Seven exotic fruit farmers running super profitable farms

 The cultivation of exotic fruits is rapidly gaining popularity in India. Farmers across the country are shifting to the cultivation of exotic fruits not native to India. These include rambutan, mangosteen, dragon fruit, avocados, chamaliang (luna nut), durian, water apple, fresh dates, butter fruit, passion fruit and other varieties.

The reasons behind farmers opting for exotic fruit cultivation are easy to understand. The market rates of exotic fruits are more than double those of native fruits like apples, mango, pomegranates, grapes etc. So the same land can give more revenues annually. While the best grade of pomegranates sells for Rs150 to Rs200 per kg, farmers can easily sell mangosteen for Rs400 per kg.

Not surprisingly, India imported fresh fruits worth over Rs 18,300 crore in 2022 while the amount was just Rs 2800 crore in 2010, according to APEDA. 

This rising demand for exotic fruits is driven by changing dietary habits, a young, tech-savvy population, a growing middle class, the growth of national and international retail chains, and health-conscious consumers.

Exotic fruits are packed with nutrients and antioxidants, stabilize blood sugar and are a good source of fibre. For example, avocados are a great source of vitamins C, E, K, and B-6, while mangosteen has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer effects.

Most importantly, some exotic fruit trees have a very long productive life and continue to give high annual yields for decades, reducing costs for farmers. 

Rambutan and mangosteen have a lifespan of 100 years while avocado can live up to 200 years and water apple for 40 years. So the initial investment has to be made in preparing the land, purchasing the saplings, and planting them. Then there can be recurring revenues for many years while incurring just operational costs like irrigation, manuring, harvesting and other sundry expenses. 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, the area under exotic fruit cultivation was 28 lakh hectares as in 2021-2022. Madhya Pradesh is the leader with 11.35 lakh hectares under exotic fruit farming which yields 12 million metric tonnes of fruits. 

The cultivation of exotic fruits like rambutan and mangosteen is becoming popular on the western coast, particularly Kerala and Karnataka while dragon fruit and avocado are being planted across India. Here are seven farmers growing exotic fruits in their super successful farms:

1. Chethan Shetty

In 2017, Chethan, an engineer, quit his job to become a full-time farmer despite his family’s opposition. Today, he cultivates rambutan, mangosteen, avocado and other fruits on his farm at Bellare near Mangaluru, Karnataka.  Each rambutan tree on his organic farm yields 25-30 kg output per year, with the wholesale price being around Rs 300 per kg. This amounts to annual revenue of around Rs8000 per tree though he earns more through home deliveries at Rs350 per kg. 

He retails mangosteen at Rs400 to Rs500 per kg. “I have sold mangosteen even at Rs 750 per kg depending on the quality of the fruit and demand-supply situation,” Chethan says.

Here’s his story: This engineer quit his job to grow exotic fruits; sells rambutan and mangosteen at Rs350 per kg

2. Mahesh Asabe

An engineer-turned-farmer, Mahesh Asabe grows dragon fruit over 20 acres in the drought-prone Solapur district, earning Rs2 crore annually. He cultivates the Jumbo Red, Siam Red, White flesh and Yellow flesh varieties which are sold on the farm and also exported to other countries.

The total initial investment including poles, plants, drip irrigation, labour, and other costs for dragon fruit farming is around Rs5 lakh to Rs6 lakh per acre. The plant starts giving fruit after 12-15 months. The fruiting season in India is from June to November and harvesting is done six times during this period. 

After two years of planting, the average yield is 10 tonnes (10,000 kg) per acre. With the market rate of Rs 100 per kg of fruit, the revenue generated is Rs 10 lakh (10,000 kg X Rs 100) per acre. “After deducting annual maintenance expenses of Rs 1 lakh per acre, the profit is Rs 9 lakh per acre,” Mahesh explains.

The full story: Maharashtra’s engineer-farmer earns a profit of Rs 9 lakh per acre from dragon fruit farming

3. Biju Narayanan

Biju Narayanan follows multi-level and high-density farming for exotic fruits like durian and longan in Kannur. He retails rambutan at Rs300 per kg and mangosteen at Rs400 per kg besides providing farming consultation, agritourism, and nursery services.

In his immensely profitable farm, he earns Rs15 lakh per acre by following high-density cultivation.

