Srikakulam farmers earn from kewda flowers, oil at Rs 2.5 lakh a litre
Farmers in several mandals of Srikakulam district are cultivating kewda (mogali) across nearly 6,000 hectares. Each plant yields up to 1,000 flowers over four months a year, and flowers sell for about Rs 14 to Rs 16 each, with demand from July to October. Local units distil the flowers into oil that fetches Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh a litre by season, needing 20,000 flowers per litre. It is exported to China, Russia and the US. Farmers are seeking a government subsidy.
Source
Srikakulam — వార్తలు · read the original report ↗
Desk check · some claims need care
What the desk checked (5)
- Kewda (mogali) is cultivated across about 6,000 hectares in several mandals of Srikakulam district. — Figure appears in source; no department or official attributed.
- Farmers sell each kewda flower for about Rs 14-16, with higher rates in season (July-October). — Figures appear in source; no trader or market source named.
- Kewda oil fetches Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per litre depending on season and about 20,000 flowers are needed per litre. — Both figures appear in source; unattributed.
- The oil is exported to China, Russia and the US, and bought by traders from Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kolkata. — Stated in source without documentation or official export data.
- The extract is said to relieve joint and rheumatic pain. — Reported in source as a general claim ('it is said'); medical claim unverified, attribute cautiously.
Analysts’ view opinion
Screwpine (mogali) cultivation is a classic low-input, high-value story. A crop that reportedly needs almost no irrigation, resists pests and doubles as a field boundary gives farmers a genuine supplementary income stream — but while the oil fetches Rs 2.5 lakh to Rs 4 lakh a litre, most of that value sits with the distillation units and export traders, not with the farmer selling flowers at Rs 14-16 apiece. Using only the story's own numbers — 20,000 flowers per litre at Rs 14-16 — raw material is just one slice of the final price; the rest accrues to processing, marketing and export margins.
- With roughly a thousand flowers per tree a year at Rs 14-16 each, and near-zero water and pesticide cost, the margin profile of this crop looks unusually favourable for smallholders.
- The value-chain gap is visible in the story's own arithmetic: 20,000 flowers at the quoted rates is under Rs 3 lakh of input against an oil price of Rs 2.5-4 lakh, so where the profit lands depends heavily on season and price swings.
- Exports to China, Russia and the US, plus buyers in Kanpur, Kolkata, Jaipur and Bhubaneswar, broaden the demand base — but dependence on cosmetics, pharma and incense demand also imports external market risk.
- A four-month July-October window means the income is seasonal, so this works best as an allied income layer rather than a substitute for a main crop.
- Reports of farmers shifting from loss-making coconut plots show price signals working, though a rush into a single niche crop carries its own concentration risk.
What to watch — Watch how flower prices and acreage move in the next July-October season, and whether the government responds on subsidy or processing support.
The story does not establish per-hectare costs, net farmer earnings, export volumes, industry margins or any verification of the claimed medicinal benefits — so the headline per-litre price should not be read as farmer income.
Deep dive
Research brief · 8 facts · 3 dates · exam-readyThe brief
Context
Kewda (mogali, screwpine) shrubs have long been grown along field bunds, canal embankments and as live fences around coconut and cashew orchards in coastal Andhra Pradesh. In Srikakulam district, these hardy plants have now become a commercial crop: farmers in several mandals grow kewda on close to 6,000 hectares and sell the fragrant flowers, while local distillation units convert them into a high-value aromatic oil. The oil is sold to traders in Indian cities and exported to countries including China, Russia and the United States, and is used mainly in cosmetics and medicines.
Key facts
- Kewda (mogali) is cultivated across nearly 6,000 hectares in several mandals of Srikakulam district.
- Each kewda plant yields up to 1,000 flowers over four months in a year.
- Farmers sell a kewda flower for about Rs 14 to Rs 16; rates rise further in peak season.
- Demand for the flowers peaks in July, August, September and October.
- Kewda oil fetches Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh a litre depending on the season.
- About 20,000 kewda flowers are needed to extract one litre of the oil.
- The oil is exported to China, Russia and the US, and bought by traders from Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kolkata.
- One planted branch sprouts suckers within a year and forms a hedge; the plants need no irrigation and are not hit by pests.
