Peeling profits: Punjab’s kinnow farmers in crisis

In Diwan Khera village of Punjab’s Abohar district, Gursewak Singh, 46, stands amid the remnants of his once-thriving kinnow orchard. By July 2024, he had cleared nearly 3 of his 4 hectares of kinnow plantations, replacing them with paddy fields. The relentless heat had withered his saplings, and he feared the remaining crop might not survive the next growing season.

“It took us eight years to prepare these orchards, and they had been yielding fruit for the past six years,” says Singh, visibly disheartened. “We invested so much time and effort, believing it would sustain us for years. But now, with such a massive loss, we feel broken inside.”

Singh’s plight mirrors the struggles of countless farmers in Punjab’s southwestern region, known as the state’s “kinnow belt.” Covering districts like Fazilka, Ferozepur, Muktsar, Bathinda, Faridkot and Mansa, this region accounts for nearly 75% of Punjab’s total citrus-growing area, with kinnow dominating 93% of the state’s citrus cultivation.

Punjab, the largest producer of kinnow in the country, cultivates the fruit across more than 37,000 hectares in the Abohar-Muktsar belt alone, yielding an annual harvest of 7 to 10 lakh metric tonnes. The ‘Golden Queen’ variant, introduced from California in 1959, has significantly enriched Punjab's agricultural landscape, dominating over 48% of the state's fruit cultivation area and diversifying its crops.

Kinnow growers have created a niche for Punjab in the horticulture sector. Still, the rising temperatures, inadequate irrigation, fungal attacks, and an increasingly unpredictable climate have compelled many farmers to abandon their kinnow orchards, once considered a lucrative crop. Locals estimate that nearly 607 hectares of orchards have been uprooted in Diwan Khera village alone. In the Fazilka district, orchardists report losing 20-50% of their fruit-bearing trees in 2024. 

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Inadequate irrigation, rising temperatures

Farmers in Abohar, the largest kinnow producers in Punjab, cite inadequate irrigation as a critical issue plaguing their orchards.  Between February and May—a crucial period for fruit development—a sizable area in the district failed to receive sufficient canal water. Nearly 100 villages in Abohar and its surrounding areas, located at the tail end of the state, are bearing the brunt of this shortage.

Raman, a farmer from Gidranwali village, recently cleared 16 hectares of kinnow orchards. He explains: “The months of March and April coincide with the annual closure of canals for maintenance. This is precisely when flowering and fruit setting in kinnow orchards begin, and the lack of timely irrigation disrupts the entire cycle.”

Similarly, Singh says, “We only need proper irrigation for 2 to 3 months during the flowering and fruit-setting stage, but the state government has consistently failed to ensure even that.”

In the two southern Malwa districts, groundwater is largely saline and unsuitable for irrigating kinnows. Farmers in this semi-arid region rely heavily on canal water for irrigation, with the Sirhind feeder canal—supplied by the Sutlej River—serving as a vital economic lifeline for agriculture. However, delays in water delivery during critical months have severely impacted yields, with farmers reporting a steady decline in production over the last four seasons. Poor canal management has destroyed the region’s economy, with orchards now bearing only 15-20% of the average per-acre yield of 100-150 quintals.

We weren’t even getting fair prices for our yield, and now, with the heat this year, the saplings have started dying even after harvest. At this rate, we fear our orchards will be completely gone in the next 1-2 years.

The irrigation crisis in Punjab’s kinnow belt has been further compounded by extreme summer temperatures, which have reached unprecedented levels in recent years. Ashok Madan, a seasoned farmer from Gidranwali who has cultivated kinnow for nearly two decades, shares his ordeal: “We weren’t even getting fair prices for our yield, and now, with the heat this year, the saplings have started dying even after harvest. At this rate, we fear our orchards will be completely gone in the next 1-2 years.”

Dr. HS Rattanpal, Principal Horticulturist at Punjab Agricultural University, weighs in on the issue. While he refrained from commenting on the adequacy of irrigation, he says: “Attributing crop failure solely to heat may be an oversimplification, as it’s not necessarily a long-term trend. The typical life cycle of kinnow plants is 10 to 15 years, and many trees are likely reaching the end of their productive life span.”

