The humble yelakki banana, which was retailing at ₹66 a kg in May, has become dear. Its price is now in the range of ₹109 to ₹150 a kg.
While consumers are feeling the pinch, farmers, reeling under severe drought, are happy to be getting a good price for the little produce they were able to harvest. Umesh Golthmajal, a banana grower on the outskirts of the city, said most of the crop was lost owing to shortage of water and lack of rains, leading to a dip in supplies. “Almost 70% of the crop is lost. Farmers are being paid ₹85 a kg,” he said.
The banana price is likely to increase further till at least Dasara (September-end).
While the price of yelakki banana is ₹109 a kg in Hopcoms, the retail price in the markets of Bengaluru and Mysuru has touched ₹150. At the banana mandi in Mysuru’s Devaraja Market, some traders were found selling the best variety at ₹140 a kg. Retail chains in Bengaluru are selling it at ₹150.
Dry borewells
Farmers are being paid in the range of ₹75 to ₹85 a kg. A senior Hopcoms official said the prices have shot up as supplies had dwindled to less than 30% of the “normal” for this time of year. “Yelakki variety is mainly grown in Mysuru and Chamarajanagar districts. But three years of drought has resulted in borewells drying up, leading to severe crop loss in these areas,” he said.
The robusta variety continues to trade at ₹34 to ₹36 a kg, but there is not much demand for it.