Your ‘elai saapadu’ or traditional meal served on a fresh banana leaf may cost a little more now with traders saying lower supplies of rice from neighbouring states and a drought-driven drop in banana cultivation in Trichy have driven prices up.Banana cultivation in Trichy, one of Tamil Nadu’s leading growing districts, has fallen from the usual 6,000 hectares to 4,500 hectares. “More than 70% of the crop depends on Cauvery irrigation, but water has not been released from Mettur dam because of low storage,” says an official from the horticulture department. “Also, the inflow is poor because of a bad southwest monsoon due to El Nino.” At Trichy’s Gandhi Market, banana leaves are selling at `8 each, while a bundle of 300 costs about `1,500. “Rates have nearly doubled,” says trader K Nagaraj.Fruit prices have also risen. Red Banana costs `1,300, karpuravalli `900, rasthali `750 and grand naine `600. “We are receiving half the supply. Hence the prices are double,” says K N Sekar, a banana fruit distributor. National Research Centre for Banana (NRCB) is advising farmers to reduce cultivation area or opt for drought-resistant varieties. “Banana needs 65 lakh litres of water per acre annually. Farmers should optimise cultivation according to water availability,” says NRCB director R Selvarajan.Meanwhile, rice prices have increased by `5 per kg to `15 per kg. As Tamil Nadu is not self-sufficient in rice, locally grown paddy is procured by govt agencies, while the retail market depends heavily on supplies from neighbouring states. “In Karnataka, repairs to shutters at Tungabhadra reservoirs and poor rainfall affected crops. Andhra Pradesh also recorded a decline in production. So supply has reduced,” says A Anbarasan, chairman of the Food and Agro Panel of Madurai District Tiny and Small Scale Industries Association. “Reduced supplies have pushed up retail prices. If kuruvai cultivation in Tamil Nadu is also not satisfactory, prices will rise further,” says A M Vikramaraja, president of Tamil Nadu Vanigar Sangangalin Peramaippu.“RNR and deluxe boiled rice, earlier sold at about `45 per kg, now costs `60,” says B Gowtham, a rice trader in Madurai. Ponni raw rice has risen from `52 to `60 per kg at his shop. Idli rice sells at `50 per kg. D Gopal, president of a Red Hills paddy mandi association, says prices could stabilise over the next two months if rainfall improves.
