Sprinkled on top to add a mild flavour to most dishes, coriander is now leaving a bad aftertaste for farmers.
The price of coriander leaves has crashed in the past week. While a bundle was being sold for around Rs. 85 per kg, the rate is down to barely Rs. 20 in Kolar. In Bengaluru, the price is Rs. 37 per kg – nearly half of what it was a week ago.
But, the news is worse for farmers when considering the rate it is being purchased at the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) yard. At Kolar, it was being bought from farmers for a mere Rs. 2 per bundle and sold to consumers via street carts for Rs. 5.
As prices have crashed, some farmers have decided not to harvest the crop. “The rates do not even cover the cost of transporting them to the market. There is no option but to feed it to cattle as fodder,” said P. Krishnappa, a farmer of Kotiganahalli.
The increasing rate for the crop saw many farmers taking to cultivating coriander.
Srinivasapur, which is a major coriander growing centre in Kolar district, supplies this commercial crop in large quantities to Bengaluru, Chennai in Tamil Nadu beside Kadapa and Madanapalli in Andhra Pradesh.
As prices have crashed, some farmers have
decided not to harvest the crop
