“In Tamil Nadu, banana production is slightly higher than the previous year. Banana prices usually fall every summer when there is arrival of other tropical fruits such as mangoes. Increased production coupled with high temperature has led to cracking of fruits that has forced the farmers to sell the produce immediately during this period,” KM Shivakumar of Tamil Nadu Agricultural University told FE.
Competition from fruits like mangoes tend to depress the market for bananas as the consumption is mostly local. “Exports are negligent when compared to the production and the major market in West Asia. Preferred variety for export is Grand Naine and the top export destinations are Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE and Kuwait,” he said.
As per the first advance estimates of the ministry of agriculture and farmer’s welfare, banana is cultivated on 836,000 hectares with a production of 29.89 million tonnes in 2015-16 in India. The major growing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has an ambitious plan to export Indian-grown bananas globally by creating a cold chain infrastructure which will help in avoiding post-harvest loss.
