Close to 40% of mango fruit has reportedly been damaged in western India because of hailstorm and unseasonal rains in Saurasthra region and southern part of Gujarat and in Konkan region of Maharashtra.
Heavy winds accompanied by hailstorm hit the Saurashtra and some parts of South Gujarat last week, damaging mango crop including that of Kesar Mango.
According to state horticulture department, the maximum damage to the fruit was in Junagadh and Tapi districts.
Farmers, however, claim that the damage is more than the estimates stated by the state government.
The Gujarat horticulture department said that mango crop has suffered damage in Junagadh district of Saurasthra and south Gujarat districts of Dangs and Tapi.
In these three district the mango in grown in 30,130 hectares, out of which fruit cultivated in 6,502 hectares has suffered damage.
Harsukh Jarsaniya, secretary of Agriculture Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) in Talala in Junagadh, said, "The fruit of 'Kesar' mango in Sasan Gir area has suffered damage." Not only in Sasan Gir, farmers say that mango fruit suffered damage in Kodinar, Amreli, Una and Dhari. Damage is put at 40% of crop.
"Generally season commences from mid-April every year but this year mango may hit the market by mid-May only," said a Talala-based kesar mango cultivator.
However, in Maharashtra, mango production has also been hit because of unfavourable weather conditions and rise in production expenses. Vidyadhar Joshi, a Devgad-based mango grower from Konkan region of Maharashtra owns mango farm with over 2,000 trees.
Production of mangoes in Maharashtra's Konkan region is expected to drop drastically this year as compared to last year's production of 25,000 tonnes. The average production in this region is close to 45,000 tonnes.
Ajit Gogate, chairman of Devgad Taluka Amba Utpadak Sahakari Sanstha, a society comprising 700 farmers growing Alphonso mango in Devgad taluka of Sindhudurga district in Maharashtra, said, "In March 2013, over 352 tonnes of mangoes arrived at various markets in the country, and the average price was around Rs 3,390 per quintal. This time, only 65 tonnes of mangoes have arrived, and price is around Rs 4,550 per quintal."
In Andhra Pradesh, which has also witnessed unseasonal rainfall, mango production is expected to be flat this season.
According to the first estimates prepared by the Andhra Pradesh horticulture department, the output is expected to be 4.54 MT (million tonnes), spread across 504,348 hectares (1 ha=2.5 acres). This marginally higher but had there not be a damage crop could have been much higher.
Within the state, coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema region together constitute 70% area of cultivation and production, while the rest comes from Telangana.
Unseasonal rainfall in interior parts of the Andhra Pradesh last week impacted the fruit's prospects, as the plantation area covering 16,000 hectares in Karimnagar, Warangal, Nizamabad and some areas in Rayalaseema were affected, according to preliminary data on crop damage prepared by department of Horticulture.
The level of damage here would be more than 50%, leading to a production loss of 30,634 tonnes. The fruit yield for every acre stood at four tonnes.
"Retail prices for the initial arrivals should be higher as traders may speculate against the backdrop of unexpected damages in the first week of March," said commissioner of Horticulture M Papi Reddy. However, average retail prices for the entire season would remain unchanged, he added.
In the last season, the average retail price of the mostly preferred Banginapalli and Rasalu (juice) in Hyderabad stood at Rs 40-50 per kg and Rs 50-60 per kg respectively. However, in the starting months, prices usually stay elevated and depend on pick up in arrivals. The state also grows Tothapari and Manjeera varieties in mango.
Source - http://www.business-standard.com/
