As price crashes, Tamil Nadu farmers leave mangoes unplucked
Many farmers have decided not to pluck the mangoes and have decided to leave the fruit to rot, as market prices are not commensurate with their production cost
Mangoes pile up in godowns with demand lesser than supply
COIMBATORE: Mango farmers are in distress over a drastic crash in prices of their produce due to a dip in demand from the pulp industry amidst a bumper yield.
Many farmers have decided to leave their mangoes to rot without plucking, as market prices are not commensurate with their production cost, involving high labour charges and transportation costs.
“At the tripartite meeting held on April 28, the pulp manufacturers agreed to give Rs 12 per kg for the Totapuri variety as against our demand of Rs 15 per kg. They cited the Russia-Ukraine war as having affected exports. When the harvest season commenced on May 10, and the produce was delivered, the pulp units went back on their assurance and bought only for a price ranging between Rs 3 and Rs 5 per kg. They refused to buy from farmers, who did not agree to their offer,” said KM Soundarajan, president of Krishnagiri Mango Growers Federation.
Last year, when the yield remained low at less than one lakh metric tonne, the farmers got Rs 30 per kg.
This year, the yield is around three lakh metric tonnes, of which only 50 per cent of the produce has been harvested so far. Farmers are keeping their fingers crossed over plucking the remaining mangoes, which do not fetch them a remunerative price.
The average annual yield of mangoes used to be around two lakh metric tonne. And, the season may draw to an end in a fortnight.
Farmers say the mango prices have not crashed so low, even when there were bumper yields in the last five decades.
“Mango prices have never gone below Rs 10. The government should intervene to bail out farmers from the crisis by giving a minimum compensation of Rs 30,000 per acre, which is the average production cost. Having incurred severe loss, many farmers are already preparing to axe their mango trees and switch over to alternative crops,” he added.
To overcome a similar crisis by farmers, the Andhra Pradesh government has fixed a procurement price of Rs 12 per kg for Totapuri mangoes, with Rs 8 to be paid by processing units and a Rs 4 per kg subsidy directly transferred to farmers.
“Our farmers are also demanding similar subsidies. Also, there are strict curbs in place against mangoes being taken to Andhra Pradesh from Tamil Nadu, whereas the mangoes from Karnataka are flooding our state, causing further agony to our farmers. The Alphonso variety of mangoes from Karnataka is preferred rather than the Totapuri variety grown in abundance in Krishnagiri,” said Rama Gounder, president of Tamilaga Vivasayigal Sangam.
He claimed to have incurred a loss of around Rs five lakh due to the abysmal price of Totapuri mangoes raised in his twelve-acre farm in Krishnagiri.
“I usually give our produce to pulp units. But this season, I left them to rot as the plucking cost alone comes around Rs 2,000 to Rs 2,500, besides, transportation charges may also increase the burden of loss,” he claimed.
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