The searing heat of summer and the drought-like situation following a failed monsoon last year have driven mango yields in Tamil Nadu to their worst levels this season, depriving people of their favourite fruit.

E Ramadoss, a fruit vendor in Chennai, said that even two weeks after the start of the mango season, vendors are yet to receive their regular load of mangoes.

“During the season, we normally get 10-20 loads of mangoes of 4 tonne each per day, but this year we hardly get five loads.”

According to VC Soundarajan, Vice President, Dindigul District Mango Grower’s Association, the State witnessed the worst mango yield this season.

In Tamil Nadu, some 2 lakh tonnes of mangoes are typically cultivated on 1.15 lakh acres. “This year, however, the mango output is less than 40 per cent, which is affecting the supply,” he added.

Diminished demand

As if the supply-side constraints were not bad enough, vendors are additionally facing the heat from diminished demand for mangoes this year.

Varatharajan A, a fruit vendor in Koyambedu market, said, “The demand for mangoes is down, perhaps because people seem to prefer oranges, grapes and pomegranates, which are available in plenty.”

According to A Jayabal, President of the Salem Mango Growers and Traders Association, “The mango season usually starts in mid-April, and usually by then, oranges and grapes go out of season and become expensive.”

But this year, oranges, grapes and pomegranates are available in abundance at their normal price of ₹80 to ₹100 a kg, which is crowding out the demand for mangoes, he added.

A harvest of losses

Mango traders have been the worst-hit this year as they have been unable to recoup their losses.

Jayabal said most mango traders spend lakhs of rupees to source the fruits from farms, but with yields down to 20 per cent or less in the Salem region this year, it is difficult for them to “cover their costs this season, let alone reap profits,” he said.

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