12-08-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Kerala's rambutan riches turn sour as prices decline
KOCHI: For Noby Thomas of Kalaketty in Kottayam, this should have been a season of sweet returns. His 80 rambutan trees, now nine years old, have yielded seven-eight tonnes of fruit. But instead of counting profits, he's watching traders walk away.
'They say they can't harvest because prices in Tamil Nadu have fallen to Rs 160 a kg. At Rs 140 here, they stand to lose money,' he says.
The numbers explain their reluctance. Labour charges for harvesting, the nets needed to protect the fruit, and transport costs push their outlay to Rs 170-180/kg. That means they must sell at around Rs 200/kg just to break-even.
Noby says the crisis is widespread. He points to Suresh, a veteran farmer from Pinnakkanadu with 10 acres under rambutan cultivation, who has already harvested 7,000 kg this season but is staring at a Rs 2 lakh loss. Last year, Suresh sold at Rs 135/kg. This year, buyers from Sengottai in Tamil Nadu's Tenkasi district are pulling out, unable to match last year's rates.
'Much of the fruit normally goes to Chennai and Bengaluru, but this time,' Noby points out, 'the chain is breaking at our gates.'
Kerala's rambutan story is a curious mix of boom and bust. A once-exotic fruit, it has become one of the most lucrative crops in the state.
Renny Jacob, chairman of Homegrown Biotech and a leading voice in rambutan cultivation, calls it 'Kerala's most profitable fruit': Even at Rs 120/kg, an acre can fetch Rs 4-5 lakh in gross income, compared to Rs 20,000-30,000 from rubber.
"One acre with 30-50 trees can yield 3,000-4,000 kg. This is a once-a-year harvest that even a 'lazy farmer' can profit from — if the trees are cared for,' he says.
The problem is that production has surged faster than what the market can absorb. According to Renny, around five lakh trees now yield around 20,000-30,000 tonnes of fruit annually in the state.
