Pune: Heavy Arrival of Custard Apples Leads to Price Drop; Strong Demand from Processing Industries
Pune, 16th September 2025: Climate change has delayed this year’s custard apple (gavarān sitāphal) season by nearly a month. Now, with record arrivals flooding the market, wholesale prices have fallen sharply, ranging from ₹50 to ₹120 per kg depending on quality.
At Shri Chhatrapati Shivaji Market Yard, 20 to 26 tonnes of custard apples are arriving daily from Purandar, Haveli, Shirur, Junnar, Solapur, and Ahilyanagar. Traditionally, the season begins in June and peaks in August, but this year fruit-bearing was delayed, traders Mauli Ambekar and Pandurang Supekar said.
Within the past week alone, arrivals have jumped by nearly 40%. The surge has pushed wholesale prices down by 20–30%. Despite the price dip, demand has risen from households, fruit sellers, and processing industries. Custard apple pulp is widely used in sweets such as rabdi, and with cheaper rates, sweet makers are stocking up. Shipments are also being dispatched from Pune to Gujarat, Goa, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru.
Currently, the market is dominated by local varieties, which are preferred by ice-cream manufacturers, sweet shops, and processing industries for their rich sweetness. The season will continue until January. In November, the larger and slightly tangier Golden variety of custard apple will enter the market, Ambekar added.
