‘Sangli’s grape industry hit hard’
With the unseasonal rain in October and November damaging grapes sown on lakhs of hectares in Sangli and Nashik, wine and grape export industries have been hit hard this year.
In Sangli, 55,000 acres of grapes, of the 1.10 lakh acres under cultivation, were destroyed. In Nashik, crops on around 3.40 lakh hectares were hit by unseasonal rain.
Maharashtra crushes 20,000 tonnes of grapes and produces 1.25 crore litres of wine between December and April. However, this year,only 12,000 to 15,000 tonnes of grapes will be crushed, resulting in the production of 70-80 lakh litres of wine.
Tasgaon, Kavathe-Mahankal, Palus and Khanapur in Sangli are known for producing export-quality grapes. However, officials from Sangli district agriculture department said 50% of grape orchards were damaged across seven talukas this year. The department has carried out a crop assessment report and sent it to the state. BB Mastoli, the district superintendent of agriculture, said, “Owing to the unseasonal rain, orchards were waterlogged. Owing to this, roots started rotting. The flowering stage of grapes was hit badly.”
Maharashtra produces around 35 lakh metric tonnes (MT) of grapes every year, of which 2.5 lakh MT are exported. The All India Grape Exporters Association predicted there will be a 25% to 30% decline in the export of grapes this year. Jagannath Khapre, president of the association, said, “Export to Bangladesh and UAE is delayed. Along with that, export to countries in European Union, Australia would remain lower compared to 2018.’’ The wine producing quality of Nashik grapes, too, was badly affected, as a result of which the crushing season is likely to start in January, a delay of a month. Rajesh Jadhav, secretary of All India Wine Production Association, said, “There will be a 25% reduction in wine production and due to poor quality of the fruit, it will be difficult to maintain quality.”