Grapes of wrath: Fruit faces uncertainty due to drought in Maharashtra

PUNE: Grapes, which have an investment of more than Rs 16,000 crore and where corporates are most active, face an uncertain future due to drought conditions in Maharashtra, the leading exporter of fruits and vegetables. Pomegranates and other vegetables too are likely to be impacted by the lack of rainfall.
Farmers usually prune orchards from September to November which gives fruits during December to May. However, fearing that there will be no water during summer to sustain fruit-bearing plants, farmers are likely to go for an early pruning.

“If it does not rain sufficiently in another two weeks, majority of the pruning will happen by September.This will bring grapes to the market by February, when there's no demand for Indian grapes as grapes from Chile and Africa are available in Europe,“ said head of one of the leading corporate grape exporters.The export window for Indian grapes is between March and May, when there's hardly any competition from Europe.

“Three scenarios are possible today. If it rains in September, things will If it rains in September, things will not go haywire. Second, if it rains in October, farmers will go for pruning in October, which will lead to a glut in March. And third, if it does not rain sufficiently in September and October, then production can decline 25-30%,“ said a leading grape exporter, who did not want to be identified. This company has identified farmers with assured source of water from its huge database of farmers and is encouraging them to go for pruning after assessing their water sources.

According to Agricultural and Processed Foods Export Development Agency (APEDA), India exported grapes worth more than Rs 1,600 crore in 2013-14, which declined to Rs 1,086 crore in 2014-15 due to unseasonal rains and hailstorm in he key harvesting months between March and May in Maharashtra. This will be the second consecutive year when farmers have to deal with the vagaries of nature.

There was some rain in the grape and pomegranate growing belt of the state in the past two-three days, but more rains are needed this month for the survival of crops and farmers. “The situation is severe now. However, if it rains in another two weeks, we can hope to see a normal season this year,“ said Ashok Motiani, managing director, Freshtrop Fruits.

If it does not rain in the month of September, the impact can be devasating in 2017. Farmers will find it tough to sustain the orchards during summer. “We will go back by five years,“ said Jagannath Khapre, president, Indian Grape Exporters Association. Though not as capital intensive as rapes, pomegranates too need an grapes, pomegranates too need an investment of about Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.25 lakh an acre as running capital. “The rest period of plants is over and they need rains now. If it doesn't rain this month, we can lose about 70-80% of the crop that is planned for harvesting January onwards,“ said Prabhakar Chandane, president, Pomegranate Growers Association.

October to April is the peak season for Indian vegetable exports to Europe as the continent grows little locally due to the harsh winter. With water shortage in Maharashtra, exporters fear that vegetable prices might shoot up. “Prices can rise, which in turn can affect exports,“ said Kaushal Khakhar, CEO, Kay Bee Exports.