Mosambi Price Drop Hit Nalgonda Farmers Hard
Poor irrigation facilities and unseasonal rains have affected the quality of the crop, leading to reduced interest from traders.
Nalgonda: Mosambi growers in Nalgonda district are facing heavy losses as wholesale prices of the crop have plunged to their lowest in 15 years. The price of mosambi (sweet lime) dropped sharply this season to Rs 15,000–18,000 per ton, compared to Rs 35,000 per ton last year. The steep fall, caused by several market and weather-related factors, has severely impacted growers. The highest price reported in this crop-cutting season was Rs 22,000 per ton.
The district has 43,937 acres under Mosambi cultivation, with 16,112 farmers engaged in its production. Major cultivation areas include Peddavoora (6,624 acres), Anumula (5,565 acres), Gurrampode (5,167 acres), Nidmanoor (3,917 acres) and Kanagal (3,622 acres) mandals. The horticulture department estimates a production of two lakh tons this season. Mosambi fruits are plucked twice a year — from April to May and August to September.
Poor irrigation facilities and unseasonal rains have affected the quality of the crop, leading to reduced interest from traders. Many traders have shifted their procurement to the Anantapur district in Andhra Pradesh, where quality and availability are reportedly better. There, Mosambi is being procured at around Rs 18,000 per ton. A trader noted that Mosambi from Nalgonda is usually sent to markets in New Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Kolkata and Mumbai. But, the recent unseasonal rains in northern states have led to reduced demand, further affecting prices.
Katta Satish Reddy, a mosambi grower from Indugula village in Madgulapally mandal, said, “Very few traders are approaching us and offering only Rs 18,000 to Rs 22,000 per ton. Around 15 to 20 per cent of that goes into labour costs for harvesting.” Another farmer, T. Srinivas from Peddavoora, said, “We have no option but to keep watering the trees despite the summer hardships. If the trees dry up, we lose our investment of over three years. Even though prices are poor this year, we are taking care of the trees, hoping for better returns in the next season.”
Horticulture officer Y. Shyam Sunder Reddy said farmers have removed mosambi plantations in 2,000 acres over the past two years and shifted to oil palm cultivation due to water scarcity. “The quality and size of mosambi depend mainly on sufficient irrigation. During summer, the falling groundwater levels pose a serious challenge,” he said. He also noted that the variety of mosambi grown in the district is not suitable for processing, limiting its marketability.
The area under mosambi cultivation has declined from 1.8 lakh acres in 2015 to just 43,937 acres in 2025, and the number of growers has dropped from 40,000 to 16,112 over the past decade.