, and Sattenapalli, lemons produced in the region are shipped to Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.

Previously, farmers from Gujarat went through a similar tragedy when the state was ravaged by Cyclone Tauktae. Lemon prices had crashed to around Rs 7 per kilo as the farmers carried the fruits to the market that had fallen due to the cyclone.