There is a spurt in the arrival of jackfruit in the Thammampatti market, thanks to the good crop season in Kolli hills of the neighbouring Namakkal district.
Heavy arrival has led to the steep fall in the price of jackfruit in the past one week.
Jackfruit is a major cash crop in more than 100 villages situated on the Kolli hills. The tribal villages experienced widespread rainfall, leading to good jackfruit season, this year.
Earlier, the farmers and traders, during the season period, used to bring the jackfruits only to the Thammampatti weekly market, which met on Wednesdays.
With good yield during this harvest period, jackfruit stock arrives in the mini-trucks and load vans every day from the villages of Kolli hills.
As such many temporary shops selling jackfruits have sprung up on all the main roads.
Due to the bulk arrival, the price of the fruits has registered a steep fall. The fruit, which was priced between Rs. 150 and Rs. 200 a couple of weeks ago, is now being sold between Rs. 30 – Rs. 100 each, based on the size.
The steep fall in the price is a big disappointment to the farmers as well as local traders. “With good yield, farmers and traders expected to make reasonable money this season. But the fall in price is a very big disappointment,” says M. Radha, a small time trader of Thammampatti.
Following good yield, the jackfruit season is expected to extend for a couple of months. “We expect the price to improve in the days ahead,” he says with anxiety writ large on his face.