Wholesale prices of bananas have crashed in the city’s bale mandi near the century-old Devaraja Market as there is a surplus supply owing to the high yield in local farms. Besides that of the pachbale variety, even the prices of yellakki, one of the more popular variety with a longer shelf life, have also fallen causing huge losses to growers.
The bale mandi, considered the biggest mandi in the region, has been dumped with a huge quantity of plantains and they can be seen lying around even in the bylanes and small passages in the market.
The surplus arrival is being attributed to the fact that there are no takers for the produce even in the neighbouring States, in particular Tamil Nadu, where growers have got a high yield. Pachbale is at present being sold at the wholesale market at Rs. 4 a kg while yelakki banana at Rs. 20 a kg. In the corresponding period last year, pachbale was sold at Rs. 15 a kg while yelakki was sold at Rs. 40 a kg, according to wholesale merchant, M.L. Malaiah.
“Both farmers and merchants have suffered losses. Higher production has led to fall in prices. Moreover, there are not many takers, resulting in damage to the arrivals,” he told The Hindu . There are over 10 major wholesale plantain merchants at the mandi in addition to at least 100 retail merchants. Bananas are supplied to various other local markets and nearby towns from this mandi.
A particular variety of the fruit has also arrived at the market from Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu, and it is sold at Rs. 15 a kg in the wholesale market, he said.
