Now Reading: Dhanbad fruit prices surge 20 to 30% ahead of Chhath Puja
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Dhanbad fruit prices surge 20 to 30% ahead of Chhath Puja
The Story in Brief
Wholesale fruit prices at Dhanbad's Barwadda Krishi Bazar Committee market have risen 20 to 30 per cent compared with in 2025, ahead of Chhath Puja. Traders cite adverse weather, crop damage and supply shortages as the main causes, but the higher prices have not deterred buyers from neighbouring Bihar and West Bengal, besides Jharkhand.
Wholesale trader Baldev Raj Arora said untimely hailstorms and snowfall cut apple production in Kashmir, excessive rain and heat hit bananas in West Bengal, inadequate rainfall affected Maharashtra oranges, and cyclonic weather damaged coconut crops in southern India. Apples come from Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh, bananas from Nadia and Murshidabad, oranges and sweet limes from Nagpur and Nashik, and coconuts from Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
Coconuts are selling at Rs 18 to 30 per piece in 2026 against Rs 15 to 25 in 2025, apples at Rs 500 to 700 per 7 to 8 kg box against Rs 300 to 500, and bananas at Rs 150 to 500 per bunch against Rs 100 to 500. Trader Vinod Goel said business is expected to gather momentum over the next two to three days as demand peaks ahead of the Nahay-Khay and Kharna rituals.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The 20 to 30 per cent price jump at Dhanbad's wholesale market will pass directly to retail customers in Jharkhand and neighbouring states, where buyers are still arriving for Chhath Puja. The surge is driven by weather disruptions in producing regions, a supply problem that traders expect to deepen as festival demand peaks. The source gives no indication of when prices might ease, leaving the next two to three days as the key period to watch whether the rush sustains and whether shortages worsen. Retailers such as Chhotelal Gupta say the convenience of Dhanbad's one-roof supply keeps the market a preferred destination, which may cushion, but not reverse, the price pressure.
Consumers will pay more for staples like apples, bananas and coconuts just before the festival, and the price gaps in the quoted ranges suggest some items, such as apples at up to Rs 700 per box, have risen more sharply than others.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This brief was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Methodology and corrections.
