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Imports hurting horticulture farmers in India
According to Sarampalli Malla Reddy, Vice-President of All India Kisan Sabha, “Several farmers who grew citrus fruits on purpose destroyed their plants in Nalgonda, Guntur, West Godavari and East Godavari as they were unable to secure even input costs. But, as much as 30 per cent of citrus fruits in the market were imported.”
According to him, increased foreign imports are hurting the horticulture industry in the country. The imports began making their way into the Indian market since 2005 and the trend has kept growing rapidly.
Narsimha Reddy, former MLA, Nalgonda said, “30 per cent of the produce goes to waste and if the Horticulture Department could curb this by way of providing cold storage and warehouse facilities, the plight of farmers could be addressed.”
Explaining the harmful effect of imports, Malla Reddy said, “Fall in prices, change in cropping pattern had led to fall in incomes for farmers. Farmers no longer evince interest and stop farming altogether.”
Absence of full-fledged cold storage facilities has proved a bane of horticulture farmers. There are 1,400 cold storages and warehouses in the two Telugu States, but not a single one is allotted for storage of fruits. “If the farmer can get a minimum support price and the government ensures he does, the import of foreign fruits can be tackled,” said Malla Reddy.
Commission agents have been ruling the roost and their stranglehold should be broken.” he added. In the meanwhile, import of foreign fruits such as Rose Apple from New Zealand and kiwi. Ruby coloured grapes from USA, Sweet Tamarind from Thailand are growing by almost 40 to 60 per cent by the year.