The rain is likely to be delayed for some more days but the monsoon fruit, pineapple, has arrived in coastal Andhra Pradesh. In the Krishna district headquarters, it’s raining pineapples for the past two weeks and people are enjoying the sweetness of the yellow fruit, known for its high nutritional value.
“People are busy relishing the pineapple even before the skies have opened up for the season. Despite the huge arrival of the fruit, the price has reached a new high,” said M. Ramesh Babu, a fruit vendor.
In any part of the Krishna and Godavari districts, each fruit is priced at Rs. 40 as against a paltry Rs. 10 in Northern Andhra districts like Srikakulam and Vizianagaram.
The Savara tribal farmers in Seetampeta, Palakonda and Kotturu areas in Srikakulam district are growing the fruit extensively. “The pineapple from Srikakulam agency has a great market in South Indian states – Odisha, Kolkata city and Tamil Nadu. Our tribal farmers cultivate the fruit using organic methods,” Srikakulam agency-based NGO Sanjeevini authorities told The Hindu .
The export of the fruit has gone up significantly after a research institute in Trichy of Tamil Nadu has confirmed the fruit cultivated in Srikakulam agency has A, B and C vitamins and a protein - Bramolin - in their study in mid 2000s. However, the harvesting of pineapple would be in full-swing across the Agency following spells of rainfall and eventually the price is expected to come down.