Singh even attempted to replant less than a hectare of land with kinnow after uprooting the old trees, assuming their demise might have been due to their natural lifespans. However, the saplings planted in March 2024 couldn’t withstand even two months of scorching heat and withered away.

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A pest-y predicament

Additionally, the kinnow is a year-long crop, often vulnerable to pests such as mites at various stages of its growth. Kamlesh, another farmer from Diwan Khera, says that his 1.6 hectares of orchard land, which took eight years to cultivate, was destroyed because of pests in 2024. “We planted Bt seeds (or genetically modified seeds to kill certain insects) as it was promoted by the government, saying that it wouldn’t require much spraying or maintenance. But now, the plants have been infested with pests,” he says.

He further says that he even approached the government’s horticulture department in Abohar to show the affected plants. However, they, too, confirmed that there was no solution and that the saplings were bound to die.

Beyond dying orchards

In January 2024, kinnow farmers in Fazilka took drastic measures to crush nearly 50 harvest trailers under tractors to protest against collapsing prices and unsustainable market conditions. 

Farmers in Abohar revealed that pre-harvest contractors are purchasing their yield at an average price of ₹10 per unit in 2025. These contractors, in turn, sell the produce to wholesalers at rates ranging from ₹21 to ₹25, highlighting a significant markup in the supply chain.

Over the past two seasons, kinnow prices have been consistently low, with an average of ₹6 to ₹11 per kg in January 2024 and ₹6 to ₹10 per kg in December 2023. 

Punjab Agro Industries Corporation Limited (PAIC), a government enterprise in Punjab that promotes agricultural development, is set to introduce orange-based gin and process 4 lakh litres of kinnow juice. However, farmers have noted that local processing plants often use surplus or substandard fruit, rejecting good-quality kinnows and offering as low as ₹6 per kg.

Meanwhile, the Punjab government has reintroduced kinnow as a part of the weekly fruit distribution in the mid-day meal scheme for government schools, effective 1 January, though in the past years, repeated flip-flopping between promises and actual implementation has occurred. Under this initiative, it is estimated that nearly 19 lakh students across 19,120 government schools will consume approximately 3 lakh kgs of kinnow each month.

However, farmers in the kinnow belt remain uncertain about how schools will procure the fruit this year. The previous year, PAIC directly purchased kinnow from farmers and distributed it to schools. This year, schools are sourcing the fruit from local retailers instead. As a result, farmers fear they will not benefit directly from the programme, with the primary profits likely going to retailers instead of producers.

An economist from the Department of Economics and Sociology at Punjab Agricultural University, who spoke on anonymity, highlighted that kinnow production in Punjab has averaged around 12 lakh tonnes annually for over a decade. However, this production level is far more than the domestic market can absorb, and limited export opportunities have made the crop increasingly unviable for farmers.

The economist points out that kinnow also faces significant barriers in the international market. “The major problem is that kinnow has no export demand beyond Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, and it lacks a global export code, further limiting its appeal in other countries,” they say.

This stagnation in market expansion, combined with oversupply, has left farmers grappling with poor returns and dwindling profitability.

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Sustainable solutions

Experts suggest that if farmers sell their kinnows in January and February, they can only secure about ₹10 per kg, as this period typically coincides with a bumper crop. However, by using cold storage from December to February and holding off sales until March to May, farmers can tap into a time of reduced supply and higher demand, potentially earning better prices for their produce. 

Additionally, for kinnows to be competitive in international markets, investments in better infrastructure, such as waxing and cooling stations, are necessary. Waxing, which helps extend the fruit's shelf life, is already being done at regional processing plants. However, farmers argue that the cost of waxing—which ranges between ₹3 and ₹3.5 per kg—is not justified by the minimal increase in the fruit’s value. This financial burden is further exacerbated by the lack of subsidies for the process, making it an unsustainable option for many farmers.

In an effort to revitalise Punjab's agriculture and move away from the traditional rice-wheat system, several expert committees have recommended the diversification of crops. However, the state's neglect of its kinnow farmers has led many to return to the more familiar paddy-wheat monoculture. If urgent action is not taken, the kinnow belt could face the same fate as Amritsar, which lost its pear cultivation to aggressive urbanisation.