Jamun price soars to ₹600/kg

Mangaluru: The increasing demand for jamun, also known as java plum, black plum and jambolan, has caused a steep hike in its price this year. The fruit that used to cost about Rs 250/kg in 2019, sold for about Rs 400/kg last year. On Thursday, it sold for Rs 600- Rs 800/kg in the city.
The increasing demand for jamun is mainly because of its medicinal value.
Sathish Prabhu, proprietor, BSP Agrofresh, a leading distributor for jamuns in the city, told TOI, “We are expecting the prices to drop in the coming weeks. The season generally begins in March, but this year, it was only a week ago that the fruit entered the market. Jamuns are generally bought from Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, between April and June.”
“The fruit from Savanthwadi in Maharashtra used to hit the market first, but this time due to a poor crop there, we started receiving the fruit from the Karnataka-Maharashtra border only last week. Last year, was a bumper crop, and this year the quantity is expected to increase in the coming days, with the fruit from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu expected to arrive,” he said.
He explained that one of the factors for the high price of the fruit, is that a limited quantity is arriving in the market.
“Right now, about 400-500 kg is sold per day, by about 20 vendors. There are days when about 3,000 kg is sold by about 80 vendors. Once the quantity arriving in the city increases, the price will drop. Out of 10 kg, a vendor gets to sell only 8 kg, because nearly 2 kg are eaten by customers in the guise of tasting,” Prabhu said.
Meanwhile, he requested people not to throw away the seeds of jamun and other fruits, but to plant them in available open places, as a step towards conservation.