The Centre on Tuesday has approved the purchase of 2.5 lakh tonnes of mango from Karnataka for the 2025-26 season at ₹1,616 per quintal under the Market Intervention Scheme to protect farmers’ interests after a sharp fall in prices.
The procurement will be undertaken through the Market Intervention Scheme implemented by the Union Agriculture Ministry. The decision comes on Tuesday after Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy raised concerns about mango growers in Karnataka with Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.
Prices of mango, especially the totapuri variety have crashed in Karnataka to the levels of around ₹400-500 per quintal recently forcing farmers to stage protests seeking government intervention.
“I would like to inform you that under the Market Intervention Scheme on mango for the marketing year 2025-26 in the state of Karnataka, the maximum quantity of 2,50,000 tonne at the rate of ₹1,616 per quintal has been approved,” Chouhan said in a letter to Kumaraswamy.
Chouhan expressed hope that the move would provide relief to mango growers in the State, where prices have dropped sharply to ₹400-500 per quintal.
Mango is one of the major horticulture crop in the State and in the current season, the fruit has been grown in about 1.39 lakh hectares. The State is expecting an output of around 10 lakh tonnes of mangoes during the current season.
Modal prices of mango ruled around ₹1200-2500 per quintal during May this year in parts of Kolar, Chikkaballapur and Ramnagar, the key producing districts, during May this year. However, in Srinivaspur of Kolar, the mango prices, especially totapuri variety have crashed to ₹450-550 per quintal recently. The recent ban imposed by the Chittoor district administration in Andhra Pradesh on entry of mangoes produced in Karnataka had accelerated the fall in prices of the mangoes.