Typically, in high-density plantations, rambutan yield is 3500 kg per acre after five years and can go up to 7000 kg to 8,000 kg after seven years. Last year, Biju harvested over 6,000 kg of rambutan per acre. “I sell rambutan in wholesale at Rs 250 per kg and Rs 300 per kg on a retail basis,” he says. At a base price of Rs250 per kg, he earned Rs 15 lakh per acre (Rs 45 lakh from 3 acres) through rambutan farming.

He has also planted around 40 coconut trees between rambutan per acre, increasing income.

Read his story here: Kerala farmer harvests 6000 kg rambutan per acre with high-density farming

4. Merlin Moothedan and his sons Midhun and Manu

The trio grows organic mangosteen in Thrissur, Kerala. Merlin’s five-acre organic farm is home to around 1,000 mangosteen trees of which 800 have reached the fruiting stage (over seven years old). The trees are inter-planted with coconut, nutmeg and other crops to maximize returns from land. 

Merlin and his sons Midhun and Manu harvested 20 tonnes (20,000 kg) of mangosteen last year. The older trees give up to 300 kg of mangosteen per year. 

The exotic fruit sells at Rs500 per kg at the beginning of the harvest season in April and wholesale prices drop to around Rs250 per kg by July. The fruits are sold across India by air cargo. They also sell saplings from mother plants with direct lineage from Malaysia where the exotic fruit mangosteen originated.

Here's the story: Father-son trio reaps bumper mangosteen harvest; older trees yield 300 kg per season

5. Diwakar Channappa

A Master’s in Social Work and a former ISRO scientist, Diwakar practices organic date farming at Saganahalli village in Chikkaballapura. He is the first farmer to start date cultivation in Karnataka and makes all the inputs on the farm.

In August 2023, Diwakar sold 4.2 tonnes (4,200 kg) of dates. “Right now, I have 102 plants yielding fruits, each producing around 45 to 50 kg. I sold the organic Barhi dates at Rs 310 per kg on my farm and charged Rs 350 per kg for home deliveries in Bengaluru in the last season,” he says.

On one acre, with 60 plants each giving around 45 kg, the total yield is 2700 kg. Assuming a rate of Rs 300 per kg, the total income from an acre will be Rs 8,10,000 (Rs 300 X 2700 kg). After deduction for spoilage, and costs for labour and farm inputs, the profit will be around Rs 6 lakh per acre.

Here’s his story: Karnataka’s professor-turned-farmer earns Rs6 lakh per acre through organic farming of dates

6. Lohith Shetty 

Lohith bought saplings of rambutan and mangosteen from Kerala and planted them on his farm in Dakshin Kannada district. Over 12 years old, the trees now yield 80-100 kg of fruits per season. Wholesalers buy them from the farm at Rs350 a kg or above.

The first harvest for rambutan is after three years when the plants are not very mature. “The first harvest is around 25 kg per plant which goes up to 40 kg per plant from the fourth year onwards,” Lohith points out. 

He now has 2700 rambutan plants over 8 acres and 800 mangosteen plants are intercropped with areca nut. “In the current season, I am selling rambutan at Rs300 per kg. I sold mangosteen at Rs700 per kg in April and May and the rate has now come down to Rs350 per kg as we are nearing the end of the season now,” he points out.

Here's Lohith's full story: Karnataka’s millionaire farmer harvests 100 kg rambutan and mangosteen per tree; sells at Rs350 per kg

7. Chennakeshava M 

Chennakeshava began planting exotic fruits like longan, rambutan, mangosteen, and water apple between coconut trees on his farm in Tumkur, a dryland region in Karnataka, in 2015. 

“During 2015-16, I began buying saplings of exotic fruits from Kerala and Mangaluru in Karnataka. The cost varied from Rs 100 to Rs 500 per plant depending on the age of the saplings. I planted them between the existing plants on my farm,” he says.

Today, he has 70 varieties of fruits on his farm including both traditional and exotic, which provide sustained income throughout the year instead of seasonal bonanza.

“It provides a stable income. I have many varieties of water apples. From January to March, I sell water apples at Rs350 per kg apart from other traditional fruits. From April to July, I harvest and sell mangosteen at Rs 350 per kg while rambutan is sold between June and August at Rs400 per kg,” he says.

July to August is also the peak time for harvesting butter fruit (avocado), which sells at Rs300 per kg followed by custard apple and, Ram phal and Lakshman phal, called Soursop or Graviola in English. Longan also sells at Rs400 per kg from July to September.

His story: How this farmer created an evergreen farm of exotic fruits in Karnataka's drylands

(US Anu is a Madurai-based writer. She specialises in stories around human interest, environment and art and culture.)

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