Timeline
- Within a year of plantingA single kewda cutting puts out suckers and grows into a dense hedge.
- Four months a yearEach plant flowers, yielding up to 1,000 flowers.
- July to OctoberPeak demand season for kewda flowers, when prices are highest.
Who has a stake
- Kewda farmers of Srikakulam district — Earn income from flowers priced Rs 14-16 each; some have uprooted loss-making coconut gardens for kewda and are seeking a government subsidy.
- Local attar/oil distillation units — Heat flowers in brass vessels and condense the vapour into oil worth Rs 2.50-4 lakh a litre, their core business.
- State government — Has been asked by farmers to extend a subsidy, recognising kewda as an allied agricultural activity.
- Traders from Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kolkata — Buy the kewda extract; Odisha's incense stick (agarbatti) makers also source it.
- Importing countries - China, Russia, the US — Destination markets for Srikakulam kewda oil used in cosmetics and medicines.
Why it matters
A plant once grown only as a windbreak and live fence on coastal land is now an export-earning cash crop, showing how low-input, pest-free and rain-fed horticulture can diversify farm income. With coconut growers reporting losses, kewda offers an alternative on the same marginal bunds and sandy coastal soils. The farmers' demand for a subsidy raises the question of whether such niche aromatic crops get institutional support in value addition and marketing.
UPSC angle
Prelims pointers
- Kewda, locally called mogali, is a coastal screwpine grown on field and canal bunds in Srikakulam district, Andhra Pradesh.
- Area under kewda in Srikakulam: nearly 6,000 hectares.
- Kewda oil price: Rs 2.50 lakh to Rs 4 lakh per litre, seasonal; 20,000 flowers needed per litre.
- Kewda oil export destinations named: China, Russia, the United States.
- Extraction method: flowers heated in brass vessels, vapour condensed and the oil stored separately (distillation).
- Uses: cosmetics, medicines, relief in joint and rheumatic pain, and agarbatti manufacture in Odisha.
Mains framing
Srikakulam's kewda economy illustrates how agro-ecological endowments can be converted into high-value export earnings when primary produce is processed locally. The plant suits coastal conditions: it requires no irrigation, resists pests, grows into a protective hedge for coconut and cashew orchards, and yields up to 1,000 flowers per plant over four months. Value addition is the real multiplier - a flower sells for Rs 14-16, but 20,000 flowers distilled in brass vessels give one litre of oil worth Rs 2.50-4 lakh, demanded by cosmetics and pharmaceutical users and by traders from Kanpur, Bhubaneswar, Jaipur and Kolkata, besides buyers in China, Russia and the US. Risks persist: income is concentrated in a July-October window, prices swing by season, and returns depend on a small set of distillation units and external buyers, which can squeeze growers' bargaining power. Farmers' own ask is a government subsidy recognising kewda as an allied agricultural activity. A way forward consistent with the facts reported would be to extend such support for planting and distillation, strengthen farmer-level processing so growers capture more of the oil's value, and encourage the shift of loss-making coconut area and idle bunds into this low-input crop.
Key terms
- Kewda (mogali)
- A tall, dense coastal shrub grown on field and canal bunds as a live fence, whose fragrant flowers are distilled for aromatic oil.
- Attar
- Aromatic oil or essence; Srikakulam has units that make it from kewda flowers.
- Distillation in brass vessels
- Flowers are heated in brass pots, the vapour is channelled into another vessel and the cooled oil is collected and stored.
- Mandal
- An administrative sub-district unit in Andhra Pradesh; kewda is grown across several mandals of Srikakulam.
- Allied agricultural activity
- Farm-linked enterprise; farmers argue kewda cultivation qualifies as one and so deserves a government subsidy.
Practice questions
- Examine how local value addition transforms the economics of niche aromatic crops, using the example of kewda cultivation in Srikakulam district.
- Low-input, rain-fed crops like kewda can diversify income on marginal coastal land. Discuss the opportunities and the risks of depending on a single seasonal export-oriented crop.
- Should state governments extend subsidies to niche horticultural and aromatic crops grown as allied agricultural activity? Argue with reference to the kewda growers' demand in Andhra Pradesh.
Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.