Ice apples are selling like hot cakes in Visakhapatnam

The ice apple vendors are doing a brisk business in Visakhapatnam

Urbanisation and real estate around the city seem to have destroyed the palm trees. The result Ice apple (thati munjalu in Telugu) has become a rare and expensive fruit. Currently, a dozen fruits cost around ₹50 to ₹60. The vendors are doing a brisk business in the city.

Less than five years ago, ice apple sellers used to set up temporary stalls in the city. Now, they are going to the apartment complexes to sell the fruit.

Andhra Pradesh Kallugeeta Karmikula Sankshema Sangham general secretary Yerra Demudu said that around three lakh people in the State depend on palm tree products for their livelihood. About 50% of them sell ice apples.

“Due to the easy availability of IML liquor at low prices, the demand for palm tree toddy has gradually decreased, but the demand for ice apples in summer is still there. Ice apples have become a substitute for the toddy vendors,” Mr. Demudu told The Hindu.

Mr. Demudu admitted that the real estate reduced the growth of trees mainly in suburbs and rural areas.

P. Appalaraju, an ice apple trader from K. Kotapadu, who regularly comes to the city to sell fruits in summer, said, “We have suffered a lot due to COVID-19. We are now happy with sales and demand in the city. I choose some apartments in the city where inmates buy my product regularly in the summer. ”

S. Srinivasa Rao, an SBI employee at Sivajipalem, said that he buys ice apple every summer for his grandchildren who love to eat them.