NEW DELHI : Baburao Sanap has no clue how to pull himself out of a big mess —he’s saddled with 40 tonnes of fresh grapes and a loan of ₹40 lakh. “Corona is worse than notebandi," Sanap said, recalling the ban on high-value currency notes announced in November 2016.
Then, payments were delayed, farm gate prices crashed and people were scrambling for cash. Now, there is no labour available to work on the fields—most have either run away or are afraid to step out.
There are no buyers in wholesale markets, as traders have stopped taking calls from farmers. Even container ships are not available to export the premium grapes from Nashik in Maharashtra where Sanap farms. “I am finding it hard to even dry the grapes to make raisins...