The king of fruit has turned dearer even to the middleclass this season, as not many people are coming forward to buy mangoes owing to the skyrocketing prices. The vendors are quoting anything between Rs. 300 and Rs. 500 per ‘paraka’ (13 fruits) basing on the size and variety of the mangoes, and there is little scope for bargain. The huge gap between the price being quoted by the vendors and buyers remains the prime reason for the drop in the trade.
Though East Godavari is one of the major mango growing districts in the State, there is a visible drop in the production this year due to the climatic conditions. According to official records, mango is cultivated in an extent of about 25,000 hectares in the district. Table varieties such as Banginapalli and juice varieties like ‘rasalu’ and the pickle varieties are being cultivated in different parts of the district and most of the fruit is being sold in the local market.
“The climate is not conducive for mango this season. Untimely rains and gales resulted in a drop in the yield,” says M. Satyam, a mango grower from Pithapuram. Rise in the input costs is another major challenge for the mango growers, who have to invest on pesticide and fertilizer. “There is a drop in the yield this year. On an average, the yield is 7-8 tonnes per hectare,” says K. Ajay Babu, Assistant Director of Horticulture.
The price in the wholesale market is about Rs.17,000 per tonne. The department had sent a few mango growers from the district to the ‘Mango Mela’ conducted in Hyderabad last year and planned to increase the quantum of fruit put on sale in the mela this year.
“In view of the bifurcation and the general elections, the department has not conducted the mela this year,” he explains.
“We bought mangoes once at the beginning of the season. As the season is nearing completion, we have decided to buy them again now,” says V. Sandhya, a housewife from Gandhi Nagar, while bargaining over the price of the fruit.
