COIMBATORE: After witnessing a bumper harvest last year, farmers cultivating ‘totapuri’ mangoes in Krishnagiri are facing a severe setback this season, with production plummeting by more than 50% due to adverse weather conditions.
With the harvest season now under way, growers say unseasonal rains, prolonged dry spells, and strong winds have devastated crops, triggering widespread shedding of baby mangoes and sharply reducing yields across orchards.
Krishnagiri, one of the largest mango-producing regions in the State and a major hub for pulp manufacturing, is likely to see total totapuri production plunge from nearly 5 lakh metric tonnes last year to around 2 lakh metric tonnes this season. “Flowering was excellent a few months ago, and farmers were expecting another year of abundant production. But erratic weather conditions ruined the crop. Trees that normally yield around 300 kg are now producing barely 50-100 kg,” lamented KM Soundarajan, the president of Krishnagiri Mango Growers Federation.
Ironically, the sharp decline comes just a year after farmers suffered heavy losses due to oversupply. Last season’s bumper harvest forced many growers to sell totapuri mangoes to pulp manufacturers at throwaway prices of below Rs 5/kg. In several orchards, farmers reportedly left fruit unharvested because the cost of plucking exceeded market returns.
This year, however, farmers are hopeful of securing at least Rs 20/kg from pulp processing units. Yet growers remain wary of price manipulation by private processors. “Pulp manufacturers often operate as a cartel and intentionally suppress procurement prices. The state government should intervene by fixing a Minimum Support Price (MSP) for mangoes. A government-run pulp processing unit is also necessary to reduce farmers’ dependence on private players,” he added.
Farmers have urged the newly formed state government to introduce a support mechanism similar to the one implemented in neighbouring Andhra Pradesh last year. Facing a glut in production, the Andhra government had fixed a procurement price of Rs 12/kg for totapuri mangoes, with Rs 8 paid by processing units and Rs 4 provided as a direct subsidy to farmers.
Growers in Krishnagiri argue that such support was essential, especially as cultivation costs continued to rise. According to farmer associations, the average production cost stands at nearly Rs 30,000 per acre.
The mango economy remains a crucial source of livelihood in Krishnagiri, supporting more than 3 lakh people, including farmers, traders, transporters, and workers employed in pulp processing industries. The sector is estimated to generate annual export revenues ranging between Rs 500 crore and Rs 1,000 crore.
While farmers struggle with falling yields, pulp manufacturers say the export market remains under severe stress due to geopolitical instability in West Asia. “A significant quantity of pulp produced last season is still lying unsold. The ongoing Iran-Israel conflict has badly affected exports to Gulf countries, which are major markets for mango pulp,” said E Madhavan, the general secretary of Krishnagiri District Pulp Processors Federation.
Industry representatives noted that the number of pulp processing units in the district has steadily declined over the years because of weak export demand. From nearly 35 units functioning a few years ago, only around 25 remain operational today.
Export disruptions caused first by the Russia-Ukraine war and now by continuing tensions in West Asia have further deepened the crisis, leaving both farmers and processors uncertain about the future of the region’s mango economy.