Sweet harvest, sour returns: Assam-Meghalaya pineapple belt seeks better prices

Boko, July 24: Every Friday, trucks and pick-up vans laden with pineapples roll into the weekly market at Gamairimura, a quiet village straddling the Assam-Meghalaya border. The fruit is sweet, juicy and in high demand—but for the farmers who grow it, the harvest is not translating into better earnings.

Gamairimura has quietly emerged as one of the region’s most important pineapple-producing belts, supplying fruit to markets across Assam and beyond. Pineapples from the village and neighbouring Meghalaya settlements are prized for their flavour, attracting traders from different parts of the Northeast.

An estimated 2,000 farmers in the border region produce between 2,500 and 3,000 metric tonnes of pineapples every year, making the crop a key source of livelihood for hundreds of families.

Yet growers say they continue to struggle with low farm-gate prices, forcing many to sell their produce well below what they consider fair value.

“We have buyers, but not fair prices,” said a farmer at Friday’s market, reflecting a concern shared by cultivators across the region.

Despite rising consumer demand, farmers say the absence of organised marketing, cold storage facilities and efficient transport networks leaves them with little bargaining power. High labour costs and fluctuating prices further squeeze their profits, while limited government support has made it difficult to expand cultivation or invest in value addition.

Agriculture experts believe the Gamairimura belt has the potential to become a major pineapple cluster for the Northeast. However, they say better market linkages, storage infrastructure and price support will be crucial if the region’s “golden fruit” is to deliver sweeter returns for the farmers who grow it.

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