Tamil Nadu : Heavy rain pushes up prices of sugarcane, turmeric and ginger this Pongal
Northeast monsoon rains impacted sugarcane, turmeric, and ginger crops, causing damage and price surges before Pongal. Sugarcane sold for ₹300-450 per bunch in wholesale and ₹50-60 apiece in retail. Farmers faced limited production and reduced profits despite high demand. Turmeric and ginger bunches also saw price hikes, with quality varying due to rain damage.
Spells of heavy rain during the northeast monsoon last year seems have to impacted the yield, quality and prices of senkarumbu, the edible sugarcane, turmeric and ginger bunches, which form an integral part of Pongal festivities.
Given the festival demand, there was a spurt in their prices in retail markets in the city, which witnessed milling crowds, on the eve of Pongal on Monday.
The juicy sugarcane variety, a must at every household celebrating the harvest festival, was sold at ₹300-450 a bunch (10 canes) at the wholesale markets. In retail markets, an average sized sugarcane was sold largely at ₹50 apiece.
At the Uzhavar Sandhai at Anna Nagar in the city, a good quality sugarcane was sold at ₹60 apiece and average sized ones at ₹100 a couple outside the shandy.
Farmers and traders said the monsoon caused widespread damage to the crop, with the sugarcane uprooted at some places.
Farmers had to provide support to individual cane at a few places, said Tamilselvan, who was selling the cane at ₹60 apiece at the Uzhavar Sandhai on Monday morning. “The quality of the canes have also been affected due to the rain. Given the limited production, the farm gate price of good quality cane has gone up to ₹45 apiece.”
However, farmers said they did not make much profit by raising the crop. “The rain did affect the cane, and the area of cultivation had also come down this year. Despite the festival demand, I could sell only at ₹30 apiece at my field,” said R.Arivazhagan, a farmers of Thiruvaiyaru in Thanjavur district.
The prices of turmeric and ginger bunches and several native vegetables and flowers also witnessed a sharp rise in the runup to the festival. The price of lima beans (mochai) touched ₹100 a kg in the retail markets.
Turmeric bunches were sold between ₹30-100 for a couple. “The intermittent rain affected the growth of turmeric and, hence, I could sell the bunches only at ₹30 a couple,” said Kalaivani, a farmer of Ettarai, who has a shop at the Uzhavar Sandhai.
Others with well-grown bulbs could sell the bunches at a higher price. Ginger bunches were also sold between ₹50-100 a couple, depending on the quality.
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Source : The Hindu
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