Summer is not just about sweat and heat. The season is also about quenching your thirst for king of fruits – mangoes that hit the shelves in various sizes and forms.

So it is a bit of a disappointment for mango lovers as this season was marked by high prices on low output.

Mango cultivators in the State witnessed close to 30-40 per cent fall in production due to insufficient rainfall and harsh weather conditions.

In Tamil Nadu, mangoes are cultivated on 1.15 lakh acres of land. The produce is consumed across India and a small percentage is exported to Singapore and Malaysia from Chennai.

A Jayabal, President, Salem Mango growers and traders Association, said, “During flowering period, till January, we received good rainfall. Due to lack of rain and excessive heat between January and March around 20-30 per cent of buds withered resulting in poor yield.”

Though the quality was not compromised, size of the fruits are smaller and pricier than last year.

For example, the Banganapalli variety cost ₹30/kg last year against ₹50-60 now. Most of the vendors procure mangoes from Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, which were hit by unseasonal rainfall and high temperature.

PB Murali, Joint Secretary, Tamil Nadu Mango Growers Federation, said, “Due to harsh weather conditions, there was a huge gap in demand and supply of mangoes in April. But with supplies coming from Gujarat in last few days, prices have stabilised and are expected to remain the same.”

Reduction in yield has affected exports as well. Srinivasan A, proprietor of Srinvasa Exports, said, “We were not able to procure enough produce for export from our sources in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. So we are not planning to export mangoes this year.”

Another supplier, Vanaja Lakshmanan, proprietor of Sun Star Exports said inter-State demand for the mangoes is good.

Due to unavailability of enough mangoes in the market, the exporter is unable to cater to the demand.

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