Kinnow growers in Punjab are facing a severe blow to their income as prices plummet amid a bumper yield. The unexpected drop in kinnow rates has left farmers receiving Rs 6-10 per kg for their crop, a significant decline compared to the Rs 20-25 per kg they earned last year.
Farmers express concerns that, at the current rate, they are unable to recover their input costs and have appealed to the government to establish a minimum price for the kinnow crop.
After two years of low yield due to unexpectedly high temperatures during the flowering stage, Punjab is poised to achieve a bumper crop this season. The state, a major kinnow grower in the country, is expected to produce 13.50 lakh metric tonnes this season, up from 12 lakh MT in the previous season. The kinnow crop spans 47,000 hectares this season.
The harvesting of kinnow, a hybrid of king and willow leaf mandarins, begins in December and continues until the end of February in Punjab. Abohar, with a maximum area of 35,000 hectares under kinnow cultivation, leads the district in kinnow production, followed by Hoshiarpur, Muktsar, Bathinda, and some other districts.
Kinnow grower Ajit Sharan expressed dismay, stating that farmers are now receiving Rs 6-8 per kg compared to the Rs 25 per kg they received at the same time last year. Despite low prices for farmers, kinnow is being sold at Rs 40 per kg in the retail market.
Sharan, cultivating kinnow over 90 acres in Ramgarh village in Abohar district, emphasized the challenges faced by farmers. “If a farmer grows a bumper yield, then it (low price) is the punishment for that,” he said. The costs incurred by farmers, ranging from Rs 30,000-40,000 per acre, are not being covered, potentially forcing farmers to uproot their orchards.