Nanded banana growers to export produce amid easier curbs

At a time when lockdown curbs have eased, banana growers from Ardhapur tehsil in Maharashtra’s Nanded district have started getting demands for export of the fruit to Gulf countries. Around 40 tonnes of bananas are now being exported on a day to day basis from Ardhapur to Oman, Iran, Iraq and Dubai.

“Export quality bananas are selected from various farms in Ardhapur and around 40 tonnes are exported everyday. During the lockdown, we were getting Rs 500 per quintal, but the unlocking process has helped us fetch Rs 900 per quintal. Before the lockdown, the rate was Rs 1,400 per quintal,” said local farmer Nilesh Deshmukh. He added that farmers are now planning to expand the cultivation process by growing a specific variety of the crop for export purposes in at least 100 acres of area in Ardhapur. He added that farmers have also improvised the packaging method and are now vacuum sealing the fruits in boxes for export, bringing down their losses from 25% to 1%.