Arecanut, raisin prices increase by 30% due to heatwave, high demand in Bengaluru

Bengaluru: The sharp, nutty bite of arecanuts and the mellow sweetness of raisins might be a treat for the palate. However, the prices of both have surged by nearly 30%, leaving consumers with a bitter aftertaste.
The price hike is primarily because of extreme heat hitting production, with the marriage season also driving up demand.The city gets its supply of arecanut from districts such as Dakshina Kannada, Uttara Kannada, Udupi, Shivamogga, Chikkamagaluru, Chitradurga, and Davanagere. Karnataka alone cultivates nearly 7 lakh hectares, producing 11 lakh tonnes annually, making it one of the top producers of arecanut in the country.Shankar, a trader from Banashankari, said, "Prices have gone up by Rs 10-15, with the new variety now at Rs 470 per kg, because imports were stopped and local production is down by almost 30%. Supply reduced, and demand is up — just like during the Covid period, when we saw prices rise by nearly Rs 100."Mahesh Puchhappady, president of All India Arecanut Growers' Association, said, "Due to heat and less rainfall, production dropped by 50%, especially in regions like Mangaluru, where we haven't seen such losses in at least 50 years. The heat affected fruit setting and led to its drop. Smaller fruits have taken over, and with the marriage season adding to demand, prices jumped to Rs 465 per kg for the new variety and Rs 510 for the old — compared to last year's Rs 420-430 and Rs 475-485, respectively."Four-fold rise for raisins Raisins have also become significantly more expensive. The state ranks second in grape cultivation after Maharashtra, and over 70% of its raisin growers hail from Vijayapura alone. But the price of raisins has surged fourfold, thanks to reduced supply.A trader from Rajajinagar said, "Prices have touched Rs 495 per kg because the availability in the market is low. Besides, the marriage season pushed up demand." Himanshu Shah, a trader from KR Market, said, "Raisin prices have gone up because of a sharp drop in crop yield — nearly 50% less this year — especially in regions like Nasik, Sangli, and Tasgaon, driving the prices up."Mohammed Idrees Choudhury, a raisin trader from Russell Market, said, "Two months ago, raisins were selling at Rs 280 per kg wholesale. Today, it's around Rs 400, and the long variety has touched Rs 480. The demand is strong, but supply drastically fell."Other dry fruits have not spared consumers' pockets either, with cashews, dates and almonds becoming costly over the past two months. Himanshu Shah added, "Dry fruits like cashew have gone up in prices because of import issues. Most cashews are sourced locally and from countries like Benin in Africa. Dates come from Dubai, and almonds have seen a small rise because of low rainfall in California. The price per kilo has gone up by 20% for all dry fruits."

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Business Standard

an hour ago

• Business Standard

Net direct tax collection drops by 1.39% to Rs 4.58 trillion so far in FY26

Net direct tax collections till June 19 in the financial year 2025-26 (FY26) dipped by 1.39 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4.58 trillion, due to higher refunds, income tax relaxation provided to salaried individuals and the impact of increased capital expenditure by companies. Of this, non-corporate tax - which includes taxes paid by individuals, Hindu Undivided Families, firms, bodies of individuals, associations of persons, local authorities, and artificial juridical person - grew marginally by 0.71 per cent on yearly basis to Rs 2.72 trillion during the same period. Net corporate tax during the same period declined by 5.13 per cent to Rs 1.72 trillion, while securities transactions tax (STT) increased by 12.13 per cent to Rs 13,013 crore, according to the data. According to Samir Kanabar, tax partner with EY, the marginal dip in net tax collections is majorly due to tax relaxation given to salaried class in the Union Budget 2025. 'Since individuals are paying less tax, the government is receiving lower Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) from salaries. On the corporate side, the fall in tax collection is partly because companies are getting large refunds and also because many of them have made big Capex investments," said Kanabar. "When businesses spend on setting up factories, buying machinery, or expanding operations, they get tax deductions under the Income Tax Act, which reduces their taxable income and ultimately lowers the Corporate Income Tax they pay,' he added. Gross direct tax collections increased by 4.86 per cent year-on-year to Rs 5.45 trillion, while refunds rose significantly by 58.04 per cent to Rs 86,385 crore during the same period. Of the total refund, major chunk comprised of corporate refunds totalling Rs 76,832.08 crore which grew by 67.31 per cent. According to experts, this refund relates to past years which may have been cleared now. Of the total gross direct tax, corporate tax amounted to Rs 2.49 trillion, non-corporate tax contributed Rs 2.82 trillion , STT totalled Rs 13,013 crore and other taxes stood at Rs 259.61 crore. "The growth in corporate tax collections appears to be broadly in line with expected profit growth. In the case of non-corporates, collections may have been impacted by lower bonus payouts and modest salary increments. As for refunds, these likely pertain to previous assessment years and may simply reflect bunching of processing activity towards the end of the first quarter," said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. Meanwhile, advance tax collections registered a moderate growth of 3.87 per cent in the first quarter of FY26. This is in comparison to last year's year-on-year growth of 27.34 per cent. Advance tax is paid by individuals and businesses in four installments within specific dues dates - June 15, September 15, December 15 and March 15. The non-corporate advance tax decreased by 2.68 per cent on year to Rs 33,928.32 crore till June 19, in FY26, while corporate advance tax rose by 5.86 per cent to Rs 1.21 trillion during the same period. The Centre is estimated to collect Rs 25.2 trillion as direct taxes in FY26. Net direct tax collection in FY25 grew at 13.57 per cent to Rs 22.26 trillion, exceeding the initial budgeted target of Rs 22.07 trillion.

