Fruit train pulls in the profits

Forget freight, it8217;s fruit that8217;s a growth area for the Eastern Railways now. After the success of the Amrud Express between Barui...

Forget freight, it8217;s fruit that8217;s a growth area for the Eastern Railways now. After the success of the Amrud Express between Baruipur and Sealdah reported in these columns on July 11, the farmers of the region have smelt the enormous potential of a vast market. Their next demand: a lychee special the coming summer.

The trigger, of course, was the profits raked in by the Amrud Express. 8216;8216;Normally, we8217;d get between Rs 10 and Rs 20 for 20 good quality guavas in the wholesale market. But the guava-special trains sent the prices up to Rs 25-30,8217;8217; says Munirul Lashkar, who grows fruits on four acres of land in the Khodar Bazaar, 35 km from Kolkata. 8216;8216;If we get a lychee special next summer, it can multiply our earnings.8217;8217;

Farmers in the region are also looking to markets beyond Kolkata. 8216;8216;Already, our guavas travel to Bihar and Orissa and our lychees go all the way to the Middle-East. But we want to expand our markets,8217;8217; says Lashkar.

The emergence of Baruipur, 35 km south of Kolkata, as the fruit bowl of Bengal has been sudden, but not entirely surprising. 8216;8216;The agro-climatic conditions here are suitable to growing fruits,8217;8217; says Swarup Chaudhury, agricultural scientist and agricultural development officer of Baruipur. 8216;8216;Second, farmers are finding fruits a more lucrative crop than paddy and wheat. The short distance from the market is also a factor.8217;8217;

While guava is the main crop in this part of the South 24 Parganas, covering 10,000 acres of land, 8216;8216;we also grow lychees, star apples jamrul, mangoes, bananas,8217;8217; says Saidur Rahman, president of the Baruipur Sakher Bazaar Chashi Samiti farmers8217; association. 8216;8216;Switching from field crops like wheat and paddy has changed our economic condition for the better.8217;8217;

During the season, 500 tonnes of guava and 400 tonnes of lychee are sent from Baruipur everyday. 8216;8216;But a good quantum of both fruits spoil because there is no storage facility. Nor is there a food processing centre,8217;8217; complains Abdul Latif Sardar, a member of the Samiti. 8216;8216;The state government claims food processing is one of its thrust areas, but there is no action here.8217;8217;

Interestingly though, it is not the yield during the season but the off-season production of guavas and star apples that rakes in the profits for these farmers. While seasonal guava prices range between Rs 25-30 per stack of 20, off-season prices hover around Rs 100-115. Each star apple sells for 10-20 paise in season, and for between Re 1 and Rs 1.50 in the off season.