According to a PTI report in The Hindu Business Line, rambutan has emerged as one of Kerala's fastest-expanding commercial fruit crops, with the Rambutan Mangosteen Farmers' Organisation estimating the crop now covers nearly 25,000 acres across the state, producing around one lakh tonne this season and generating an estimated Rs 1,000 crore in revenue. The most visible shift is in the rubber-growing districts of Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Thrissur, Wayanad and Idukki, where young farmers are leasing land and planting rambutan orchards.
From rubber to rambutan: why Kerala farmers are switching
For decades, rubber shaped the economy of Kerala's midland districts and other regions where the crop flourished. But the PTI report said falling prices, labour shortages and changing weather have left many small farmers searching for another source of income. Every June, as monsoon clouds gather over central Kerala, patches of the rubber-growing landscape turn bright red — not from flowers but from thousands of rambutan trees bursting into fruit, their hairy crimson shells hanging in thick clusters from branches that, until a few years ago, would have yielded latex.
Once considered an exotic fruit seen only in home gardens, rambutan has quietly grown into one of Kerala's fastest-expanding commercial fruit crops. The report highlighted that young farmers in the rubber-growing belt are leading the diversification, leasing land to establish rambutan orchards.
Yield and income economics
M C Saju, president of the Rambutan Mangosteen Farmers' Organisation at Thirumarady near Koothattukulam, told the PTI report that he has grown rambutan using two different spacings — 20 by 20 on one hectare as intensive farming, and 40 by 40 on another hectare. Saju said both methods work and that the crop starts yielding from the third year, continuing to produce for decades.
The yield progression per tree, according to Saju, follows this pattern:
| Tree age | Yield per tree |
|---|---|
| 3rd year | 30 kg |
| 4th year | 50 kg |
| 5th year | 70 kg |
| Later years | up to 300 kg |
"If the price is even Rs 100 per kg, a yield of 300 kg means an annual income of Rs 30,000 from a single tree," Saju said. He added that rambutan has the potential to become a new cash crop for Kerala: "Whatever crop we cultivate on one hectare, the maximum earning capacity is usually around Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 3 lakh. Rubber does not reach that level even if the price goes up to Rs 300."
The report also quoted a farmer from Ernakulam district: "This season I got Rs 14 lakh from one hectare of rambutan. My total expenditure was only about Rs 60,000. This is the fourth year since I started getting yield." The comparison between rambutan and established crops on one hectare is stark:
| Cropping system | Earning per hectare |
|---|---|
| Rambutan (4th-year farmer, Ernakulam) | Rs 14 lakh |
| Maximum typical for other crops | Rs 2.5 lakh – 3 lakh |
| Rubber | Below Rs 2.5 lakh even at Rs 300 |
Labour advantage and post-harvest constraints
Farmers told the PTI report that rambutan requires comparatively less labour than rubber. Rubber cultivation has become difficult because of an acute shortage of tappers and fewer tapping days caused by changing weather, while rambutan demands much less labour once the orchard is established.
The biggest challenge, they said, comes after harvest. Rambutan is a non-climacteric fruit, meaning it ripens only on the tree and has a short shelf life after harvest. Without refrigerated transport, cold storage and modern packing facilities, sending the fruit to distant markets is difficult.
What farmers want from the government
The PTI report said farmers are seeking government support to:
- build markets beyond south India
- strengthen cold-chain logistics
- promote Kerala rambutan across the country and abroad
- encourage value-added products
- support Farmer Producer Organisations
- counter misinformation that surfaces on social media during every harvest season
According to the report, farmers say the industry's future depends on much more than cultivation itself.
Sources:
