Garlic farmers in Chamarajanagar reel under price crash, struggle to cover costs

Garlic cultivators in Chamarajanagar are grappling with severe financial strain as market prices for garlic have plummeted just as the harvest season begins. Initially lured by surging prices and promising profits, many farmers invested heavily in garlic and onion crops, only to now face sharp losses.

Farmers who sowed garlic in mid-December are ready to reap their yield, but demand has dwindled, pushing prices to unsustainable lows. Rangaswamy, a local farmer, revealed that they purchased high-quality seeds from Salem at about $600 per quintal. At planting time, garlic was fetching around $300 per quintal; however, current prices have nosedived to merely $48–$60 per quintal. “We’ve spent thousands on cultivation, but now we can’t even recover half of it. Wholesalers aren’t showing interest,” he lamented.

While the price drop has benefitted consumers—garlic is now available at an affordable $1.20 per kilogram—the surge in local sales hasn’t compensated for the steep losses farmers are incurring.

Basavshetti, another farmer, noted that many growers, unable to sustain the financial pressure, have rushed to complete the harvest and are attempting to transport their produce to the Salem market, hoping for better returns.

This sudden market crash highlights the vulnerability of farmers to unpredictable price shifts, leaving them caught between rising input costs and falling market rates.

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