4 years ago
Farmers from West Bengal in India have declared that they will stop the export of pineapples to Nepal. According to BBC Hindi, they have decided so after Nepal got involved in conflict with India regarding border issues in Kalapani, Lipulek, and Limpiadhura.
Kajal Ghosh, president, Pineapple Merchants’ Association, said India and Nepal had been maintaining friendly relations for decades now, but “Nepal has recently taken some decisions despite India’s dissent”. “That is why we have decided not to send pineapples to Nepal this time.”
In north Bengal, pineapple is grown in the Bidhannagar belt of Darjeeling , and the Islampur subdivision of North Dinajpur .
Every year, the fruit is exported to Nepal from July till August-end. Pineapples are also sent to other parts of Bengal and states such as Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
A senior member of the pineapple merchant’s outfit said around 3,000 metric tonnes of pineapples were exported to Nepal a year. “Around 25,000 pieces of fruits (50 tonnes) used to be sent to Nepal a day, and a kilo of the fruit fetching around Rs 40.
It meant a turnover of Rs 10 to 12 crore. However, this year we won’t export the fruit to Nepal. There is a steady demand of the fruit in markets of north India,” he said.
Ranjan Ghosh, secretary, Camenas Farmers & Producers’ Company, an organisation of pineapple growers, said they might have to sell the fruit at a slightly lower rate in India, but they were sure there would not be any major loss.
