Be it online grocery portals, supermarkets, or even the neighbourhood stores, sale of organic products seems to be on the rise in the city.
Demand has grown by nearly 30 % and customers are mainly in the age group of 30 to 45, says Saravanan Varadharajan, who owns an 18-acre organic farm in Sethumadai. He grows more than 10 varieties of vegetables and fruits, including beans, tomato, bitter gourd, snake gourd, pomegranate and guava. He runs a retail outlet for organic products (Iyal) and says that the number of stores selling organic products in the city has increased by 25 % in the last three years.
For the stores in the city, organic fruits and vegetables also come from places such as the Nilgiris, Kannivadi, Pudukottai, Dharapuram, Hosur, and Erode.
“Though awareness and consumption are relatively higher in cities such as Chennai and Bengaluru, it has increased here too,” he says.
According to Shantha Ramasamy of Sreevatsa Organic Farm Products, organic produce normally remain fresh for a longer time. The cost depends on the weather of the location where the produce is grown. Not just fruits and vegetables, even value-added products are going organic. “When the demand for organic products increase, the farmers stand to benefit,” she says.
A.R. Selvaraj, an organic farmer who also runs a store, says that organic fruits and vegetables from this region are sent to cities such as Madurai, Trichy and Chennai too. “For the last few months, awareness has improved about organic milk,” he says.
Awareness among people regarding the health benefits of organic foods has escalated in the past five years, says Rajesh Keerthi, who runs an online organic store. Though the cost is on the higher side, customers go for it considering the health benefits.
Availability and affordability are the main drawbacks when it comes to buying organic vegetables and fruits regularly. Small local farmers often use organic methods but sometimes cannot afford to get their farms certified as organic. “If the prices reduce, sales and consumption would increase and it would benefit the farmers,” says S. Manoj, a regular customer of organic products.
Divya Thangavel and Vinu Meera
