King of fruits flaunts royal price tag, Dussehri Rs 120/kg

Allahabad: The searing heat has claimed its first casualty in Allahabad — the king of fruits.
A sharp decline in productivity this year has jacked up the price of mango, pushing it beyond the reach of the aam aadmi in the city and the rest of the district. If the Dussehri is selling for a premium — Rs 120 a kilo to be precise — the Chausa is no cheaper at Rs 80-90 per kg.
Last year, the Dussehri was affordable at Rs 40 and the Chausa was easier on the pocket at Rs 30 a kilo.
Fruit vendors expressed helplessness over the skyrocketing price of mango, saying more than half of their supply was being procured from Mumbai and parts of south India in the absence of adequate local produce. “There are high transport costs involved. How can the mangoes be any cheaper?” said a city vendor.
The state horticulture department has encouraged around 500 hectares of mango orchards in Allahabad. These are maintained by 100-odd farmers in Kaudihar, Phulpur and Karchana areas of the district. Most of them are small-time growers while a handful have orchards as large as 1.5 hectares each.
“The city greatly depends on supply from outside to meet the demand for mangoes. This time, the entire district and the region is reeling under adverse weather. Both extreme temperatures and unexpected storms have damaged the crop,” said Ram Lal, a wholesaler. “We were expecting different varieties, including Dussehri, Langda and Chausa, from Varanasi, Manikpur, Kunda, Lucknow and Unnao, but the whole mango belt has suffered this year,” Lal added.
Mango grower from Phulpur Brijmohan Kumar rued that he had lost half of his produce. “The weather has played spoilsport. The ideal temperature for good mango yield is 27°C to 35°C. But here, the Celsius soared to 47 degrees. Both extreme heat and excessive moisture ruin quality of the fruit,” he said.
Agreed Devendra Singh whose orchard has lost 30% of its yield. “We have not been able to supply mango in adequate quantities to the market,” Singh added.
Pratibha Pandey, district horticulture officer, said under a government scheme, farmers were provided with a three-year grant each to grow mango orchards and the results were encouraging. “However, adverse weather is beyond anyone’s control,” she said.