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Journalism of Courage
With a little over a week to go for Gudi Padwa, the Hindu New Year is likely going to be sweeter for citizens as mangoes have not only flooded the markets but the wholesale price of the national fruit is also by far the lowest that traders have seen in the month of March in a long time.
Currently, mangoes are selling for Rs 500/dozen in the wholesale markets.
Rohan Ursal, a commission agent based out of Pune’ wholesale market in Gultekdi, said the price drop is mainly due to arrival of mangoes from Karnataka in record numbers. “This is the first time we have seen such a deluge of mangoes from Karnataka and is linked with the drought in the area,” he said.
Currently, Karnataka is undergoing one of the worst droughts. North Karnataka, the region which has more mango orchards, is reeling under water scarcity. Due to the scarcity of water, the orchards have come under stress and produced fruits earlier than usual. “The small fruits have been affected by heat strokes, as evident from the black spots and other quality issues,” said Ursal. Most farmers have already harvested and offloaded their crop.
At present, the increase in supply of mangoes has led to a significant drop in prices.
“The present rates are abnormal. What we are more worried about is that the arrival from Karnataka will trail off in a few weeks,” said Ursal.
Mango growers in Karnataka are desperately looking forward to a few showers, which will revive their orchards.
“What we feel is that arrival will drop and only those farmers who have access to water will be able to harvest their crop,” he said.
Normally, Karnataka’s mango season starts early April while the Konkan season starts in mid-March. This year, the Konkan season started in early-February while the Karnataka season started in March.
