ONE of the most delicious fruits the custard apple popularly known as the ‘Sitafal’ has arrived in the market from the beginning of October and is available at a higher price as compared to the previous year. This season incessant rains have significantly damaged the crop during the flowering stage. The excess rains have damaged the custard apple crop resulting in fall in production by over 50 per cent. “With lower supplies arriving in the market the prices have escalated,” said Prakash Gaikwad wholesale agent at Mahatma Fule Market (Cotton Market) while speaking to The Hitavada.

He said that on a average 7 to 8 mini trucks are unloading the fruit in the wholesale market daily. The custard apple is packed in crates or baskets. The number of custard apple in a crate varies depending on the variety, size and quality. Similarly, the custard apple is also available in basket (tokni).

In the wholesale market, the custard apple is being quoted as: small size at Rs 250 to Rs 400 per basket, medium size at Rs 400 to Rs 600 per basket and large size at Rs 600 to Rs 800 per basket, depending on the quality, he said.

A basket depending in the size contains about 12 to 100 pieces of the fruit. The custard apple is categorised into two groups the hard (kaccha) variety and soft (pakka) variety at the wholesale market.

This year the local variety of custard apple will be available for another 15 to 20 days depending on the arrivals to the market. Moreover, during the festive season there is tremendous demand for fruits and the custard apple is no exception, he said. In retail, the custard apples small size is available at Rs 35 to Rs 1,200 per dozen. Prices may vary from locality to locality, he pointed out.