08 April,2011 06:48 AM IST | | Urvashi Seth
While there has been nearly a 50 per cent drop in production, wineries are welcoming the opportunity to offload the heavy surplus of wine stock
THIS year is turning out to be a bad one for fruit growers in the state. After MiD DAY did a series on the drop in production of mangoes because of unseasonal rains and erratic weather conditions, the same factors have affected the production of grapes as well, bringing it down by a whopping 50 per cent.
A grape farm in Nashik. Farmers in the Nashik-Sangli belt say they have suffered major losses
Farmers in the Nashik-Sangli belt famous all over the country for its grapes say they have suffered major losses despite cutting down on production due to the low demand from wineries in the state and Goa and Karnataka buying the produce at high prices.
Owners of wineries in the state, on the other hand, which already have close to 2.3 crore litres of unsold stock in hand (see box), are relieved. They say the low production and hike in buying from other states has ensured that they don't need to buy grapes from the farmers this year and saddle themselves with more wine stock.
Farmers' take
The state usually needs 45,000 tonnes of grapes to meet the demand from wineries alone. The surplus stock with winery owners, however, made many farmers switch to other crops and the yield was expected to be close to 25,000 tonnes this year. But the actual yield has been close to half this figure because of every farmer losing part of the crop.
With state wineries not interested in purchasing the quality grapes, buyers from Karnataka and Goa have stepped in to purchase the produce at high prices.
"The result is that grapes that were sold for Rs 20 per kg are now sold at Rs 30. High-quality, rare grape was recently sold to a Goa-based wine company for as high as Rs 60 a kg," said Rajesh Jadhav, secretary, All India Wine producers Association (AIWPA).
Even that, however, has not been enough for farmers to recoup their losses. "The grape crop has been badly affected due to the weather conditions and farmers are suffering major losses.
Yes, buyers from other states have purchased the produce at high prices, but farmers have also spent nearly triple the amount they normally would on the grapes because of the extra pesticide and other material needed to salvage a portion of the crop.
The earning has not been up to the mark," said Vijay Gadakh, president, Maharashtra State Grape Growers' Association.
Wineries relieved
Prashant Sankpal, managing director of Ritza Wine Private Limited and vice president of Wine Producers' Association (Sangli), said, "Nashik, which is the leading grape producing area of the state, has been impacted the most by unseasonal rain and erratic weather.
This is, however, a boon for the 33-odd wineries in the area as most of them still have around 60 per cent of the cumulative stock produced in the last three years lying unsold with them.
Jadhav, of the AIWPA, echoed Sankpal's views. "So far, due to slow sales, there was more supply and less demand. This year, however, with very little wine being produced, winery owners will actually be selling most of their unsold stock," said he.
He cautioned, however, that farmers' loss of interest in producing grapes for wineries and the entry of buyers from other states could prove to be a worrying factors for wineries in the state in the coming years.
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"Next year, farmers may quote high prices relying on the increased demand for their produce from neighbouring states," he added.
Officialspeak
Agriculture Commissioner Prabhakar Deshmukh confirmed that climate change has reduced grape production by nearly 50 per cent. "The crop, which was in the flowering stages in November, December and January, has been badly affected by the rain and unusually cold weather. Nashik has been hit very badly," he said.
He added that the department has made an appeal to the ministry to provide financial help to, and introduce special schemes for, farmers to help them come out of debt.
Unsold Wine
Stock (in litres) with wineries
2006-07: 66.3 lakh
2007-08: 10.5 lakh
2008-09: 15.2 lakh
2009-10: 2.53 crore
2010-2011: 2.30 crore
Wineries in Maharashtra:
Nashik: 33
Sangli: 30
Pune and Buldhana: 2 each
Raigad: 1
