Mango output likely to drop by 30%

H Venkatesh Hyderabad: Mango yield this summer seems to offer a bitter taste to cultivators and fruit lovers as the yield is likely to drop by about 30 per cent in the State due to untimely rains, hailstorms and unsavoury weather conditions. Despite the odds, the Horticulture Department is expecting a good market for exports. "Because of the State government's initiative, so far 75 per cent of mango pulp has been exported to Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangkok, Thailand and others," Horticulture Department deputy director M Venkateswarlu said. There is a mad rush for Alphonso mangoes, which sold for a hefty Rs 2,000 per dozen till recently. Now, their prices are expected to fall by 50 per cent and it is expected to come down further in near future. Totapuri mango is sold at Rs 8000 to Rs 10,000 per quintal (Rs 8 to Rs 10 per kg). According to information, 80 to 90 per cent of Totapuri pulp variety and the rest of Neelam pulp are used in production of juices like Maaza and Frooti for colour and aroma. Mango is mostly cultivated in Krishna, East Godavari, West Godavari, Visakhapatnam, Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, Chittoor, Khammam and Adilabad districts besides, Ranga Reddy, Mahabubnagar, Nalgonda and Warangal. According to officials, mango is grown in about 4.8 lakh hectares throughout the State and this time the yield is estimated to be only about 6 metric tons per hectare against the regular yield of 8 metric tons (MT) per hectare. The most sought after variety for export from the State is Banginapalli. While a lot of this variety is being exported through metro cities like Delhi and Mumbai, some farmers prefer to export their harvest directly from the State. Besides Mexico, India faces stiff competition from South Africa in the international market with regard to pulp export, as it invests less and produces more. "In 2012-13, we saw an increase in exports with 2.34 lakh MT against 1.47 lakh MT during 2011-12," Horticulture Department deputy director Srinivasulu said. At the national level, Andhra Pradesh tops the list with a production of 4058.3 MT while Uttar Pradesh follows it closely at second with 3588 MT, Karnataka third with 1694 MT followed by Bihar (995.9 MT), Gujarat (856.7 MT), Tamil Nadu (636.3 MT), Maharashtra (597 MT) and Orissa (577.5 MT). Commonly cultivated in tropical and sub tropical regions, mango varieties of Totapuri, Alphonso, Dasheri, Kesari, Neelam, Banginapalli, Nuzivid Rasalu etc, are found during this season from March to middle August. Other nations contributing to global production include China (11.8 per cent), Thailand (5.8 per cent), Mexico (5.4 per cent), Pakistan (5.1 per cent), Indonesia (4.5 per cent), Brazil (4.3 per cent), Philippines (3.2 per cent), Nizeria (2.6 per cent) and Egypt (1.2 per cent).