The summer is dominating Telangana’s territorial landscape and with it arrives the season’s special gifts to the people such as mangoes, watermelons etc. Along with them, another niche seasonal fruit, ice apple, also known as “thaati munjalu” in Telugu, is seen in the markets in Telangana from April to June.

The fruit provides seasonal business and employment for street vendors and toddy tappers. The vendors said that they procure ice apples from markets in Munugode, Nalgonda, Choutuppal, and Yadagirigutta. The sellers in Tarnaka, Habsiguda localities in the city said that they buy the fruit at ₹8 per piece from Choutuppal market. A vendor from a different part of the city said that ice apples harvested from an entire tree costs him ₹200.

“We load the fruits at 5:30AM in Yadagirigutta, stop near Suchitra by 12 PM and start selling”, said Venkatesham, a local street vendor. He also added that there are two varieties of ice apples, one is a bit moist and soft and the other kind being a bit chewier and hard.

The street vendors have also pointed out a difference in pricing with one of them in Bowenpally selling a dozen of ice apples for ₹110 and another near Tarnaka quoted ₹100 for eight pieces. This indicates fluctuation in rates depending on the part of the city they are selling. “Last year, we sold a dozen for ₹100 and this year we have increased the price by ₹10 due to increased transportation cost and amount of the farm produce”, said Shivaram, a vendor hailing from Pochampally.

“Even though vendors are quoting different prices for ice apples, elements like freshness, and soft texture of the ice apple still makes me buy the fruit as they are packed with nutrients and hydrates. The fruit are also used to make different desserts like kheer, fruit salad, milkshake,” said Sripad, a resident of Habsiguda.

Mr. Shivaram, said that they make a profit of ₹1000 to 2000 each day after deducting all the expenses. Ravi, another ice-apple vendor, said around 80 customers a day buy the fruit. 

After loading the fruit on bikes, bicycles, trucks or vans, the vendors sell these alongside other fruit like mangoes and coconuts. However, this is accompanied with the inconvenience of not having a permanent shop, and the consequent vulnerability to administrative action.

The ice apple grows on palm trees, planted along the boundaries of farmlands to demarcate the landholdings. During summer season, toddy tappers, usually landless, are hired by the landholding farmers to harvest the fruit. 

“Ice apples generally grow in the months of May and June and we hire toddy tappers to harvest the fruit”, said Malla Reddy, a farmer from Madugulapally, in Nalgonda district. “There is a steady decline in the demand for ice apples over the years and we find it difficult to get tappers these days. If not harvested, the fruit may drop on us while farming” he added.

“These farm lands are owned by farmers and we only harvest the fruit, give them some of the produce and sell the rest of them in the markets. We sell them for ₹60 a dozen. We earn, approximately ₹2000-2500, per day. My main concern is that many farmers are chopping down palm trees, considering them a burden. But our entire livelihood depends upon the trees,” said Santosh Goud, a toddy tapper.

Despite, the high sales during these months, the toddy tappers’ remain in uncertainty over the future of ice-apple cultivation.