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

Refunds, advance tax dip: Net direct mop-up down 1.4% to Rs 4.6 lakh crore

Representative Image NEW DELHI: Gross direct tax collections rose less than 5% to Rs 5,45,207 crore during the fiscal year up to June 19. The first of the four instalments of advance tax receipts increased at a muted 3.9%, raising fears of a sharp slowdown in the growth in corporate profits during the June quarter. On a net basis, direct tax collections were 1.4% lower at a little under Rs 4.6 lakh crore, but that was on account of a 58% jump in refunds, which added up to Rs 58,385 crore. The spike in refunds comes amidst finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman's clear missive to ensure that officials don't sit on refunds, a message she delivered to the indirect tax brass on Friday and which is likely to be reiterated to top income tax officials in the coming week. Typically, advance tax payments are seen as a barometer of corporate health with some individuals also required to pay. The changes in personal tax may have played a part too. "The revised tax slabs and reduced personal tax rates that came into effect from April 1, 2025, have provided relief to salaried individuals, and this is naturally reflected in lower TDS collections. On the corporate front, we're seeing the impact of increased capital expenditure by businesses. As companies invest in expansion and infrastructure, they benefit from higher depreciation claims, which temporarily lower taxable profits. This is a healthy sign of forward-looking investment behaviour," said Samir Kanabar, tax partner at consulting firm EY India. In recent months, industrial output has seen a slowdown although GST numbers have been steady. "Tax collections for recent quarter, while subdued, put spotlight on emerging macro trends posing challenges to earning growth for corporates andd non-corporates taxpayers for the financial year. Also, as many elements of current geopolitical scenario play out over next few months, impact of the developments would come to bear on the forecast for rest of year too," said Sumit Singhania, a partner at Deloitte India. Stay informed with the latest business news, updates on bank holidays and public holidays . AI Masterclass for Students. Upskill Young Ones Today!– Join Now

Time of India

an hour ago

• Time of India

Questioned by mininster, Gurgaon civic body stands by its use of sweeping machines

Gurgaon: The corporation has found nothing wrong with the operations and maintenance of mechanical road sweeping machines (MRSMs) in the city. These MRSMs have proven to be economical, productive and environmentally suitable options for road sweeping in the city, an MCG probe panel has said. According to the report submitted by the MCG panel — which TOI has accessed — these machines (16 are in use in the city) traverse 480km each day, offering improved accountability, decreasing dependency on manual workers, while adhering to pollution control standards. It was in April that the department of urban local bodies (ULB) extended the contract of the operating firm of the road sweeping machines by one year. The extension coincided with the period when concerns about these machines' effectiveness emerged. Out of 44 machines, used across various state corporations, 16 machines are being operated in the city and five in Manesar. The use of these machines is "more cost-effective" than manual sweeping by sanitation workers, the panel has said. According to the MCG's cost analysis, a single sweeping machine can cover 30km of road each night. The monthly cost for manual sweeping of the same 30km stretch is Rs 15.8 lakh. This figure is based on the need for 90 sanitation workers, with three workers allocated per kilometre as per Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation (CPHEEO) norms and three supervisors required for the 90 workers, each earning Rs 16,900 and Rs 20,000 respectively. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 5 Books Warren Buffett Wants You to Read In 2025 Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo In contrast, the monthly operational and maintenance cost of one sweeping machine, as per the report, is Rs 4.7 lakh, with an additional Rs 1.87 lakh as fuel expenses each month, totalling Rs 6.57 lakh for each machine. The MCG concluded that the use of sweeping machines, costing Rs 6.57 lakh per month, is more economical than the Rs 15.8 lakh required for manual sweeping of the same distance. "The use of MRSMs has proven to be a cost-effective, efficient and environmentally compliant solution for road cleaning in Gurgaon. However, there are certain other technology vehicles, such as self-propelled mechanical road sweepers, that can also be considered in comparison to vehicle-mounted mechanical road sweeping machines. In the present scenario, after minor operational changes, these MRSM systems can be made more effective," the report says. Meanwhile, ward 11 councillor Kuldeep Yadav said the absence of a councillor or mayor in the MCG's committee examining sweeping machines' effectiveness and cost analysis raises questions. "Our inclusion would have contributed valuable insights from field observations. Councillors possess comprehensive knowledge and maintain thorough supervision of actual operations of the sweeping machines," Yadav said. The MCG panel was constituted in May. On May 9, Badshapur MLA and Haryana industries and commerce, forest and environment minister Rao Narbir Singh said he would conduct an investigation into the functioning of sweeping machines and super sucker machines run by MCG and MCM. The MCG panel had been constituted to evaluate how well the mechanical sweeping systems function, their operational effectiveness, difficulties faced and cost considerations, alongside a comparative analysis with conventional manual sweeping . The minister had questioned whether the machines' use justified their cost. The sweeping machines were purchased by ULB in 2019. Subsequently, the operations and maintenance of 44 such machines across various state corporations were outsourced to a private company for five years, although the machines remain the property of ULB. TOI reported on April 22 that the sweeping machines managed by a private contractor for MCG, which should operate throughout the night on city roads, were underperforming. "We have assigned duties to 16 clerks to monitor each of these sweeping machines throughout their working hours. It will ensure their efficient working," MCG commissioner Pradeep Dahiya said.