A vendor of ice apples taking a nap under a tree for want of buyers in Vijayawada.
| Photo Credit: Giri KVS
While unseasonal rains and early arrival of pre-monsoon showers have offered relief from the scorching heat and intense humidity to the public at large, for people engaged in selling mangoes and ice apples, both popular summer fruits, the rains have only increased their difficulties.
With the mercury levels coming down, the demand for ice apples has also seen a decline in May. Many ice apple sellers, due to the day’s stocks not getting sold, can be seen on the main thoroughfares of the city till late evening these days.
Patamata Parasuramayya, selling ice apples along with his wife on Mahatma Gandhi Road near Auto Nagar, explains how this was never the case. “On days when business is good, we leave by or 3 or 4 p.m. This month, we have stayed until 7 p.m. every other day,” says Parasuramayya, pointing to the two full sacks of ice apples that are yet to be sold.
Out of four sacks that the couple got from their village near Kankipadu, only two sacks were sold, fetching them around ₹1,300. Since the couple do not own an autorickhaw, they have to spend ₹800-₹900 per day on auto charges to and fro from the village.
After all expenses, they are left with around ₹500 at the end of the day. The couple, agricultural labourers, have no work during the three summer months of March, April and May. “Agricultural work will only start in July or August. We will have to make do with the little we earn through selling these,” says the woman, P. Jayalakshmi. They sell a dozen of ice apples for ₹30.
Another seller, outside the Rythu Bazar in Guru Nanak Colony, who sells a dozen at ₹50, has a similar tale to tell — irregular rainfall pattern, unsold stocks, ice apples getting hardened due to the changing weather system. “Ice apples will be in the market for four-five days more. We cannot break even if we get only ₹500 or ₹600 more than our expenditure at the end of the day,” says the seller, who was busy packing up.
No govt. aid
When asked if there is any government aid for them, NTR District Horticulture Officer P. Balaji Kumar says since ice apples, which grow on palm trees, do not require any cultivation and incur no input costs, there is no financial aid to the people who sell them.
Usually, agricultural labourers sell the fruit to sustain themselves in the absence of work. “Ëarlier, there were many uses of palm leaves too. They were being used in ‘shamiana’, cow sheds and also in huts. Now, the demand for the fruit is also coming down,” he says.
Published – May 22, 2025 07:50 pm IST
