The pickle-makers of Haripalem village in the district are hit hard by COVID-19. The rapid spread of the virus at a time when they are preparing to market their produce has put a question mark on sales this year.
Their work starts with the procurement of raw mangoes from nearby villages in April. The raw mangoes are cut, soaked in salt water and later dried in sunlight. Jaggery, spices and oil are added to the dried mango pieces and the mixture is preserved in a container for a month, after which the pickle is ready to be savoured.
“Huge stocks of pickle are left unsold this year due to COVID-19 and the restrictions on transport. Consequently, the prices have fallen. This year we have no hope of recovering our investment and repaying our bank loans will be tough,†laments P. Hymavathi, who runs a unit.
Traditional enterprise
Haripalem on the Anakapalle-Atchutapuram route has an over five-decade-old tradition of making the sweet mango pickle but is not known to many, though located hardly 45 km from the city.
It began with one or two families procuring the ‘Collector’ and other mango varieties from nearby villages, and starting the pickle business in a small way. Over a period, most of the families in the village jumped into the fray and the mango pickle business has developed into a cottage industry.
“Today, around 150 families are directly dependent on it and double that number are indirectly involved in it. The cement concrete road in between the houses in the colony and some rooftops are used to dry the mango pieces,†says a pickle-maker P. Rambabu.
Bulk producers
“Some families make small qualities but there are a few who produce up to 1,000 kg of pickle. The bulk sellers transport the product by sea to Port Blair, Paradeep and West Bengal where they market it themselves or through their representatives sent from here. They generally stay there for a few months till they exhaust the stocks,†says Pentakota Varaha, who frequents Port Blair to sell the pickle.
The villagers also sell the pickle at Vaddadi, Paderu, Chintapalli and some places in Srikakulam. They usually carry small quantities in baskets and reach those places by bus and return home in the evening.