Farmers panic over sharp dip in mango pulp prices

• Reasons attributed to excess mango crop area and pulp factories forming into syndicate slashing prices
• Rate of mango pulp fell from `12 per kg to 6 per kg
• Farmers under the banner of FFA to meet Collector on Monday seeking remunerative price

Tirupati: Contrary to the earlier estimation that there will be mango scarcity due to various adverse climatic conditions this year, Chittoor district is witnessing a glut tumbling down the prices panicking the mango farmers.

The district is one of the leading mango producers with a crop area of about 2.5 lakh acres in which 75 percent of them is pulp varieties and the remaining delicious Banginapalli and other kinds having a good market.

There are about 60,000 farmers engaged in the mango crop spread all over the district. In the beginning of the mango season i.e. May end, the farmers were elated with the pulp variety mango rate touching Rs 12 per kg i.e. Rs 12,000 per tonne but their hopes slowly evaporated with the rate sliding rapidly reaching just Rs 6 per kg.

Enquiries revealed that many factors resulted in drop in price of the mango pulp while the mango pulp factories forming into cartel slashing purchase price compounded the woes of the farmers.

Though some parts of the district faced adverse climatic condition like untimely rain and heavy winds affecting the crop, it remain unaffected in most areas where the production was much more than expected said Sekhar Raju, a mango farmer from SBR Puram in Puttur area one of major producers of pulp variety Totapuri popularly called as Bangalore mango.

Sinivasulu Reddy of Kalikiri in the western part of the district where also mangoes grown more said that the steep extension of the crop area was also a major factor that resulted in the price dip.

Interestingly, the government’s big push given to the small and marginal farmers belonging to the Schedule Castes and Scheduled Tribes to take up horticulture crop after developing their assigned lands under various schemes silently added to the mango production causing the glut, he averred.

SC, ST farmers developed their lands under NREGS and also took up mango crop with the financial support from the government agencies, including DWMA, SC and ST Corporations etc. since four-five years, which started bearing fruits.

This major factor remaining unnoticed, he explained. Instead of providing mango varieties to SC, ST beneficiaries, the authorities should have promoted other horticulture crops under NREGS in the interests of traditional mango farmers, he said.

Meanwhile, at a farmers meeting held under the aegis of Federation of Farmers’ Association (FFA), Andhra Pradesh a resolution was adopted seeking the government to sanction Rs 50 crore to Chittoor district to bail out the mango farmers from facing huge loss.

FFA state president M Gopal Reddy said that the major pulp factories in the district formed into syndicate and with the tacit support of some ruling party MLA slashed the price for pulp variety mango which accounts 75 per cent of the total mango production in Chittoor district from 12 to 6 rupees per kg.

The government should see the pulp factories pay remunerative price of Rs 12 per kg, If they stick to Rs 6 only, the government should pay through the respective Agriculture Market Committee the balance Rs 6 to the farmers to save them.

It also resolved to meet the Collector on Monday on the issue and also resort to agitation if there is no positive response from him.