Indian flower growers in dire straits
Standing in his field of 0.75 acres of chrysanthemums in full blossom, Bhupal Reddy says: “There is no point in harvesting them. I will have to pay Rs. 200 (2.97 USD) to Rs. 300 (4.45 USD) per worker per day who can pluck 15 kilos a day. At the end of the day, I am able to sell one quintal of flowers for Rs. 500 (7.41 USD). It is a total loss for me, so I have decided not to invest more.” The typical reddish hue acquired by yellow chrysanthemums before they wilt and dry is visible as people walk on the plants.
A few metres away is the field of Ravinder Reddy who expected his bumper harvest of chrysanthemums, marigolds and chikkudkayi (kidney beans) to bring in the money right up to Sankranti. “I have invested Rs. 50,000 (741 USD) getting the saplings from Rajahmundry, but now I am not even going to get back the money that I invested on these chrysanthemums. Two days ago, I took two bags of kidney beans (each bag contains 70 kilos) to the Gudimalkapur market and I had to dump them as the trader offered me Rs. 100 (1.48 USD) per bag,” says Ravinder Reddy.
Read more at The Hindu
