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K.V. Kurmanath

Andhra Pradesh output down to 60,000 tonnes this year

Hyderabad April 24 The sudden boom in retail and real estate sectors in the last one year has hit grape exports from Andhra Pradesh.

While the organised retail sector has taken away skilled manpower, the spurt in real estate activity has resulted in the disappearance of several grape gardens around the State capital.

Output down

Official figures have reported a drop of 15 per cent of grape-growing area from last year's 7,000 acres due to the number of real estate and infrastructure projects coming up around the city. A good part of this infrastructure development activity covers the grape-growing areas.

Unofficial figures put the grape-growing area still lower at 5,000 acres. As a result, production has come down from 80,000-1,00,000 tonnes to 50,000-60,000 tonnes this year. "Reflecting the drop in the total output, exports too fell to 1,500 tonnes from 2,000 tonnes from the State," a senior Government official said.

Labour cost

According to Andhra Pradesh Grape Growers' Association, the main reasons for drop in production and exports are increasing cost of labour and lack of availability of quality manpower and water.

"Cost of labour is almost doubled in one year. Even if one is ready to pay, there is not much quality manpower available," Mr Kanaka Reddy, President of the association, told Business Line.

Retail threat

The Government official pointed out that most of the labour from the grape gardens were recruited by the organised retailers, which have started opening a number of outlets at a number of places in the city.

"Those who are skilled in areas like processing, picking and supervising were picked up by the retailers," he said.

There are about 600 grape growers in the State, most of them having wine yards in Rangareddy district. "Of these, 200 are exporters. But only about 20 of them are well-equipped to export the produce," he said.

More Stories on : Exports & Imports | Horticulture/Fruits & Vegetables | Real Estate & Construction

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