Mango alert: Konkan Alphonso will run out soon, say growers

“We feel the season would be over by the third week of May. This certainly will be one of the shortest seasons for Konkan Hapus,” says Mukund Joshi, who heads the Konkan Hapus Amba Utpadak Vikreta Sangh, a cooperative of mango producers and sellers from the region.

According to Joshi, Hapus growers were hit by unseasonal rains and the early onset of summer. “The season started (in September) with only 30 per cent of the produce available for markets. Exceptionally high temperatures in February saw young fruit turn black and fall off the tree. The farmers had very little produce left for the market,” said Joshi, whose cooperative represents growers from Sindhudurg to Palghar.

“Previously, the small fruit that comes towards the end of the season was not considered for plucking. But this year, farmers do not want to lose out, and even this fruit is being plucked,” Joshi said.

However, the short supply has also meant that farmers were able to command a uniform price of Rs 600-800/dozen through this season compared to Rs 400-500/dozen last time.

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While farmers from the Konkan region reported a major dip in produce for retail markets like Pune, the supply of mangoes from Karnataka has been steady. “The produce from Karnataka was both uniform in quality as well as supply. The supply of mangoes from Karnataka will last till the end of June,” said Rohan Ursal, a commission agent operating out of Pune’s wholesale market.