The production of banana in Sindh is expected to decline this season owing to the damage caused by frost early this year and the subsequent high velocity winds with rising temperatures.

The supply situation is keeping prices on the higher side. Some progressive banana growers claim that up to 50pc of their estimated output would be hit this year by adverse weather conditions. The crop’s arrival in the market touches the peak between September and November, and it starts decreasing in December.

The crop is normally available round the year with varying output figures. However, extreme weather conditions this year delayed the banana crop cycle by one and a half months. Lower soil fertility coupled with non-availability of adequate water in lower Sindh reduced per acre yields.

An area of 25,920 hectares was brought under banana cultivation in 2013 which produced 100,787 metric tonnes of fruit. The latest crop figures are yet to be compiled.

According to a banana orchard owner in Tando Allahyar, Imdad Ali Nizamani, the crop price varies between Rs60-100 per 40kg, as recorded by sales from his own orchard spanning over 350 acres. He opined that frost attack was unusually heavy due to extended winter early this year, damaging the fruit badly.

“Although the banana rates recorded an increase, the Indian banana reaching our markets is impacting the price situation”, he said.

Some progressive banana growers claim that up to 50pc of their estimated output would be hit

this year by adverse weather conditions

He says an orchard of 350 acres produces enough banana to load 599 trucks with each one carrying 262 maunds of the fruit. With such yields, per acre production works out to almost 500 maunds per acre or 1.81 trucks’ load.

Traditionally, the coastal district of Thatta has been home to banana production but farmers recall that it was ‘bunchy top disease’ in the late 80s that wiped out the crop from this district. Now it is being largely grown in Tando Allahyar, Matiari, Badin, Nawabshah, Hyderabad and Naushahro Feroz districts with different tastes and colours. Water availability and low Kotri downstream river Indus flows have a negative impact on the crop, otherwise the riverine area of Thatta was once known for its production.

Banana orchards are also let out to contractors by landowners. The farmers and contractors are said to be working hard on the next generation of fruit, deriving it from the same plant in coming months.

Karamullah Saand, who owns orchards in Badin, Thatta and Digri, points out that a price of Rs750-1,000 per 40kg was reported in the market in November this year, up from Rs400-500 in the corresponding period of last year. The cost of input ranges between Rs50,000-125,000 per acre, depending on financial capacity of the banana grower. Against an average of one and half to two trucks, only half a truck would generally carry the fruit from an acre this year.

On a small banana farm, owned by Malook Nizamani’s, the crop cycle begins in July every year. Keeping in view last year’s production average when he got seven to eight trucks out his 12 acres-orchard, he has so far managed to get one and half truck laden with banana out of 10 acres of land. He anticipates that by December he would get the fruit sufficient for one truck more. After deducting his cost of input that varied between Rs60,000-65,000 per acre, he will be able to get a profit of Rs27,000 per acre. In the current season, he got as low as Rs590 per 40kg and as high as Rs2,500 per 40kg out of the yield.

Farmers, by and large, apply surface irrigation to irrigate their orchards which makes it very difficult to meet water requirements for the entire orchard. Water scarcity is increasing in lower Sindh which compromises the crop productivity. Karmaullah Saand is considering opting drip irrigation to raise per acre productivity.

Published in Dawn, Economic & Business, December 8th , 2014