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After unseasonal showers and hailstorms through most of March and early April, consumers are likely to feel the pinch when buying mangoes this summer.
An Assocham study conducted by the chamber’s agri-research wing, released here on Tuesday, estimates that prices of the fruit are up by as much as 65 per cent after losses of up to 50 per cent were recorded in key growing States.
The study — titled ‘Mango – Anxiety on Production and Export Front’ — found that the premium Alphonso mangoes were selling at Rs 500-600/dozen, while even lower grade varieties were selling at Rs 100/kg. Prices have shot up between 50 and 65 per cent, it estimates, at a pace much higher than other fruits and vegetables.
“Both farmers and consumers are at the receiving end of the havoc caused by the rains with maximum damage reported in Uttar Pradesh, which produces the largest variety of mangoes in over a dozen belts including Malihabad, Shahabad, Amroha, Bulandshahr, Hardoi, Unnao, Barabanki and Saharanpur,” read an Assocham statement.
Preliminary estimates peg production losses of at least 20 per cent with parts of UP, which accounts for one-fourth of mango output in India, recording almost 50 per cent damage. Maharashtra was another affected state, the statement added.
Other States which produce significant quantities of mangoes include Andhra Pradesh where output is as much as UP, Karnataka (10 per cent) and Bihar (7.6 per cent). “Various State Governments have announced relief measures and financial compensation, but they are not sufficient to mitigate farmers’ losses and curb rising prices,” said DS Rawat, Secretary General, Assocham.
Export scenario
The lower output will also affect exports of the prized fruit, but overseas sales of mangoes in good times has been negligible, the statement said.
“Considering the production volume and variety of Indian mangoes, exports of 41,280 tonnes is insignificant, whereas Pakistan which produces just around 1 million tonnes, exports 40,000 tonnes. Thus, India’s share in the global market is minuscule,” it read.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) accounts for 61 per cent of Indian mango exports, followed by the UK (12 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (5 per cent). Exports have been growing quickest in Qatar (110 per cent), the US (88 per cent), Oman (84 per cent), Nepal (70 per cent) and Kuwait (46 per cent).
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