Poor mango harvest hikes prices

BERHAMPUR: Fall in mango production in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka has affected the mango market in Odisha. It is evident at the Berhampur mango market, the largest mango wholesale market in the State.According to the traders, the price of mangoes is almost double that of last year, which had witnessed a bumper harvest. Last year around 7,000 tonnes of mangoes used to arrive at this wholesale market daily. But this year the daily supply has dipped to almost half of that. It is expected that the price of mangoes, a favourite during the traditional festivals like Savitri Vrata that falls on May 20 and Raja, may skyrocket further. The Berhampur mango market happens to be the major transit point for mangoes produced in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for supply to Odisha, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. This year, around 80 shops have been opened in the market.The mango farmers of south India prefer Berhampur due to proximity.As per the traders of this seasonal wholesale market, they deal in around 10 premium varieties of mangoes. They also trade in 50 common or ‘desi’ breeds. Only a few varieties like Subarnarekha, Baiganpali, Akhuras have reached the market this year. At present, Akhura variety is sold at ` 30 to 35 a kg, Paparau at ` 35 to 42, Baiganpali at ` 26 to 32 a kg, Sundari at ` 28 to 35 and Kalambi is the cheapest at ` 16 to 22.  The mango traders feel that common  varieties, collected from interior areas of Odisha, would have a good market this year due to increase in prices of up-market mango breeds. The price of common  varieties has also increased. The ‘desi’ varieties are being sold at Rs 12 to 20 a kg, which were at less than Rs 5 a kg.But customers like Bijaylaxmi Patro are not satisfied with the quality this year. She says this year mangoes are not that sweet as they have not ripened properly.Market sources said the mango market usually registers a turnover of Rs 50 lakh every year. “However, this year, the production has affected badly due to changing climatic conditions,” said Mahadev Sahu, a mango trader.He added that previously, 10 tonnes of mango would cost around Rs 30,000, but this year the price has risen to Rs 65,000.