Pineapple and jackfruit, Nature’s gifts from the forests of the Eastern Ghats, are in high demand across the Krishna district.
The price of the two rainy season fruits is skyrocketing owing to huge demand. The transport cost of the fruits from the Northern Andhra Pradesh is said to be one of the reasons for the rise in the prices. The fruits which have high nutritional value attract the onlookers with their tempting hues and aroma. The most cherished factor in consuming the pineapple is that the tribes of North Andhra – Savara, Jatapu and Gadaba – grow it in the forest and hilly areas by following natural farming methods without using pesticides.
Interestingly, the king of fruits, Mango, has sometimes less demand than the pineapple and the jackfruit in Machilipatnam. “Each pineapple is fetching Rs. 60 to Rs. 80 across the Krishna district while the jackfruit fetches Rs. 200. However, buyers are after these fruits due to their non-availability in the rest of the year,” said a local fruit vendor M. Rajesh.
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Pineapples, which are being exported to the neighbouring States, are predominantly grown in Srikakulam district, where the Savara tribe reaps profits and fame too on the seasonal fruit. In the Visakhapatnam and Srikakulam districts, tribals venture into forest to collect the jackfruit. They have the right to collect the fruit as it is a forest produce.
The pineapple and the jackfruit would be available in the market for some more weeks. The growth of the pineapple depends on the weather, preferable cloudy weather. The increase in the quantity of the fruit export to the neighbouring States has also been leading to the price rise in the State.