Oranges piled up in heaps by small-time vendors on city footpaths may give an impression of a bumper crop, but the reality is much starker. Farmers are saying that crops this year will see big failures due to the delayed monsoon.

One of the biggest reasons being cited for this situation is the lack of orange exports to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh and Nepal. Experts say this has dual cause. First, these countries have imposed heavy import duty raising the price so much that the usual buyers are not ordering any fruit. Second, exports have also dropped due to the drop in quality fruit like every year. The fruits are patched, not uniform in colour and have a loose skin, which reduces their transit life as well as shelf life.

Another reason for low price of oranges this year in both domestic and export market is bad quality of the fruit. Due to delay in monsoon, the fruits didn't reach the right size and colour.

Manoj Jawanjal, director of the orange growers association Mahaorange, is demanding an orange policy to support farmers in such situations. He says that Maharashtra too, like Punjab, should follow the concept of a 'Citrus estate' in which everything from production to marketing and processing is networked by the government. "The farmer should not be forced into desperate sale. There should be a subsidy on import duty and there should be processing plants which can crush low grade fruits and indirectly help farmers," he said.

Source - http://www.freshplaza.com/