Maha: Lockdown hits lemon cultivators of Chalisgaon

Farmers don't make much by selling the produce locally, which is why they prefer sending them to Gujarat. However, the coronavirus-induced lockdown not only caused the lemon prices to fall, but it also severely hit the commercial demand.

The coronavirus-induced lockdown has severely hit lemon cultivators in Chalisgaon of Maharashtra's Jalgaon district, who have been forced to sell their produce at throw-away prices, as demand has dropped significantly in the present situation. Dilip Deshmukh, who has a lemon farm at Chalisgaon, was left with nothing despite supplying 80 crates of his produce to the markets of Surat in Gujarat recently.

Not only did he fail to get the right price for his produce, but after bearing the transportation and packaging costs, he earned next to nothing, the farmer claimed. "Chalisgaon is known for its lemon farms and the agriculture market here is also a collection centre.

Businessmen from Gujarat usually send their crates to collect the produce and they pay us based on the weight of the produce," Deshmukh said. After sending his produce this time around, the farmer received Rs 5,061, while he had to shell out Rs 5,461 to transport the lemons to Surat, he claimed.

"It was a total loss, as I didnt get any money in return but had to spend from my pockets to clear the transaction," he said. Farmers don't make much by selling the produce locally, which is why they prefer sending them to Gujarat.

However, the coronavirus-induced lockdown not only caused the lemon prices to fall, but it also severely hit the commercial demand. . "I have 2,200 lemon trees. Last year, the rate of lemons went up to Rs 2,200 per crate," Deshmukh said.

While some farmers like Deshmukh was able to sustain the loss as he has other businesses, many cultivators in the area, who are totally dependent on lemon farming, suffered. Meanwhile, local authorities believe that although the harvest has been substantial this year, the lockdown has slashed the rate of lemons and brought down the commercial demand as well.

"Although the lemon harvest has been good this year, the closure of restaurants and hotels due to the lockdown has affected the demand," Chalisgaon agriculture market committee chairman Sardarsingh Rajput said. Farmers of Chalisgaon try to get higher rates in nearby markets of Gujarat and other parts of Maharashtra, but the price is not more than Rs 5 per kg, he added.