<p class="title">Around 38,000 grape growers in Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Belagavi districts have produced around 80 lakh tonnes of raisins this season, but could not sell the produce due to lockdown.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With the local market under locks, the farmers have rented private cold storages to stock their produce in Vijayapura and neighbouring Maharashtra. The e-trading facility is available in Vijayapura, but no trader is coming forward to call for tenders to purchase the produce. Moreover, farmers have not yet received payments for 15 truckloads of green grapes transported to markets in Hyderabad and Kerala. This has put the growers in a quandary.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sangli, Tasagaon and Pandarpur in Maharashtra are the main markets for the grapes grown in North Karnataka. But due to the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in Maharashtra, the market is totally closed there. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Almost 75% of the total grape yield in the region is processed and dried while 25% is sold as table grapes. But this year only 5% of the table grapes were sold before the lockdown. The farmers had got good prices too. But due to the lockdown, the remaining 20% of grapes were not marketed. Thus, the farmers opted for drying all their yield to make raisins. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Karnataka State Grape Growers' Association president Abhaykumar S Nandrekar said around 20% of raisins were sold before the lockdown. The remaining 80% is stuck in the godowns, he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Farmers have to pay Rs 750 per tonne as rent for storing raisins in private cold storages. During April, the grape growers usually take up pruning work in the grapevines, for the new crop. The cost for this is more than Rs 1 lakh per acre. But the farmers are left with no money to hire labourers in their farms for this job, he explained.</p>
<p class="title">Around 38,000 grape growers in Vijayapura, Bagalkot and Belagavi districts have produced around 80 lakh tonnes of raisins this season, but could not sell the produce due to lockdown.</p>.<p class="bodytext">With the local market under locks, the farmers have rented private cold storages to stock their produce in Vijayapura and neighbouring Maharashtra. The e-trading facility is available in Vijayapura, but no trader is coming forward to call for tenders to purchase the produce. Moreover, farmers have not yet received payments for 15 truckloads of green grapes transported to markets in Hyderabad and Kerala. This has put the growers in a quandary.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Sangli, Tasagaon and Pandarpur in Maharashtra are the main markets for the grapes grown in North Karnataka. But due to the increasing number of Covid-19 positive cases in Maharashtra, the market is totally closed there. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Almost 75% of the total grape yield in the region is processed and dried while 25% is sold as table grapes. But this year only 5% of the table grapes were sold before the lockdown. The farmers had got good prices too. But due to the lockdown, the remaining 20% of grapes were not marketed. Thus, the farmers opted for drying all their yield to make raisins. </p>.<p class="bodytext">Karnataka State Grape Growers' Association president Abhaykumar S Nandrekar said around 20% of raisins were sold before the lockdown. The remaining 80% is stuck in the godowns, he added.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Farmers have to pay Rs 750 per tonne as rent for storing raisins in private cold storages. During April, the grape growers usually take up pruning work in the grapevines, for the new crop. The cost for this is more than Rs 1 lakh per acre. But the farmers are left with no money to hire labourers in their farms for this job, he explained.</p>