Temporary halt to West Asia conflict comes too late for Andhra Pradesh's banana farmers

Hyderabad: The two-week ceasefire that brought a temporary halt to the West Asia crisis arrived too late for thousands of farmers cultivating bananas across vast stretches of the Rayalaseema region in Andhra Pradesh. It was a complete washout for growers who supply the South African variety of green banana known as Robusta Grand Naine (G9) to markets in Iran, Iraq, UAE, Bahrain, and Oman. The war escalated precisely during their peak export season, choking trade and blocking shipping routes at the worst possible moment.

While farmers in Anantapur and Kadapa harvest three banana crops each year, it is the crop gathered between December 15 and March-end that is best suited for export. Last year alone, government estimates show that Rayalaseema exported at least one lakh tonnes of bananas to the Middle East and Gulf.

"Between December and February, bananas in north Indian markets change colour due to harsh winter conditions and become unsuitable for export. Here in our region, the colour stays and the fruit remains export-ready; that's why traders from outside also look to Rayalaseema for procurement. But this season was a complete washout. Exactly during the peak export window, from mid-February through all of March, exporters stopped buying from us. We incurred heavy losses," banana farmer Mekala Siva Sankar Reddy of Prasannayapalli of Anantapur, told DH.

According to estimates, a farmer cultivating bananas on 10 acres incurred losses of approximately Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakhs this season. The conflict involving Iran, the United States, and Israel strangled shipping lanes and froze trade routes to Gulf nations. For Rayalaseema's farmers heavily dependent on exports to Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan the fallout was swift and brutal. Since early March, exports ground to a halt, containers loaded with bananas sat stranded at sea, and farm-gate prices collapsed.

The G9 or Grand Naine banana variety, cultivated across roughly 40,000 hectares in Rayalaseema, had become a reliable income source for the region's farmers. Its firm texture and long shelf life made it ideal for lengthy sea voyages, earning it consistent demand across the Gulf. In Anantapur district alone, the crop covers nearly 15,000 hectares. Until recently, farmers were fetching Rs 25,000 to Rs 20,000 per tonne. Today, they are being offered Rs 5,000 to Rs 8,000 if buyers come at all.

"Due to the export halt, local markets are flooded with bananas, forcing farmers to sell at massive losses. Usually, the competition between export traders and local traders kept prices good for us. But this season, with exports halted and export traders absent from the market, local traders who buy for the domestic market offered very little — somewhere between Rs 5 and Rs 6 per kilo — which is not at all viable for a banana farmer. In my case, out of 185 tonnes I cultivated this season, only one tonne could be sold at Rs 20,000 per tonne. The remaining had to go for less than Rs 10,000 per tonne because exports had stopped. This ceasefire announcement came a lifetime too late for us. Almost all banana farmers have faced heavy losses," a software engineer-turned-banana farmer from Narasanayunikunta near Anantapur, Nutheti Jaya Simha told DH.

The region predominantly produces the G9 variety, highly sought after for its ability to stay fresh for around 12 days, making it ideal for shipping to the Middle East. A green banana measuring 38–42mm in diameter and 4.2cm in length fetches around Rs 20 per kilogram. Andhra Pradesh had targeted exports of 1.5 lakh tonnes this season. Last year, despite the same target, only one lakh tonnes were shipped at Rs 18 per kilogram, earning Rs 180 crore.

Consignments are transported to Mumbai port for onward export, a journey of nearly 32 hours from Anantapur and Kadapa. Two vessels ship the bananas to the Middle East and Gulf nations each week. The sea voyage from Mumbai takes approximately three days. Rayalaseema was exporting 500 to 600 tonnes of bananas daily before the crisis.