CAN AZTEC'S 'TESTICLE' MAKE INDIAN FARMERS RICH?

From south Indian obscurity, avocado is now a premium fruit, fuelling a national farming boom

- Sayantan Bera

Gursimran Singh is done with lemons and guavas. A small farmer from Malerkotla in Punjab, Singh flew down to Bengaluru earlier this October, and then hired a car to a remote research station in Chettalli, Coorg.

The purpose of this long journey? Buy avocado saplings.

Back in 2018, Singh had planted a few avocado plants alongside longan and pecan nut trees—all exotic things. The avocado trees are now bearing fruit and selling at a premium. Visitors to his farm pay as much as ₹150 apiece.

So, Singh is now planning to uproot the lemons and guavas, planted in three acres at his farm, and replace them with avocados.

It was an expensive affair. Singh spent nearly ₹7 lakh on 800 saplings and in transporting the plants, a feet long, to Punjab. Now, he wants to sell 200 saplings to other growers and plant the rest.

"I am expecting a yield upwards of 40 kg per plant after four years and a price of ₹150-200 per kg," Singh said. That would translate to an income of close to ₹400,000 per acre, net of all expenses. Of course, as is always the case with farming, there are a few unknowns. It remains to be seen how the plants adjust to the temperature extremes in Punjab where it often touches 47 degrees Celsius during the summer and close to zero degrees in the winter. The price Singh receives will also depend on how domestic production grows in the coming years and the price trajectory of imported fruits.

Between these unknowns, one thing is certain: the growing appetite of Indian consumers for avocados. Currently, demand within India is met largely by imports which are doubling every year. In FY24, India imported 5,040 tonnes which climbed to nearly 12,000 tonnes in FY25. This year, the imports are likely to cross 20,000 tonnes (the imports during the first quarter of FY26 was nearly 7,400 tonnes). Come to think of it, a few years back, in FY21, imports were a mere 234 tonnes.