Bengaluru's seasonal Avarekai delayed by monsoon, prices soar to ₹80 per kilo: Report

Bengaluru anxiously awaited the arrival of avarekai, the beloved seasonal bean, as farmers faced challenges due to erratic monsoon rains.

Bengaluru’s beloved seasonal star, Avarekai, is taking its time to make its grand entry this year. Markets that usually brim with the fragrant bean by now are still waiting for their annual green tide. Farmers say the delayed bounty is thanks to patchy northeast monsoon showers and the relentless downpour around the city in August, which disrupted the crop cycle.

With prices soaring and delayed harvests, Bengaluru’s traditional favourite Avarekai is yet to make its grand entrance this year. (GreenDNA)

However, there’s a silver lining. The current nip in the air and early-morning dew are expected to boost the bean’s trademark sogadu, that aroma Bengalureans wait all year for, said a report by The Hindu. Typically, supplies begin flowing in by November and stay strong until after Sankranti.

By this time, avarekai should have settled at around ₹40 to ₹50 per kilo. But it's still hovering at ₹80, said a long-time vendor from Malleswaram, according to the publication. The peeled version, hitukida avarebele, has shot up to ₹400 a kilo.

Farmers are feeling the strain too. One such avarekai cultivator from Magadi said he skipped the crop this year after consecutive seasons of losses. Many others are in the same boat, as a farmers' leader from Chikballapura said August, the key sowing month for avarekai, was washed out by nonstop rain this year. Large parts of Kolar and Chikballapura missed the sowing window entirely, he added, as per the report.

A procurement officer for a major grocery chain also spoke on the matter and said that the downpours forced those who did sow to do so late, pushing the harvest back. He anticipated that Bengaluru would see better arrivals in about two weeks.

For now, Bengaluru is relying on produce from the Hunsur region, according to the Director of HOPCOMS. He noted that supplies from Kolar, Chikballapura and Bengaluru Rural have just started trickling in, and should soon swell into the familiar seasonal abundance, the report stated.