Grapes turn sour for growers hit by cold storage crisis

Raisin woes

Kalaburagi: Grape production has seen a steady increase in the last three years, but the lack of adequate cold storage facilities is proving to be a problem for growers in Karnataka. Around 80 per cent of the produce in the state is converted into raisins as per data obtained from the Karnataka Wine Board.

As Karnataka has a limited capacity to store only about 30 per cent of the annual raisin production, farmers are being forced to turn to storage options in Maharashtra. An unprecedented fall in the market price of grapes coupled with transportation costs and overhead expenses is leading to losses among grape growers.

Karnataka is the second-largest producer of grapes in the country after neighbouring Maharashtra. The crop is grown mainly in Vijayapura, Bagalkot, Belagavi and some parts of Bengaluru urban and rural districts. Vijayapura, which accounts for more than 75 per cent of the total grape production in the state, is also one of the top raisin-producing districts in the country.

The area under cultivation in the state has increased from 29,197 hectares in 2019-20 to 36,575 hectares in 2021-22. The production of fresh grapes also witnessed a rise from 7.11 lakh tonnes to 7.88 lakh tonnes during the same period. The production increased to 9.8 lakh tonnes last year. On average, 1 kg of raisins can be produced from 4 kg of fresh grapes. 

It takes 12-18 days depending on climate conditions and fruit quality to dehydrate grapes into raisins. Raisins can be stored in cold storage units for three years.

The rise in production has fuelled the crash of raisin prices in the market.

“The additional stock has led to a fall in raisin prices from Rs 250-270 per kg to Rs 110-150 in the wholesale market. We were facing a shortage of cold storage facilities even before the increase in the cultivation area. The high production last year has compounded the problem,” said Karnataka Grapes Growers’ Association president KH Mumbareddy. 

Vijayapura Horticulture Department Deputy Director Rahulkumar Bhavidoddi said that last year, farmers in the district produced around 1.7 lakh tonnes of raisins.

“Karnataka has cold storage capacity to accommodate nearly 30% of the total raisin produced at present. Steps are being taken to construct more cold storage in a phased manner,” he said.

The cold storage facilities in Vijayapura can store around 50,000 tonnes of raisins. Now, the government is constructing 10,000-tonne capacity storage facilities. However, this is still not sufficient. As a result, Karnataka farmers depend on cold storage in Sangli in neighbouring Maharashtra, which has a 90,000-tonne storage capacity. Consequently, Sangli has emerged as a major market for raisins in the country.

Grape growers say they incur Rs 10,000 per tonne as an additional cost for transportation and overheads for storage of raisins in Maharashtra. 

Interestingly, merely 20 per centof the grapes produced in Maharashtra are converted into raisins. The rest is sold as fresh fruit.

“Fresh grapes being produced in Maharashtra are supplied across the country and also exported. But most of the farmers in Karnataka store their yield as raisins,” said Karnataka Grape and Wine Board Managing Director T Somu. He adds that the harvesting has just begun this year, and production is expected to reduce due to scanty rainfall.

The distressed farmers are looking for the intervention of the government to either construct more cold storage facilities or procure the crop at a support price.