Kerala’s pineapple farmers seek government support to raise bargaining power

‘It will enable farmers to negotiate remunerative prices with commission agents’

The community of over 5,000 pineapple farmers in the State has demanded that the government raise the support price of the fruit to enable them to negotiate remunerative prices with commission agents, who ultimately end up selling the fruit in upcountry cities. Pineapple Farmers Association president James George said though the government had agreed to look into the issue of support price, there had been no action. The support price is ₹15 a kg, while farmers claim that the production cost ranged between ₹23 and ₹25 a kg. The government support price is decided on the basis of the production cost plus 20% addition on it. The low support price has deprived farmers of their bargaining power, said Mr. George.