The Covid-19 crisis, few overseas orders and lack of demand in the domestic market have left mango growers in Uttar Pradesh grim-faced. The local markets in UP are flooded with Dussehri and traders are fretting over the prospects of their produce going waste. Prices of the dussehri mango, which has earned the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, have hit a five-year peak-season low in the local market. This is despite the fact that production of the fruit has been limited this year due to bad weather.
In the wholesale market at Malihabad, UP's mango belt, the price of dussehri fell to Rs 15-20 a kilogram. However, half the season is yet to go as the variety arrives in market even in August. UP is India’s largest mango-producing states, accounting for over 20 per cent of the national output. Other prominent mango varieties produced in the state are Langra, Chausa and Amrapali, all of which are late-season crops.
Maharashtra’s Ratnagiri Alphonso and Gujarat’s Junagadh kesar are considered premium and pricy varieties but these western states are not even among the top-4 producers in the country.
Price is not the only loss to UP mango farmers and traders. They have also suffered on account of pest infestation, crop loss and lockdown this year, due to which the entire supply chain incurred heavy economic loss.
“The prices of dussehri dipped by nearly 50 per cent this year, primarily due to lockdown-induced transport impediments and pest infestation in dussehri and other mango varieties in the state,” Mango Growers Association of India, UP president, Shiv Sharan Singh told Business Standard, adding that the supply to major markets in India was completely disrupted.
The crowd of traders is missing with very few local sellers turning up in the wholesale market. According to one such trader, prices may go down further if orders from Delhi-Mumbai or overseas start drying up. Due to the Covid crisis, the fruit markets in Delhi and Mumbai are not functioning normally and it is difficult for them to bear freight charges.
Due to the pandemic, barely 10 tonnes of Dussehri could be exported to Dubai this year, compared with 120 tonnes last year to UAE, Oman, Qatar and Europe. According to traders, the quality of Dussehri has been affected badly due to the bad weather, and this is causing problem in getting export orders. Besides, overseas buyers are also shying away due to the Covid crisis.
According to mango grower Shabihul Hasan, this year's production of Dussehri is expected to fall by half. The mango's price this year already dropped to Rs 15-20 per Kg. Hasan said that if the demand does no recover, traders would suffer crippling losses.