Weather shocks spell sour start to mango season, but exports not hit
India’s favourite fruit is facing a problem—heatwaves and unseasonal rains have hit crops, potentially disrupting supplies. This, coupled with a prolonged dry spell and depleting water levels, is expected to impact mango yields which could send prices zooming in domestic markets.
There’s a silver lining, though. Of sorts. Mango exports are unlikely to be hit, according to trade analysts.
India is the world’s largest producer of mangoes, celebrated nationally as the king of fruits. But the flowering of mango trees has been impacted this year, and the fruit’s size and weight is likely to be smaller, too, depending on region.
“Because of unseasonal rainfall during winter (DecemberJanuary) in some parts of West Bengal, flowering was affected,” said Sandipan Biswas, a mango grower from Ichapur of North 24 Parganas in West Bengal who has 2 acres of mango orchards.
Biswas added, “This season, the crop is less. I am expecting the harvest from my orchard to be around 50 baskets (1 basket=40 kg) against the typical
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150-200 baskets. Prices are already up and may rise further as produce is low this year.”
Kalachand Dutta, another grower from the same region, said that not only the quantity but also the size and weight of mangoes could be affected due to inadequate precipitation before the flowering season.
“Weight of some varieties such as Amrapali, Fazli, and Langra are about 200-250 gm each against their original of 450-500 gm. This is going to pinch our pocket this season as we will have to put more produce in the basket when we sell it to traders in the market.”
Similarly, growers in Tamil Nadu will bear the brunt of a poor harvest in terms of margin as heatwaves have slashed the crop at least by a half.
“In Tamil Nadu, mango crop is poor because excess heat and less water availability for irrigation causing flower and fruit to drop. As a result, we lost more than 50–60% of the crop. Now the hot windy weather condition for the past 3–4 days is causing fruit drop rapidly,” said Prabhuram Rajagopal, who runs a nursery in Krishnagiri and is a member of the Tamil Nadu Mango Growers Federation. “To make up for the loss, farmers must get ₹400–500 per kg,” Rajagopal said.
Currently, prices of Bombay Suruli and Gopal Bhog varieties are quoted at ₹45 and ₹50 a kg compared with ₹20 and ₹25–28 per kg in the corresponding period last year.
The best-quality Alphonso is priced at around ₹200 per kg, the B-grade at ₹60–70 and C-grade ₹40–50 a kg.
Despite the poor harvest, trade analysts do not expect India’s mango exports to suffer as it has shipment commitments and exporters draw higher prices from the international market.
“I don’t see any impact of less produce on exports in terms of volume and value. Most of the mangoes have already been shipped because they are done well in advance. The export starts from March onwards,” said Ajay Sahai, director general and CEO of the Federation of Indian Export Organizations.
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